Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist
by PrincessSerenity1976
Summary: Prequel to What If : A Sailor Moon R Twist. Serena Tsukino suddenly finds herself thrust into the life of a super hero. She fights against the Dark Kingdom with help from Tuxedo Mask while searching for the other scouts and hiding her secret life.
1. The Day to End All Days

**A/N **Okay, here we go. This is the prequel to What If : A Sailor Moon R Twist, and is my wacky retelling of season one. This will tell my version of the fight against the Dark Kingdom and the events that led up to the final battle against Beryl and Metallia in which Serena lost her memories. Of course that is where What If picks up. Just to remind everyone, Serena and the girls are sixteen and Darien and Andrew are seventeen. They all go to Azabu High School together. In this version, Serena has already known Darien for two years and is friends with all of the girls before they find out they are sailor scouts. There will be some major changes from the original storyline as we get farther into it, but this is what I have for now.

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 1

The Day to End All Days

"Oh! That's just great!" fumed sixteen-year-old Serena Tsukino as she looked around hopelessly at the scattered books and papers that were lying on the sidewalk. Her schoolbag hung uselessly in her hand with its bottom split wide open.

She stomped her foot in frustration. "Honestly! This has got to be the worst day of my life. I knew I should have paid attention to that feeling this morning that told me that I should just stay at home. But no, I dragged myself out of bed anyway and walked right into a day straight from hell. Ugh!"

She bent down and began gathering her belongings, silently cursing in her mind whatever unlucky star she had been born under that would grace her with the kind of luck she'd had today.

First off she had discovered that they were out of her favorite cereal when she went down to breakfast and had to suffer through her brother Sammy's teasing her about being cuckoo for Coco Puffs while she begrudgingly ate Apple Jacks instead.

And it only got worse from there. On her way to school she had found some boys tormenting a cat. She chased them off before going to check on the poor animal. The small black feline had a couple of band aids plastered to its forehead, and wanting to make sure that it hadn't been injured, she pulled them off.

Well that cat must have been schizophrenic or had a brain tumor or something, because it went absolutely batty the moment the bandages came off, clawing its way up her chest before leaping out of her arms and somehow bouncing off the top of her head in the process. It had landed on the roof of a parked car and stared at her with such a human like expression on its face that it had sent shivers down her spine. The crescent moon bald spot on its forehead had only lent credit to the idea that the cat was most definitely possessed.

The sound of a school bell ringing a block away had caught her attention and had her glancing down at her watch to see that she was late for school. She took off running, briefly debating whether or not to just go back home and pretend to be sick, but she knew that her sharp eyed mother would never fall for it.

So she trudged slowly the rest of the way to school. She was already late anyway, so what did it matter? She accepted her detention slip from Miss Haruna, wondering for the thousandth time how she got stuck with that woman every year. She had thought that she had finally escaped that dragon lady when she had left middle school behind, but oh no, Miss H. decided that she wanted to transfer and teach high school. So the torture continued.

She continued her day in a daze, barely staying awake in her classes. She'd kept having strange dreams the night before that woke her up several times. She couldn't really remember anything about them except that there had been this guy in them that been dressed in a tuxedo, but she couldn't see his face.

She had brushed it off. Prom was months away since it was only November, but she figured it was never too early to start dreaming about being asked to it. Of course she was only a sophomore, so that meant that an upperclassman would have to ask her, but she wasn't too concerned about that. One of her best friends, Andrew, was a junior, and she knew a lot of his friends. Maybe one of them would ask her. It wasn't hard to imagine walking into prom in a beautiful dress on the arm of Asanuma or Kobyashi, or perhaps even…

No! She had put that thought out of her mind before it even entered. No matter how good looking she thought that jerk was, there was no way that she would even consider thinking about what it would be like to attend prom with _him!_

"Get a grip, Serena," she muttered to herself as she finally got all of her stuff together and continued walking. Normally she wouldn't be making this trip all by herself, but her friends had other plans for the afternoon.

Amy Mizuno was the shy, soft-spoken member of her little band of friends. She met the blue haired genius halfway through freshman year when the girl transferred to Azabu High from the elite private school she had attended all of her life. Amy's mother, a well respected doctor, had agreed to let her daughter try public school in hopes that Amy would make some friends and increase her nonexistent social life. The only downside was that Amy had to attend cram school three afternoons a week and that sometimes prevented her from being able to hang out at the arcade with the others.

Not long after Serena met Amy, they got another transfer student, the beautiful, mysterious Raye Hino. Raye lived at a nearby shrine where her grandfather was a priest and she served as a priestess herself. She was high-spirited with a temper that matched the fire that she liked to meditate in front of. She and Serena had completely opposite personalities and butted heads a lot, but in reality they were as close as sisters.

The three girls had become fast friends and were nearly inseparable for the rest of their freshman year and the following summer. Then at the beginning of the current school year they added two more to their ranks.

Lita Kino was a tall, amazon looking brunette with a brash attitude that she used to hide her sweet, sensitive side from the rest of the world. She had been orphaned at a young age and had spent years being tossed from one children's home to another before winning her emancipation and getting her own place. It had been a hard life that had forced her to fight for everything, but with her new friends she was able to be herself. She was fiercely protective of them, especially Serena, who had been the first person to talk to her like she was normal.

And last, but definitely not least was bubbly, blonde Mina Aino. Mina had been born in Japan, but had moved to London with her parents when she was ten. She already had a successful acting career under her belt playing the victorious heroine Sailor V in a few movies. But for all of her flighty ways she was a great friend. She had wanted a chance at a normal teenage life, so she had moved back to her family's house in Juuban while her parents pursued their diplomatic duties.

"Get over yourself, Serena," the golden haired girl grumbled as she staggered toward the Crown Arcade. Inwardly she was praying that Andrew was done with basketball practice for the day. She needed a shoulder to cry on. She also hoped that this was one of the rare days that _he _decided to skip coming by the arcade.

She sighed as she walked through the doors, automatically scanning the arcade for her nemesis. Her heart sank as she spotted the raven-haired boy that was currently deep in conversation with Andrew,

'_Great! Just what I need!' _Serena though as she trudged to the counter and took a seat on a stool a couple of seats away from her mortal enemy.

"Hey Sere! The usual?" Andrew asked as she plopped down on her seat.

"I don't think even one of your milkshakes will be enough to turn this day around," she moaned as she buried her head in her arms on the counter. "This has been the worst day of my life and I just want it to be over!"

"Aw sweetie, I'm sure it hasn't been that bad of a day," Andrew said sympathetically as he patted the top of her head fondly. "Now pick that head up and let me see your pretty face and you tell Dr. Drew all about it."

Serena raised her eyes to meet the concerned hazel gaze of the boy who had always been like an older brother to her and promptly broke into tears as she flung herself across the counter and into his waiting arms.

"Oh Drew!" she wailed. "This has been a day from hell! Everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong today. I feel like I must be cursed or something. I have to be the unluckiest person ever born!"

Andrew held her for a few minutes and let her sob out the horrific events of her day on his shoulder until she was cried out. Then he set her back in her seat with a smile. "Feel better?"

She returned the smile. "Yeah, I think I do."

He ruffled her bangs. "Great! Now how about that milkshake?"

She nodded eagerly and Andrew walked off to make the sweet treat. She sat there on her stool and looked around the arcade in every direction except to her left. The last thing she wanted was to get into it with _him_ today. But it was inevitable.

She heard the sound of a throat clearing and then that voice, that deep, husky, amazing sounding voice. "So Meatball Head, what are you doing in here having a nervous breakdown all alone? Shouldn't you be hanging out with your friends, gossiping and acting childish like you always do?"

Serena heaved a sigh before turning to him warily. The sight of those intensely dark blue eyes tried to mesmerize her, but she held her composure. "Hello, jerk! Shouldn't you be off somewhere torturing children and small animals instead of tainting this wonderful family establishment with your presence?"

A smirk appeared on his arrogantly handsome face. "But I am torturing a child. Isn't that what you are? There's not much difference between you and a five year old."

Serena's face turned bright red as she began to fume. She was about to lay into the smug bastard when a white knight came to her rescue.

"Damn, Darien! Can't you lay off of her for one day?" Andrew scolded his friend. "The poor girl has had a bad day and she doesn't need to hear your shit right now."

Darien snorted into his soda. "Well excuse me if I offended her highness. I didn't realize she had a champion ready to defend her."

Serena stuck her tongue out at him before attacking the milkshake Andrew had just put in front of her.

Her dark haired tormentor rolled his eyes. "Real mature Meatball Head."

Andrew jumped between them in hopes of stopping another argument between the two. "So Serena, where are the other girls today? It's unusual to see you by yourself."

She swirled the straw in her glass. "Amy had cram school. Raye had to help her grandfather at the temple. Lita's taking another cooking class. And Mina had a photo shoot for the upcoming promotion of the new Sailor V game. So it's just me."

"Well that's a shame," Andrew said with a smile. "But I have to say I'm kinda glad to have some time with you alone. This makes it feel like old times again, doesn't it?"

Serena grinned and nodded, thinking back on all the days before she had met her friends when she had sat here just like this, laughing and joking with Andrew after school. Occasionally their friends Molly and Melvin would join them before they had been split up when they started high school, Serena and Andrew were attending Azabu High while Molly and Melvin were sent to Juuban, but most days it had just been Serena and Andrew at the arcade.

That had also been before Andrew had befriended the sinfully handsome pain in the ass, Darien Shields, the bane of Serena's existence. She had tried her hardest to befriend the aloof upperclassman, but he had blocked her every time with his cutting words and cold personality.

The doors to the arcade slid open, admitting a fairly large group of kids, so Andrew left the pair to go wait on them. Serena remained sitting on her stool, happily sipping her milkshake and doing her best to ignore the boy to her left.

But her hopes were dashed once again when that smooth voice intruded on her thoughts. "Is that how you always treat your school things Meatball Head?" Darien asked, gesturing to the untidy pile of books and papers that she had sat on the counter. "You know, you might do more than just squeak by in school if you kept your things better organized."

'_Don't pay any attention to him, Serena. The jerk's not worth it!'_ she told herself as she kept her gaze adverted and ignored him.

But Darien wasn't to be swayed by her actions. "Seriously Meatball Head, this is high school, not kindergarten." He reached for one of her papers.

"Hey! Give that back!" she snapped as she saw him snag her current Algebra II test. She tried vainly to grab it back.

He avoided her seeking hands and looked at the paper. "Hey! You actually passed this one," he said as he saw the red 73. "Barely, but it's still a pass. Now if you would just pay more attention to Andrew when he's trying to explain this to you instead of drooling all over him like an adolescent fangirl, you might be able to pull a C out of your back pocket."

Serena finally managed to get the test wrangled from his grip and sat back in a huff. "I don't drool over Andrew, you jerk! We've known each other our whole lives! He's like my brother. Only a pervert like you would read more into it."

Okay, so she'd developed a small crush on Andrew when they had been in middle school, and it had made a brief reappearance when her new friends had all professed undying love for the blonde haired hottie, but it had passed quickly. Darien didn't need to know about that.

Darien laughed derisively. "Now what does a toddler like yourself know about anything dealing with the world of perversion? They don't teach that in daycare."

The stress from the day finally caught up to Serena and she snapped. She abandoned her milkshake and quickly gathered her things. "You know what, Shields? I've just had an epiphany. I don't give a rat's ass what you think about me. So you can go straight to hell!"

She spun on her heel and walked toward the door, hoping to make a triumphant and graceful exit. But with the way her day was going, that wasn't what happened. Someone had spill some soda on the floor, and it was inevitable that she would step in it and slip. One second she was marching with a purpose toward the door, the next she was crashing to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs and schoolbooks.

"Serena!" Andrew exclaimed as he hurried over to check on her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she grumbled as she allowed him to help her up and collect her belongings. Her face flushed with embarrassment at her situation until she locked eyes with her mortal enemy.

Darien didn't mean to laugh, but the whole scene was just so comical. He knew that the little Meatball Head wasn't hurt. He would never laugh at someone else's pain. But the sight of her sprawled out on the floor like a character from a Saturday morning anime was too much for him too take. He doubled over at the waist as laughter rumbled deep in his throat.

Tears burned Serena's eyes as she glared at him. "I hate you, Darien Shields!" she screamed at him. "I wish I had never met you! Go ahead and laugh at me now, but we'll see who laughs last. One day I'll be beautiful and glamorous and have a strong boyfriend that will protect me from bullies like you. And while I'm off enjoying my happy life you'll still be sitting here on your stool, lonely and bitter."

Without another word she tossed one of her pigtails over her shoulder and stomped angrily through the sliding doors.

Andrew shot his friend a murderous look. "Way to go, jackass! I know you get some kind of sick, twisted pleasure from picking on her. But did you have to kick her while she was already down?"

Darien hung his head as guilt rushed through him. He had seen the tears that had shimmered in her bright blue eyes and felt like the lowest scum of the earth for making her cry, again. He didn't know why he picked on the blonde sophomore so much. He just seemed to go on the defensive whenever she breezed through the doors with her happy go lucky attitude.

Andrew sighed as he watched a series of conflicting emotions play across his friend's usually stoic face. It looked like it was time for Dr. Drew to step in with some much needed advice.

He walked back behind the counter and went to lean against it across from the brooding, black haired boy. "Look Dare. I'm not trying to interfere in your life or anything, but would it kill you to try to be nice to Serena for a change? She's really a great girl, and she would be a wonderful friend to you if you just gave her a chance."

Darien's fingers clenched tightly around the soda glass in front of him. "I don't need you to tell me what kind of person she is. Anyone with eyes could see that. She just rubs me the wrong way. How can somebody be that cheerful all the time? It's not natural."

Andrew grinned. "It is for Serena. Trust me. I've known her all her life and she's always been the same. The only time I've ever seen her sad was when her grandfather passed away when she was in fifth grade, and she bounced back from that pretty quick. She said that she knew that he wouldn't want her to spend all her time grieving for him. So after about a week she was back to smiling and laughing again."

Darien shook his head in amusement. "That sounds like her. The girl is a total enigma."

Andrew eyed him smugly. "And that's why you like her."

Darien spit out the soda that he had just taken a sip of. "I do not like the Meatball Head!"

His sandy haired friend chuckled and passed him a towel to mop up the mess he had made on the counter. "You can't fool me. You've been hot for her since the first time you met her two years ago. The love doctor knows all."

Darien snorted. "I thought only bartenders were supposed to play amateur psychologists."

Andrew shrugged. "Just because I don't serve anything alcoholic doesn't mean that I have less knowledge than my older, beer serving colleagues. You can deny it all you want, but I know you have a crush on Serena. In fact, you're probably only one step away from falling deeply and madly in love with her. You're just too dense to do anything about it."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Darien said as he stood and grabbed his book bag. "But you are dead wrong this time. I'm not saying that Meatball Head is a bad person, but I just don't feel that way about her. I'm outta here. I've got a Trig test to study for."

Andrew's hazel eyes danced merrily as he watched him leave the arcade. "Oh we'll just see how long you can keep lying to yourself, my friend. I've got a feeling that a certain blonde bombshell will soon bring you to your knees."

* * *

"Lights out, Serena," Ilene Tsukino said as she popped her head into her daughter's room. "It's after ten, and you have school tomorrow. So get some good sleep."

"Okay mom," Serena answered from where she was sitting on her bed with her Literature book in front of her.

"Goodnight, dear," Ilene replied as she eased the door closed again.

"Night, mom," Serena chirped as she watched her mother leave. When she was sure the door was completely shut, she pulled out the manga that she had been hiding behind her schoolbook. She carefully marked her place and set it on the nightstand.

She returned her book to the bag that her mother had repaired for her before walking into the adjoining bathroom where she changed into a short, pink baby doll nightie before washing her face and brushing her teeth. As she unwound her hair from its buns, she stared in the mirror at herself and thought about this afternoon's events.

"Stupid, arrogant jerk!" she muttered to herself as she pulled a brush through her knee length hair. "Okay, make that stupid, arrogant, sexy jerk. He makes me so mad. If he would just keep his damn mouth shut so I could enjoy looking at him instead of fighting with him, everything would be fine."

She sighed deeply. As much as she detested Darien's constant picking on her, she couldn't deny that she had a huge crush on him and had been suffering from it from the first day that she had walked into the arcade and saw him talking to Andrew. One look into those deep, ocean blue eyes and she had been hooked.

She had it so bad for him that she had almost considered strangling her friend Raye when the raven-haired priestess had gone out on a few dates with Darien. Luckily it had been short lived when the two admitted that they didn't feel anything other than friendship for one another.

As a matter of fact, all of her friends had done their share of drooling over both Darien and Andrew. Even shy, reserved Amy wasn't immune to their handsome good looks, and neither were the rest of the girls in their school. Both boys were stars on the basketball team and could usually be seen with a gaggle of giggling girls following them.

Not that either one of them noticed it. Andrew had been in a fairly long term relationship with a girl named Rita, and he was still nursing a broken heart that he had suffered when she had moved away this past summer. And Darien was just oblivious. In the two years that Serena had known him, she had never seen or heard about him being with any girl other than the short time he dated Raye. Some of the gossip around school had people wondering if maybe he swung the other way, but Serena didn't believe a word of it. She knew from watching him that he was just a very private person that didn't let many people get too close.

She knew that he had his reasons. After a particularly bad fight that had sent her running from the arcade in tears, Andrew had come after her and had told her, after swearing her to secrecy, Darien's story.

Her heart had cried for him as she heard about his past. He had been orphaned at age six in a car crash. Both of his parents had been killed instantly, but by some miracle he had survived. He had woken up in the hospital with no memory of his family or even who he was. There had been no other family members to take him in, so he had been sent to an orphanage to live. When he had started high school, he had petitioned the government for his emancipation and won. His parents had left him with a trust fund that he drew a living allowance from, enabling him to live comfortably in an apartment of his own. But he was alone.

"Stop thinking about him, Serena," she scolded herself. "You have tried and tried to be nice to him. If he wants to be a brain dead idiot, let him. It's his loss."

She examined her reflection critically. Was Darien really missing out on anything? She wasn't darkly exotic like Raye, striking like Lita, or graceful like Amy. Mina was almost her twin, but even she possessed a classic beauty that men seemed to covet.

She studied herself, weighing the pros and cons. She was short, much shorter than most girls her age, but her hair was the color of the sun. A lot of women spent big bucks at salons to achieve what she had naturally. Her eyes could rival a summer sky, but they were large and round, almost too big for her small face. And don't even get her started on the dusting of freckles across her nose that she absolutely abhorred.

But even while focusing on what she thought to be imperfections, she didn't think she looked bad. There were some things that she would love to change, and she had never been vain about her looks, but she thought she looked okay. But then again, had two totally opposite people ever existed? He was tall and dark with a brooding personality while she was petite, fair, and tried to bring happiness to those around her. She had always heard that opposites attract, but this might be pushing it too far.

"I've gotta stop thinking about this," she grumbled. "I'll go crazy if I don't."

She went back into her room and crawled under the covers of her bed before clicking off her beside lamp. As she snuggled down into her pillow and prepared to slip off to sleep, she vaguely wondered if the tuxedoed man that had starred in her dreams the night before would return. Her dream self had felt safe and comforted in his arms. Which was a good thing since the dreams had gone from being like a fairytale as they danced to more like being a nightmare as a battle waged around them. The details were fuzzy in her mind.

She closed her eyes and was just beginning to drift off to sleep when she thought she heard a rustling sound near her open window. She ignored it, figuring that it was just the wind blowing through the tree outside. A few seconds later she sat up with a start as she felt something land on her bed. Looking around, she saw the same psychotic cat that she had saved from the bullying boys that morning.

"O…oh! Hello kitty," she stuttered uncertainly. How had the cat found its way into her room? Had it been following her all day since she had rescued it? She knew that it would be easy enough for a cat to climb the tree and slip through her window, but it seemed like too much of a coincidence that the cat just happened to pick her room.

Then the unthinkable happened. The cat opened its mouth and spoke. "Hello, Serena. My name is Luna, and I have been looking for you for a long time."

"Holy crap! A cat that talks!" Serena shrieked as she jumped off the bed and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Please, don't freak out on me," Luna said, looking over the side of the bed at the girl on the floor. "I know this is a lot to take in, but I have reason to believe that you are one of the sailor scouts that I have been searching for."

Serena scrambled up onto her knees and rested her chin on the edge of the bed. She figured she was dreaming, so she decided to play along. "A sailor scout, what's that?"

Luna sat and curled her tail around her. "The sailor scouts are warriors that once lived on the moon a thousand years ago. They were the protectors and companions to Princess Serenity, the heir of the Silver Millennium."

"And you think that I'm one of these warriors?" Serena asked with a laugh. "Now I know I'm dreaming. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly warrior material."

The black feline stood back up, the crescent moon on her forehead glowing slightly. Now that she thought about it, her friend Mina's white cat, Artemis, had a similar symbol on his forehead. That was weird.

"You're not dreaming, Serena," Luna insisted. "I wasn't sure at first, but after watching you today I am convinced that you are a sailor scout."

"Riigghht…" Serena drawled. "I knew I shouldn't have had that third slice of cheesecake for dessert. But it was so good."

Luna sighed. "I see I'm just going to have to prove it to you." She jumped into the air and flipped. There was a glittery poof and she landed back on the bed next to a round, golden brooch. "This is for you."

"Really!" Serena exclaimed as she grabbed the piece of jewelry and examined it. "Ooo, I bet this would look great pinned on the front of my uniform." She rushed over to her closet door where her school uniform for the next day was hanging. She held the pin up against the red bow and admired the effect.

"We don't have time for that right now," Luna admonished. "That is no ordinary brooch. It will allow you to turn into Sailor Moon. Now hold it up and repeat after me. Moon Prism Power!"

Serena looked at her bewilderedly, but thrust the hand holding the brooch into the air and cried, "Moon Prism Power!"

She felt a rush as flashing lights and swirling ribbons surrounded her. When they faded, she looked down at herself and let out a startled squeak. "What the hell just happened?"

She was dressed in a uniform that was similar to the one she wore to school, only with major modifications. The skirt was shorter than anything she had ever worn in her life, and paired with the elbow length gloves and knee high boots, she felt slightly hookerish.

Luna abandoned her place on the bed and jumped up on the dresser where Serena was busy staring in shock at herself in the mirror. "I knew it! You are the champion of love and justice, Sailor Moon. The world is in terrible danger, and you must help protect it. Together we will find the other scouts and then we will be able to recover the princess and the Silver Crystal."

Sailor Moon slid to the floor helplessly. "I'm really not dreaming, am I?"

Luna landed next to her with a soft thud and nudged her arm with her head. "I'm afraid not. I know it's a lot to ask of a teenage girl, but this is your destiny. I'm so glad I finally found you. I've been searching for quite some time. But when you came charging to my rescue this morning I knew you were the one. You are a very special girl, Serena."

A tremulous smile appeared on Sailor Moon's face. "Too bad no one would ever believe me if I told them. I know Mina would flip. She became famous by playing Sailor V, but now I'm the real thing."

She froze as suddenly every hair on her body stood on end and a shiver raced down her spine. The ornaments that adorned her buns that had magically reappeared when she transformed began to vibrate and she heard a faint voice calling for help.

"That sounded like Molly!" she exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.

"Shoot!" Luna muttered. "It must be a youma attack. I had hoped to have time to train you before the Dark Kingdom began attacking, but it looks like that's not going to happen. It's up to you to go stop the youma."

"But I don't know anything about fighting monsters!" Sailor Moon wailed. "I'm just an ordinary schoolgirl!"

Luna's tail bristled. "Not anymore. You are Sailor Moon, leader of Princess Serenity's imperial guard. It is your duty to protect this planet and its inhabitants from the Dark Kingdom. If you don't go and stop this attack now, your friend Molly may die."

Those were the magic words to say to galvanize her into action. She ran to the door only to pull up short when she remembered the predicament she was in. Not only was she dressed up like someone who should be hanging out in the red light district, but also her father was the lightest sleeper ever born. She was surprised that he hadn't already come bursting in with all the noise she and Luna had been making.

"What am I going to do, Luna?" she moaned. "There's no way I'm getting out of here. My dad will bust me for sure and ground me. I'm already in hot water for almost failing an Algebra II test. If I get in anymore trouble I may not see freedom again until I'm forty five."

"Then we'll take my way," Luna told her as she jumped out of the window and into the branches of the tree.

Sailor Moon looked out the window dubiously. "No offense, Luna, but this tree and I have a history. I fell out of it and broke my arm when I was eight. So I sure don't want a repeat of that."

The feline rolled her cinnamon colored eyes. "You can make it without climbing down the tree. Part of being a sailor scout means that you can jump long distances without being hurt. You're also stronger and faster than when you are in your civilian form."

The blonde scout shuddered. "Are you kidding? If I jump from here I'll end up being a pancake on the lawn."

"You're just going to have to trust me," Luna insisted. "Now hurry so we can go save your friend."

Sailor Moon looked down at the ground that seemed farther away than usual. She heard Molly's terrified voice call out for help again, so she did the only thing she could. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped.

* * *

The dream started out the way it always did. He found himself standing in the middle of a swirling fog looking up at the hulking shadow of a large building. He could see the faint outline of a woman standing on a balcony. None of her features were clear, but he could make out her long hair and the floor length dress that rippled in the gentle breeze. But tonight the dream was different.

"Find the Silver Crystal," her voice floated down to him.

"What?" he asked in confusion. He'd dreamt of this princess many times over the years, but this was the first time she had ever said anything about a crystal. Also, her voice was usually happy, but tonight it was heavy with sadness.

"I need my Silver Crystal," she told him. "Without it I will never be free and the world will be in terrible danger. Once I have it back I will rid the Earth of the darkness that threatens it and return your past to you."

Darien sucked in a breath. "You can do that?"

"Yes. I can," she answered gently. "I know that you are tormented by the uncertainties in your life. But once my birthright is returned to me I will be able to restore the memories that were taken from you."

Elation swept through him. There was little else in life that he wanted more than to know exactly who he was. "I will find the Silver Crystal for you. Have no fear. But please, tell me who you are." This was a request that he had made countless times, but she had always refused to show herself or share her name.

To his surprise she answered him. " I suppose the time has come. I am Serenity, princess of the moon and heir to the Silver Millennium. I died a thousand years ago and was reincarnated here on Earth, but my powers and my memories have been locked away. Now the enemy that was responsible for destroying my kingdom has broken free of the seal that my mother placed on them. I need the Silver Crystal so that I can awaken and defeat this evil once and for all."

Darien clenched his fists at his side. "I will see you set free, princess. And then I will stand by your side to help you as much as I can."

"I know you will," she said in a voice that was growing faint. "You have a great power inside of you, and it's time for it to come forth. My guardians are beginning to awaken and can be of help to you, but you are the only one who can set me free."

The scene before him began fading, a sign that the dream was ending. "Serenity!" he yelled, reaching a hand toward her as she disappeared.

He jerked awake and sat up on his couch, sending the history book that he had been studying before he fell asleep crashing to the floor. He rubbed a hand over his bleary eyes.

"Well that was different," he mumbled sarcastically as he stood and walked into his kitchen. He bypassed the still hot coffee in the coffee pot in favor of a cold bottle of water from his refrigerator. He carried it out onto the balcony to get some fresh air.

He thought about the dream that he'd just had and how it differed from the others that he'd had in the past. He had begun dreaming of the princess not long after the accident that stolen both his parents and his memories from him. She had always been a source of comfort to him over the years, and he had decided a long time ago that she was more than just a figment of his imagination. He believed that she was real. And if she needed his help, he would gladly give it to her.

He stared up at the moon, another source of comfort for him. And now that his dream princess had told him that she the princess of the moon, it made sense.

"So how do I go about finding this Silver Crystal for her?" he mused. There were millions if not billions of crystals in the world, so how would he find the right one?

He was thinking hard about this new development when a wave of dizziness and a burning sensation in his chest sent him stumbling to his knees. He screwed his eyes shut and waited until it passed.

When he opened his eyes he received a shock. A mask now covered his eyes and he was dressed in an elegant tuxedo, complete with a top hot and long flowing cape. He felt stronger, like he could pull a Superman and leap over tall buildings in a single bound. Was this what Serenity had meant when she said that he had power hidden inside him?

He felt fear that wasn't his own explode in the pit of his stomach and something that felt like the pull of a giant magnet tugging at him. Without a second thought, he leapt up onto the balcony railing and jumped through the air toward the roof of a neighboring building. He whooped in delight as he cleared the fifty foot gap like it was nothing.

Following the pull, he sped off across the rooftops, pausing only a minute later when the feeling led him straight to the Osa-P jewelry store. Serenity's request played through his head. It would be logical to look for the Silver Crystal in a jewelry store. That must mean that her enemies were after it as well.

He jumped down from the roof he was standing on and landed on the ledge of a large open window. Looking in he saw a group of people that looked a lot like zombies along with what could only be described as a monster surrounding a young blonde girl that was wearing a sailor suit of some kind.

At first glance the girl reminded him of Serena. She wore her hair in the same odango style and was petite just like her. When he heard her scream, he looked around wildly for something that he could use as a weapon to help her.

He flinched when a red rose suddenly appeared in his hand; it's thorns almost cutting through the thick material of his white gloves. Its stem felt as strong as steel, so acting purely on instinct he flung it into the path of the monster that was closing in on the wailing girl.

He remembered what Serenity had said about her guardians beginning to awaken. He was pretty sure that this girl was one of them. Her terrified screams and jerky movements told him that she must have only recently come into her powers like he had and was clueless about what to do.

He saw her stare at the rose that was now embedded in the floor and saw her look up with large blue eyes to stare at him in wonder. Once more he was struck by the similarities between this girl and Serena. She had eyes that reminded him of those of his verbal sparring partner and secret crush.

Yes, he may have lied to Andrew earlier about liking Serena, but he knew that he had fallen for the blonde spitfire, and had fallen hard. But the last thing he wanted to do was taint her cheerful optimism with his gloomy pessimism. Besides, he had sworn his devotion to Serenity, and he didn't think he had the time to juggle school and two women. Well three if you counted the girl that was now staring at him with something akin to hero worship in her eyes. If she was indeed one of Serenity's guardians, he was sure he would be seeing a lot of her.

"Believe in yourself and I know that you will win," he called down to her, cringing at how corny he sounded. But he had been thrust into this world of super hero business fairly quick and hadn't exactly had time to come up with a speech.

He saw her face tighten with determination before she nodded to him. "Right. Prepare to be dusted youma scum. I am the champion of love and justice, Sailor Moon. And in the name of the moon I will punish you."

The tuxedo-clad boy shook his head as he chuckled. This Sailor Moon was as bad at giving speeches as he was. But she did look cute as she struck a pose to match her words. He saw a small black form behind the pillar that Sailor Moon was leaning against and heard a muffled voice. Then Sailor Moon reached up to remove the golden tiara that rested against her forehead.

It began to glow and spin as it hovered a few inches above her palm. "Moon Tiara Magic!" she cried as she flung it at the creature in front of her.

A loud screech filled the store as the…whatever it was, disintegrated into dust. All of the other people fainted and fell to the floor.

Seeing that the threat was over, the masked hero turned to leave. But he stopped when a voice called from behind him.

"Wait!" the feminine voice cried. "Thank you for helping me. I am eternally grateful."

He looked back over his shoulder at her. "You're welcome." Then he turned away again. He saw a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye and was surprised to find the blonde standing next to him. She had jumped up twenty feet as easily as he had cleared the distances between buildings on his way here.

She held her hand out to him. "I'm Sailor Moon, leader of Princess Serenity's Imperial Guard. May I know your name so that I may thank you properly?"

Darien's head spun at her nearness as his brain struggled to work to come up with a name for himself. He certainly couldn't use his real one. "Uh…uh…" he stammered. "I'm Tuxedo Mask," he finally said.

"Well thank you, Tuxedo Mask. I would have been toast if you hadn't shown up when you had." She grabbed his hand and then gasped.

He jerked as he felt an electrical shock run through his entire body. A quick glance at Sailor Moon's face told him that she had felt the same thing.

"Well, I better be going," he whispered as he reluctantly pulled his hand from hers. "Maybe I'll see you around."

"Goodbye, Tuxedo Mask," he heard her say softly as he jumped to the roof of a nearby building. He looked back once and saw her making her way across the rooftops in the opposite direction. He sighed deeply and turned back to the direction of his apartment. It had certainly been an interesting night.

He had barely reached his balcony when he felt a tingling sensation and his tuxedo melted away to leave him standing there in a pair of worn jeans and a t-shirt. He walked inside to his bedroom and flung himself across the bed, still fully dressed, as exhaustion finally set in on him.

He drifted off into dreams where he was haunted by three different women, his faceless princess, his new acquaintance Sailor Moon, and Serena. The three of them seemed to meld together until he couldn't tell one from the other anymore. Needless to say, his sleep wasn't very restful that night.

Not terribly far away, a blonde haired girl tossed and turned in her bed as her dreams turned from those that had her dancing in the arms of the hero that had come to her rescue that night to those that showed her plunging a sword through her heart as a voice cackled evilly in the background and a dark haired man dressed in armor and whose face was obscured by fog lay dead nearby.

Serena jerked awake with the name that she had screamed in her dream running through her head. She felt a slight weight on the covers near her feet and looked down to see Luna curled up at the foot of her bed.

"So it really wasn't a dream," she mumbled as she rolled over to find a more comfortable position. As she gave into fatigue and drifted back to sleep she whispered, "Endymion". Soon after, a golden crescent moon began to glow softly on her forehead.

**A/N **Well there you have it. What did you guys think? I know it pretty much followed episode one, but I hope I made it different enough to be enjoyable. I will try to update this story as often as I can, but GT is my main focus at the moment. I had so many people request that I do the other seasons when What If ended that I couldn't help but do this. So please tell me what you thought of it. Take a moment to hit the review button and give me your honest opinion. It can be just a few words or a hundred, I don't care. I just love getting feedback from my readers. So I hope to hear from you. Lots of love!

~Sere~


	2. Sniffles and Bruises

**A/N **I don't believe you guys! I know a lot of you said that you wanted me to do the other seasons after What If was completed, but wow! You really came all out for this. My hubby almost had to pick me up off the floor when the reviews and responses came rolling in. I was in seventh heaven, let me tell you. So you all get hugs, and cookies, and hugs, and milkshakes, and hugs…did I mention you all get hugs (hee hee). Anyway, BIG, ENORMOUS, GIGANTIC, COLLOSSAL HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**amaramichelle**

**Comet Moon**

**chimichurri**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**anime-lover10**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**GoldenDragon326**

**tiny2008**

**SailorBoo**

**BostonBill**

**awest999**

**Mermain123**

**afallenblackrose**

**ange de l'aube**

**Fedski**

**xo Usako ox**

**Quelqu'un dans la nuit**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**samsox**

**S dot Serenity**

**Moon-Bunny557**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

Thank you so much! You guys are the best. Now let me take a minute to address a few questions that I didn't get a chance to respond to. This will be a mix of the anime and the manga because there are just some things that I like better about each one. A few people seemed confused as to why I'm calling it Classic Twist, this is not a sequel to What If, but a prequel. The dubbed season one (though I prefer the Japanese) is called Classic, so I went with that. The sequel to What If will be called Stolen Hearts : A Sailor Moon S Twist, just to straighten that out. This will take us all the way to when Serena loses her memories, then What If will pick up. I skipped the Doom Tree Arc just because I found it annoying and it didn't fit with the story at all. So hopefully this cleared the air a bit.

One last thing, I mentioned this in my last posting of GT, but I know that not everyone that reads this story reads that one, so I want to give a huge thank you to xo Usako ox for the story idea she gave me. It will take place during the StarS Season, and I love it already. So look for For the Stars to be coming soon. (as if I don't have enough on my plate…lol)

Okay! I'm done rambling! Here's Chapter 2!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 2

Sniffles and Bruises

"Bye mom! I'm outta here! I put a fresh pot of coffee on for you," Andrew called as he grabbed his book bag that was sitting on one of the arcade stools and headed for the door.

His mother stuck her head out of the door marked 'Staff Only' and replied, "Okay sweetheart. I'll see you this afternoon. Do you have basketball practice today?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Coach is really putting us through the wringer this year. If he keeps it up he's going to kill us all and have no shot at the playoffs."

Mrs. Furuhata laughed and sent him off with a wave. He was about to walk out the doors when they slid open and someone walked in. He was surprised a moment later when he felt someone grab his arm and begin dragging him back toward the counter.

"I need a coffee to go, Drew. The biggest one you've got," Darien said in a desperate voice.

Andrew did a double take to make sure that this was really his best friend. Yeah, it was him all right, but he looked like hell. "What the hell happened to you? You look like shit."

Right on cue his mother's head shot back through the door. "Language!" she shrieked.

He flinched at the sound but hurried back behind the counter to grab a large styrofoam cup and fill it up with the fresh, hot brew.

Darien accepted it gratefully. "Thanks. I really need this. I forgot to set my coffee pot last night and then I overslept this morning and didn't have a chance to make any."

Andrew cast a critical eye over his haggard face and messier than usual hair before taking in the dark shadows that rested beneath the blue eyes. "Are you sure you slept at all? Honestly you look like you haven't had any sleep for a week."

Darien winced inwardly at his friend's observation. Andrew wasn't too far off. His nights for the past week were either tied up rushing to the rescue of a clumsy super heroine or being haunted by his dreams. And when he wasn't busy with that or trying to keep up with his schoolwork he spent his time pouring over books and searching the internet for some clue about how to find the Silver Crystal. Yeah, restful sleep was a thing of the past.

"I've just been busy studying," he said in what he hoped was a convincing tone. "Term exams will be here before we know it."

Andrew gaped at him. "Exams are over a month away! Why would you be killing yourself over them this early on? That sounds like something Amy would do. I don't get you super geniuses."

Darien glanced at the clock. "Ex super genius if we don't get going. Coach will kill us if we miss practice because we get detention for being late."

Andrew reshouldered his back and followed his friend out into the brisk morning. Darien was busy guzzling his coffee in an attempt to jumpstart his flagging system with the much needed jolt of caffeine, but he pulled up short when he heard Andrew speak.

"Good morning, ladies. How are you today?" Then, "Sere! Honey, what's wrong?"

The concern in those words had Darien lowering the cup to zero in on the petite blonde. He felt a twinge as he took in what was normally his favorite sight. She definitely did not look well. Her shoulders were slumped and her usually clear blue eyes were clouded and bloodshot with faint purple smudges under them. Even her hair, usually as bouncy as her personality, hung in limp strands down her back.

A faint smile lifted her lips. "I'm okay, Drew. I just didn't sleep well last night. I think I'm coming down with a cold or something."

"I think you've been coming down with it for the last few days," Raye retorted. "You've been more of a space case than usual."

Serena's mouth popped open to deliver what would usually be her own scathing taunt, but then she just shook her head and remained silent.

"You should be at home in bed," Andrew scolded as he fussed over Serena, taking her book bag from her so that she wouldn't have to carry it.

"That's what I said," Mina piped up as she sidled up next to her crush without trying to be obvious. "But Mrs. Tsukino said that if she wasn't running a fever then she had to go to school."

"That surprises me," Amy said quietly. "There are several strains of viruses that wouldn't necessarily elicit a temperature in the person infected. Serena may have contracted one of these strains, in which case it would definitely be in her best interest to be at home instead of spreading it to others."

Darien could have slapped himself for what happened next. His brain was running on autopilot and took control of his mouth. "I think the only thing we need to worry about catching from Meatball Head is a loss of brain cells."

'_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' _he cursed himself as his eyes met those that usually snapped with anger when he hurled one of his insults. This time they just looked sad and rejected.

"Jerk!" Serena muttered, but without her usual passion. "Let's go girls. I don't want to be late and get detention from Miss H. I'm ready to get this day over with, and the last thing I want to do is make it last any longer than it has to."

Lita glared darkly at Darien before addressing her petite friend. "You want a piggy back ride, Serena? I don't mind being your beast of burden this morning. A tiny little thing like you couldn't weigh much anyway."

That actually brought forth a giggle from the blonde. "No thanks, Lita. I think I can handle putting one foot in front of the other."

"That's debatable," Darien whispered under his breath, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Andrew.

"Ouch!" he hissed. "What the hell was that for?"

"For being an idiot!" Andrew growled under his breath as they fell into step behind the group of girls. "You just can't help yourself, can you? You are never going to win her over if you keep insulting her like that."

Darien rolled his eyes. "I already told you, I don't want to win her over. She's not my type."

"She's so much your type that it's not even funny," Andrew contradicted. "Just look at what she has accomplished with the people around her. Amy never spoke to anyone other than teachers until Serena befriended her. People avoided Raye because they thought she was nothing but the crazy psychic girl that lives at the shrine. People ran in the opposite direction from Lita because they thought she was a bully, and Mina was shunned because it was assumed that she would be stuck up because she's done a couple of movies. She became their friend and brought them together. And don't even get me started on what she's done for you."

Darien took a big gulp of his coffee. "Meatball Head has done nothing but irritate me from day one. I don't see how that's doing me any favors."

Andrew shook his head. "Keep telling yourself that and maybe eventually you'll believe it. But anyone with eyes can see the change she's brought around in you. When we first met you didn't talk to anyone. It took me over a week of sitting next to you in Biology to even get a response. After that I was the only one you spoke to unless it was absolutely necessary. Then you met Serena. The next thing I knew you were opening up and making friends. You started hanging out with Asanuma, Kobyashi, and me and enjoying life. So don't tell me she hasn't helped you. She freed you from that wall that you built around yourself."

Darien gaped at his friend as he sped up to join Serena and hand her back her bag. Darien was surprised to see that they had arrived at school. He hitched his own bag up higher on his shoulder and began climbing the steps to the entrance.

"You're not worthy of her love," a quiet voice stopped him. He looked up to see Mina standing at the top of the stairs.

"Excuse me?" he asked in his normal, unemotional tone.

Mina's normally bubbly demeanor had been replaced by one of seriousness. "You heard me. Serena is one of the most special people in the world. There is someone out there for everyone, and Serena's no exception. When she finds the one that she's destined to be with, the love between them will rival anything you've ever seen. When Serena loves it's with her whole heart. And there's nothing that she wouldn't do for those she loves. She would even be willing to die for them."

"Whoa! Impressive," Darien said nonchalantly. "I never knew you could be so deep, Mina. Maybe you should see about taking on some more serious acting roles. You could be a box office hit."

He was shocked when she actually growled at him. "Don't be condescending toward me! I'm just giving you the facts. The truth is that Serena cares for you. I don't know why she does. Maybe it's because she just doesn't have it in her to hate anyone. But I'm tired of seeing you hurt her. So I'm telling you, as her friend, to back off. She doesn't need to deal with your shit!"

"I'll think about it," he said noncommittally as he swept by her and through the doors.

Mina sighed and rolled her eyes at his arrogance. She wasn't surprised to hear the bushes next to her rustle a few seconds later.

"Venus, what are you doing?" a voice asked as a white cat stuck his head through the leaves.

She glanced over at him. "What I have to, Artemis. I am the goddess of love after all. The Dark Kingdom grows more powerful every day. Serena won't stand a chance against Beryl if she doesn't have all the support she needs. I know the others will awaken soon, but she needs him too. Has Luna had anything important to report?"

Artemis had been keeping in contact with his feline counterpart through the moon computer that he and Mina had set up in a secret control room under the Crown Arcade before they had left for London a few years before to lay a fake trail for the Dark Kingdom to follow and pull them away from Japan so that the other scouts and the princess wouldn't be discovered too soon. But they were running out of time.

He sighed. "Nothing big. She's concerned about putting Serena in the line of fire like this though. She doesn't have her memories of the past and has no prior training. Not to mention that without the crystal her attacks are not at their strongest. Do you really think that it was wise to make her a scout? It may be too much for her."

"I'm positive, Artemis," she reassured him. "It was the way Queen Serenity wanted it done. This isn't the Silver Millennium anymore where she can sit safely in the palace while we defend her. She will be on the front line in this fight, and she needs the experience to prepare her for it."

"Are you going to reveal yourself to her?" he asked.

Mina shook her head. "Not yet. She needs more time to learn to stand on her own. And Mr. Princey also needs to get his head out of his ass. I can't believe he's just as stubborn in this life as he was in the last. I'll continue to watch over them like I have been doing. If they are in extreme danger I'll step in, but I'm hoping for some more time. It won't be long before Beryl has enough energy to awaken Metallia. Then she'll find out about the Rainbow Crystals and go after them. With luck the other scouts will be awake by then and we'll have a lead on how to find the crystals before they do."

The warning bell rang and Mina dashed away. "I've gotta run before I'm late. We'll talk more later."

* * *

Serena leaned her cheek against her palm as she stared out the window beside her. The gloomy, overcast autumn day seemed to mirror her mood perfectly. It had been a horrible week. She had been forced by Luna to transform into Sailor Moon twice since the attack on Molly at her mother's jewelry store.

The first time was when this enemy that Luna called the Dark Kingdom had set up base at a fortune telling store to steal people's energy and the second time was when they had produced a late night radio show where women wrote in with love letters that they hoped to have read on the air. The ones chosen had been sent a flower broach that sucked the energy from them. She had forced her way into the radio station, with the help of the handy Luna Pen that Luna had given her, to confront the enemy.

That had scared the crap out of her. The youma had been bad enough to fight, but when she had come face to face with that blonde haired man she had almost felt her blood freeze in fear. The way that he had stopped her tiara attack had made her sure that she was a goner. Thank goodness Tuxedo Mask had shown up to bail her out again.

She sighed as she thought about the mysterious caped hero who always seemed to show up at the right moment to save her. She was confused about her feelings for him. Her heart always seemed to speed up when he was around, a situation that usually occurred when she was in the presence of a certain ebony haired upperclassman. Maybe her reaction to Tuxedo Mask was just a result of the relief she felt when she saw that flash of red and found a red rose streaking between her and whatever danger was heading her way.

It was strange though that she had dreamt of Tuxedo Mask before she had met him. Maybe it had been fate telling her that they were supposed to meet. But now her dreams had taken an odd turn. One minute she would be dancing with Tuxedo Mask, and the next she would be in Darien Shields' arms. Perhaps her dreams were confusing the two of them because of the similarities between them. They were both tall with slim, muscular builds and shiny black hair. She hadn't had a chance yet to see Tuxedo Mask's eyes because of the mask he wore, but in her mind she couldn't picture him having any other color than the deep, hypnotizing blue that she adored so much on Darien.

Okay, so her poor addled little brain kept mixing the two guys up. She could handle that. What she was having a hard time dealing with was when her dreams would shift from being held by handsome men to nightmares of blood and death. That was where the third man that had decided to start haunting her came in.

She could never see his face. And in the circumstances she always found herself in with him, she was glad. She knew he was dead. If the blood that spread in a pool around his body and stained his black and silver armor didn't give it away, then the way her dream self would scream and sob over his prone form did. Night after night, sometimes more than once, she found herself kneeling in his blood, begging him to come back to her. His name echoed like a constant mantra in her head, "Endymion".

She felt the headache that she had been fighting all morning begin to pound harder behind her eyes and her throat felt sore and scratchy. And was that a sniffle she felt coming on? Maybe she really was coming down with something. She had invented her cold this morning to cover up her exhaustion so that her friends wouldn't become suspicious, but perhaps it was becoming the real deal. Her face suddenly felt hot and her eyes burned.

A hand slapped down on her desk and she jumped two feet out of her seat, arms flailing. Her eyes shot up, almost expecting to find that creepy, blonde Dark Kingdom guy staring at her with murder in his eyes. But instead she found herself confronted by the irritated face of her English teacher.

"Serena! Have you been paying attention to my class at all, or have you been lost in daydreams this entire time?" Miss Haruna asked in her best annoyed teacher voice.

"Sorry Miss H," she mumbled. How could she have ever been happy to see that her teacher had recovered quickly from the evil radio show flower that she had received? "I guess I spaced out for a minute."

"More like for a half hour!" Miss Haruna snapped. "Since you seem to already know so much that you do not need to pay attention in my class, why don't you go and diagram the sentence I have written on the board?"

Serena grumbled, but stood up. Her head spun a little and she had to walk carefully down the aisle to keep from appearing to be drunk. She picked up a piece of chalk and stared at the English words on the board. This was one of her most hated subjects. She'd had a hard enough time learning proper Japanese grammar, and that was her native language. Did she really have to learn English too?

The letters blurred and ran together. She blinked her bleary, burning eyes as she tried to make heads or tails of what she was supposed to be doing.

She finally gave up and sat the chalk back down. "I'm sorry, Miss H. I just can't do it."

Miss Haruna grew concerned as she studied her student closely. While Serena wasn't the best student in her class, she wasn't the worst either. And she usually brightened the classroom just with her presence. But today that light was dim. The girl's cheeks were red, but the rest of her face was deathly pale and her eyes shown feverishly.

"Serena, are you sick? Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" she asked immediately.

"I'm fine. But do you think I could be excused to the restroom for a minute?" Serena whispered.

"Of course!" the auburn haired teacher readily agreed before scribbling out a pass and handing it to her. "And if you're still feeling bad afterward, please go to the nurse. You don't look well, Serena."

"Yes ma'am," the blonde agreed weakly as she accepted the pass and trudged slowly from the room. She breathed a sigh of relief a few minutes later when she found the girl's restroom deserted. She needed a few moments alone.

She looked at her reflection in disgust. No wonder Miss Haruna had changed her tune so quickly. She looked like the walking dead. Her face was snow white with two bright red patches on her cheeks. Her eyes seemed larger than usual in her narrow face and they burned so brightly they were almost glowing.

She turned the cold water in the sink on full blast and soaked a paper towel before holding it to her hot face. She flinched from it at first before finding relief in the coolness. It quickly turned warm from the heat of her skin, so she kept changing it for a fresh one.

After about the tenth or twelfth one, she began to feel somewhat normal again. She pulled the last paper towel from her face and used a dry one to pat the dampness from her skin. She studied herself carefully. Her cheeks were still a little flushed, but at least her skin had regained some color. Her throat was still hurting, so she decided to make a quick stop by the drink machine on her way back to class.

She shuffled down the hall with her head down, her feet automatically leading her to her destination. As she approached the drink machine she looked up, just in time for her to smack face first into someone's back.

"Ouch!" she hissed as she rubbed her nose where it felt like it had just collided with a brick wall. Then louder she apologized, "Sorry. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"And how would that be different from any other day, Meatball Head?" the last voice in the world she wanted to hear right now answered her.

She looked up, way up. Did he have to be so much taller than her? "Oh! It's just you, jerk. I thought I might have bumped into someone who might remotely qualify as being a human being. My mistake."

Darien smirked at her and was about to reply in kind when he suddenly stopped himself, thinking back on the harsh words that Andrew and Mina had delivered to him that morning. Maybe he should lay off of her a bit. She really didn't look like she was at the top of her game right now anyway.

"What are you doing out of class?" he asked instead.

"I could ask you the same thing," she flung back at him. Then she continued. "Not that it's any of your business, but I wasn't feeling too great while in English. So Miss H. gave me permission to go to the restroom for a minute. But my throat is dry and scratchy, so if you would please stop hogging the machine, I would like to get a drink."

She was shocked when he merely stepped aside without a word. She watched him warily from the corner of her eye as she pulled some money from the pocket of her skirt and put it in the machine. She waited for the insult that she knew would be coming any second. He remained silent until she made her selection.

"Uh…" he began, but was cut off as her eyes snapped to his, eyes that were far too red and feverish looking for his liking.

"What!" she snapped. "What could you possibly find to ridicule me about this time? All I'm doing is simply buying a drink."

"Chill out, Meatball Head," he ground out. "I was simply going to say that a Coke might not be the best thing to drink if you have a sore throat. It'll burn like hell."

She shrugged and popped the top. "Probably will. But it has caffeine in it and I need an energy boost."

"If you say so," he said as he tossed his empty Mountain Dew can into a nearby trashcan. He turned back to the machine and quickly bought another that he began guzzling like a man dying of thirst.

"Geez, thirsty much?" Serena asked in amusement. Who'd have ever thought after all the cracks he'd made about the number of milkshakes she could put down in one sitting that she would discover that he had a gluttonous side too.

He drained the last from the can before tossing it aside to join the first. "I just needed a boost like you, I guess. I was about to pass out in chemistry, so I asked to be excused."

"The great genius, Darien Shields is skipping out soaking up more knowledge into his brain? What is the world coming to?" Serena said in an attempt to sound joking, but she sounded more tired than anything. She took a gulp of her Coke and hissed as the carbonation hit her raw throat.

Darien felt a rush of sympathy for her. "You look really wiped out. Maybe you should go home and get some rest." She looked more than wiped out, she looked sick. And if he wasn't mistaken she definitely looked to be running a fever.

She shook her head quickly and then moaned as she pressed her hand to her forehead. "No. I'll be okay. I've just got this damn headache I can't shake." That and she knew that if she went home her mother would force her into bed. If she went to bed she would fall asleep. If she fell asleep her dreams would come back. And if by some chance she didn't pass out the moment her head touched the pillow she would have to suffer through Luna's nonstop babbling about finding the princess, the crystal, and the other scouts so that they could defeat the Dark Kingdom

Darien glared at her. "You're so freaking stubborn! At least come with me to my locker. I have some aspirin in there. You need to take something for your head and I'm positive you're running fever. If you don't I'm going to throw you over my shoulder and haul you to the nurse's office myself."

"All right, all right! I'll take you up on your offer, but only because my head is pounding. You don't have to go all caveman on me. We're almost in the 21st century you know," Serena grouched as she followed him down the hall.

"Aww, quit your bellyaching, Meatball Head," Darien tossed over his shoulder. "I promise you'll be thanking me for it later when you feel better. Just leave it to Dr. Shields. I'll fix you right up."

Serena gave an unladylike snort. "Right. The day you become a doctor will be the day I become the queen of the world. I'll live in a huge palace and be married to a handsome king and the people of the world will bow to my every wish." (A/N If that's not some foreshadowing of the events of What If; I don't know what is…hee hee!)

"Please! You are the last person that anyone would put in charge of a lemonade stand, much less an entire planet. You are so stuck in the land of fairytales. Monarchy is a thing of the past in most countries now. So you have about as much chance of being queen of the Earth as I have of becoming king," Darien retorted. (A/N Ooo…he's going to have to eat those words later!)

Serena rolled her eyes. "Of course you wouldn't be king if I was queen. That would imply that we would be married to one another, and I can assure you that would never happen, even if we were the last two people on Earth."

"For once we agree on something," Darien said as he stopped at his locker. He felt the bump against his back and Serena muttering to herself and grinned. It felt nice to be talking to Serena. Sure they were still insulting one another, but this was more of a playful banter instead of their usual screaming matches. It felt almost comforting in a way.

Unknown to him, Serena was thinking along the same lines. For once she was enjoying trading barbs with him. And she could get her fill of looking at him while she did it. As she watched his face as he dialed in his combination, she frowned a little. Darien didn't look to be in tiptop shape himself. His face looked strained and he had dark circles under his eyes that could rival her own.

"You know, Shields, you're the pot calling the kettle black when it comes to talking about someone looking like walking death. If you accumulate much more baggage under those eyes you'll have an entire set of luggage," she said slyly.

He gave her a crooked smile that had her heart doing flip-flops in her chest. "Unlike certain Meatball Heads that sit up all night reading mangas, I actually study." He reached into his locker to pull out a bottle and shook two tablets into his hand. "Here, take these. They're bound to make you feel better since you refuse to go home and rest."

"Thanks," she replied grudgingly, trying to ignore the way his hand brushed hers as she took the pills from him. She popped them into her mouth and washed them down with what remained of her drink. "I guess I better get back to class before Haruna sends a search party out for me."

"Same here," he said as he closed the locker door. "So I'll see you at lunch?"

She nodded. Even though they were sworn enemies, they always seemed to end up together at lunch. It was only natural she supposed since she and Andrew were such old friends. So it usually ended up with her, Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina sharing a table with Andrew, Darien, Asanuma, and Kobyashi; at least when the weather was cold. When it was warm out they all seemed to gravitate to a large oak tree in the courtyard. Spending time with the group of junior boys had made the sophomore girls the envy of every other female at Azabu High.

"I'll see you in about fifteen minutes then," Darien told her before he turned to walk away in the direction of the chemistry lab.

"Yeah, see ya then," Serena said softly. She pitched her empty can into a nearby trashcan, grinning a little when it landed neatly inside even though she was standing at least twelve feet away. Maybe the training that Luna was making her do with her tiara was paying off after all.

* * *

"So what's up with Serena?" Asanuma asked as he sat down at the table across from Lita. "She seemed pretty out of it when I had history with her earlier. I was almost afraid that she had turned into a zombie and would start attacking people and eating their brains or something."

"Eww! Who's eating brains?" Mina exclaimed as she took a seat next to Lita.

The tall brunette chuckled. "Asanuma thinks Serena has turned into a zombie."

Amy's blue head popped out from behind the trigonometry book she was studying. "I'm sure Asanuma was just joking. Everybody knows that zombies are fictional characters. So the chances of Serena turning into one sit at zero."

"You mean she's still here?" Raye said in exasperation as she threw herself down in a chair. "I would have gone home if I felt like she looked. What an idiot!"

"Who's an idiot?" Andrew asked as he joined them. "You're not talking about me are you?"

"Of course not, Drew!" Mina gushed brightly. "Nobody that makes as yummy milkshakes as you could ever be mistaken for an idiot."

"Laying it on a little thick aren't you?" Lita hissed in her ear. "Why don't you just tattoo 'I love Andrew' on your forehead?"

Asanuma, being the eavesdropper he always was, leaned across the table to stick his head between them. "Speaking of love, where are the lovebirds at? Did they finally kill each other, or are they off somewhere in a quiet corner finally admitting their undying love for one another through the swapping of saliva?"

Lita burst into laughter while Mina reared back with a screech. "Gag Numa! Do you have to make everything seem so…gross?"

The blonde boy sat back, his brown eyes twinkling mischievously. "I'm just saying, Serena is usually the first one to the lunch table while Darien is the last. It just seems suspicious."

"And maybe Serena's in the nurse's office, you freak!" Raye said as she opened her lunch and began eating, muttering to herself about perverted teenage boys and how she would love to roast them all in the sacred fire at the shrine. (A/N Just wait until she meets Jake/Jadeite in What If…lol.)

A sudden hush fell over the cafeteria and then there were thunks heard all around as jaws dropped open to hit tabletops. Everyone stared in disbelief as the two biggest enemies in the Azabu/Juuban district walked into the cafeteria together. Usually they would have been screaming at each other, but today they were quietly walking at each other's sides.

"I don't believe it!" Raye hissed.

Lita shook her head a little. "I've got to be seeing things."

Mina whimpered. "Oh no! We've been sucked into the Twilight Zone!"

Kobyashi, who up until now had remained quiet, leaned close to Andrew and Asanuma and whispered, "Sweet! It looks like the betting pool at the arcade is going to be paying out in our favor boys. We're gonna be rich!"

The shock began to wear off and the noise level began to pick up again as Serena and Darien reached the table where their friends were and sat down…next to each other!

At the sound of several sharp intakes of breath, Serena looked up curiously. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Mina quickly answered, waving a careless hand. "So how are you feeling, Serena?"

Serena smiled. "A little better actually. Shields here had a moment of human compassion and gave me some aspirin. I haven't dropped dead yet, so I don't guess he was trying to poison me."

"Ha ha, very funny, Meatball Head!" Darien muttered sarcastically.

Several pairs of hands clamped over ears in anticipation of the shriek that usually came from Serena after Darien used his nickname for her, but it never came. Instead she opened her lunch and began studying everyone else's to see if anyone had anything good worth trading for. Lita and Andrew were always a safe bet. With both of them being cooks they packed the best lunches. But her eyes strayed to the lunch of the boy next to her.

"See something you want?" Darien asked with a smirk.

Her nose scrunched up as she eyed his turkey and swiss on rye, salad, and container of yogurt. "No thanks! Eww, do you always eat so disgustingly healthy?"

He shrugged. "I try. I'd probably be a five hundred pound blimp if I did nothing but inhale burgers and milkshakes all the time. But I do indulge in some guilty pleasures." He popped the top of yet another can of Mountain Dew.

"You know," Serena began thoughtfully. "If you keep downing those things like that, the basketballs won't be the only thing dribbling on the court."

Their friends waited with bated breath for the biting insult that would shatter the peace that was reigning at the table and send Serena into a wailing fit.

Instead Darien laughed. "Hey! That was a good one! Now eat your lunch. It'll make you feel better and boost your energy. Don't forget, we have gym next."

Serena moaned audibly. "Don't remind me. I need sugar, bad! Lita, Drew, please tell me that one of you brought something sinfully decadent for dessert."

* * *

Jadeite looked around the gym, pleased with the number of clueless mortals that had stumbled willingly into his clutches. Taking their energy would be easy.

'_Jadeite! How is your plan succeeding? We need more energy in order to wake our Great_ _Leader,'_ a screechy, high-pitched voice rang through his head.

'_All is going according to plan, my queen,'_ he replied telepathically. _'Humans expend a lot of energy while exercising. It shouldn't be too hard to collect that energy for our uses.'_

_'I hope you're right, Jadeite. I grow weary with your failures. Don't disappoint me again!'_

'_As you wish, Queen Beryl,'_ he answered as the connection between them faded.

This plan had to work. It was flawless. Instead of sucking all the energy from the pathetic humans and giving himself away with a trail of unconscious bodies, he would just take a little from each person. It would take longer to collect the amount of energy that Queen Beryl required, but there would be less chance of any unwanted interference.

"Sailor Moon," he snarled. The nosy little brat had managed to foil every plan that he had come up with so far. She had been a complete surprise when she had shown up. His memories of the past were vague, but he was certain that there had been no Sailor Moon during the Silver Millennium. There had been four sailor scouts, Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter, but never a scout of the moon. He wondered just where the hell she had come from.

And that buffoon Tuxedo Mask, he always seemed to show up at just the right moment to toss a few wimpy roses, whisk Sailor Moon out of harm's way, and give her a corny, yet inspirational speech. Then he would disappear as quickly as he had arrived. For some reason the sight of him stirred an anger in Jadeite unlike any he had ever felt before.

What it all boiled down to was that the two of them were a hindrance in his mission to collect the energy his queen needed to reawaken their true master, Metallia, and they needed to be exterminated.

* * *

"I hate him!" Serena screamed as she slammed her bedroom door. "I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" she shrieked and threw herself down the bed.

Luna looked up from where she had been grooming herself on the window seat. She had only been with Serena for two weeks, but she had been around long enough to know that there was only one person who could elicit such a violent reaction from the blonde.

"More trouble with Darien? I thought the two of you had called a truce and were getting along," she said as she licked her paw.

"Stupid, insensitive jerk!" Serena grumbled into her pillow. "I thought we were too, until he had to open his big fat mouth! I knew the past week was too good to be true."

The day after she and Darien had finally broken the ice around them, Serena had woken up from an amazing dreamless sleep to the reality that her cold had sat in with a vengeance. She had missed two days of school while she huddled under her covers with a stuffy nose, sore throat, and a wracking cough. Her friends had stopped by everyday to see her, and to her surprise, Darien had as well. He came by after school both afternoons to bring her a milkshake from the arcade and pass on Andrew and the other guy's best wishes.

Once she had recovered and returned to school, things between them had remained tolerant. They still made fun of each other constantly, but it never turned into anything serious, until this afternoon.

After lunch everyday, their whole group of friends had P.E. together. It had been then that disaster had struck. The coach had gotten up in front of the class to announce that tickets for the winter dance would be going on sale next week. That had sent the girls into a flurry of chatter.

"Ooo, a dance. It'll be so much fun!" Mina enthused. "Boys, and music…and more boys!"

"That would be fine if they weren't all a bunch of deranged idiots," Raye scoffed.

"Can we bring friends from other schools?" Lita wondered. "I'd love to invite Ken. I haven't seen him in a while."

Amy shuddered. "I don't do well at social events. I'll probably just stay home and study."

"Oh Amy!" Serena had said as she put a comforting arm around her quiet friend. "I know you're still upset about Greg moving away, but we'll all be there. You have to come. It wouldn't be the same without you. Now I wonder if my mom would give me the money for a new dress. There's this one at the mall that I've been eying for a while."

Then Darien had to go and ruin everything. "What does it matter what you wear, Meatball Head? I'm sure you'll be going stag because no guy in his right mind would ask you out. You'll probably be stuck being a wallflower all night, so what you're wearing will be unimportant. You'd get more enjoyment by taking that money and using it to buy more manga and junk to stuff in your mouth."

Serena had frozen in shock, as did everyone else. Darien hadn't exactly been sweet the past week, but he hadn't said anything that hurtful to her in a while. She lost her temper.

"Go to hell, Shields! Nobody asked you for your opinion!" she yelled at him. "And you don't exactly have a lot of room to talk. You may be Mr. Star Basketball Player with a giggling group of fangirls trailing after you, but I bet if any of them actually had to spend time in the presence of your assholish behavior they would run as far and as fast as they could!"

She had stomped off to the other side of the gym with the girls following her and had spent the rest of class ignoring him. She didn't see the death glare that Mina shot at the black haired junior or the bewildered look on his face. Amy tried to console her while Raye said she was better off without the moron hanging around. Lita offered to kick his ass and Mina backed her up.

It had been the longest gym class of her life, and she had been grateful when the bell finally rang. Her last couple of classes had passed in a blur, and when the end of the day came she had skipped out on her usual trip to the arcade, She told her friends that she was tired and wanted to go home.

It wasn't a complete lie. Sure the Dark Kingdom hadn't launched any more attacks, but Luna had started insisting on nightly training sessions. She had been surprised to learn that there was a hidden control room under the arcade, complete with a full training room. Her body now ached in places that she didn't know she could ache.

"Life sucks, Luna!" she moaned as she rolled over to look at the ceiling.

Luna hopped down from the window seat and walked over to the bed to jump up next to her young charge. "Well you need to push this depression aside, Serena. I've received some information on the Dark Kingdom. It seems they've been busier than we thought. There's a place not too far away that we need to go check out."

Serena sighed. "Right now, Luna? I just got home." Then she shrieked as she found herself looking at a set of razor sharp claws only inches from her face.

"Yes, right now," the feline hissed. "You are Sailor Moon! And if the enemy has a plan to steal more energy it is your job to stop them."

"Okay, okay, keep your tail on. I'm going," Serena grumbled as she got up off the bed.

Forty-five minutes later she found herself standing in front of a fitness gym. "Are you sure about this, Luna?"

The black cat nodded. "I'm positive. I'm getting some really bad vibes from this place. Now why don't you go in and pretend to be a customer. I'm going to snoop around and see if I find anything."

"Fine," Serena growled as she reached for the door.

"Serena!" a familiar voice called to her. She turned to find an unexpected surprise.

"Molly!" she gasped. And sure enough there was her childhood best friend hurrying toward her. "What are you doing here?"

Molly grabbed her up in a huge hug. "I just wanted to check this place out. Everybody is ranting over the results they've been getting from here. It's supposed to be pretty high tech stuff. What are you doing here?"

Serena shrugged. "Same thing. I was curious."

"Well what are we standing out here for? Let's go!" Molly cried, clutching Serena's hand in hers and dragging her inside, waving to her two friends that had accompanied her to follow them.

* * *

Darien smothered a yawn as he looked across the desk at the guidance counselor, Mrs. Tomayashi. He had forgotten that he had set up a meeting with her until he had received a reminder during his last period class. He had been tempted to cancel it so he could hurry to the arcade after basketball practice and find Serena to apologize to her for what he said earlier, but he had waited for over two weeks for this appointment and he didn't want to blow it.

"So Mr. Shields, what concerns did you have about your schedule?" Mrs. Tomayashi asked as she pushed her glasses up her nose. "I thought we had lined out what courses you wanted to take at the end of last year."

Darien straightened up and tried to look alert. He could really use a caffeine boost right now. He had spent every night this week as Tuxedo Mask, going out and combing the city for any sign of Sailor Moon or enemy activity, although he rather hoped to find the former first. The Serenity in his dreams was becoming increasingly desperate for him to find the Silver Crystal. And since Sailor Moon was the leader of her guard it made since for them to work together. They were on the same team after all.

But right now he had to concentrate on his real life. He pushed all thoughts of Sailor Moon and Serenity from his head. "Yes ma'am, we went over my schedule meticulously before. But as you know I am hoping to go into pre-med in college, so making sure I have the proper credits is important to me. I was just thinking that if any changes need to be made to my schedule that now would be the time since the end of the semester is coming."

The brunette woman opened the file in front of her and looked it over carefully. Right about that time Darien felt tingle of something run down his spine and every hair on his body stood on end. Then he felt the burning in his chest. He now knew what it meant, Sailor Moon had transformed.

'_Great! I spend all week looking for her, and now she shows up when I can't get away,'_ he groaned inwardly as he fought against the urge he felt to transform. It hurt like hell, but he was able to keep it together.

"Well I'm not seeing anything glaringly obvious that we need to change," Mrs. Tomayashi said, not looking up to see his obvious discomfort. "Your main concerns should be…"

Darien no longer heard her as he felt a wave of fear crash through him that almost made him jump from his seat. Sailor Moon was in trouble, he didn't know how he knew it, he just did.

"So as long as you take Calculus and Biochemistry next year, I don't see any problems with you being accepted into any pre-med program," the counselor finished.

Darien could barely contain himself as he forced himself to rise casually from the chair and thank Mrs. Tomayashi. The moment the door was closed behind him he broke into a run, grateful that it was after school hours and the halls were empty. He burst through the nearest exit and dove behind a large clump of bushes where he finally let his transformation wash over him.

He sighed in relief as the burning sensation faded, but gasped a moment later as adrenaline fueled panic punched through his gut. He stuck his head out from his hiding place to make sure there was no one around. Seeing the schoolyard was deserted, he pushed off from the ground to jump onto the roof of the school. He had quickly learned that the fastest way to travel was to jump from rooftop to rooftop.

"Hold on, Sailor Moon. I'm coming as fast as I can."

* * *

Serena sighed as she slipped out of the large exercise room. She had thought she was achy before, but now every nerve ending seemed to throb in pain. When she had entered the gym an hour before with Molly and her classmates, she thought she was just going in to look around. But as soon as they had walked in one of the trainers, a young, blonde, and though she was loathe to admit it, good looking guy had offered them a free trial to see if they liked the facility.

Serena hadn't felt like exercising, but she had decided to use it to her advantage to see if she could find anything suspicious. But after running for a while on a treadmill and spending some time on an exercise bike, she figured Luna must be imagining things and decided to call it quits.

She entered the locker room, intending to change clothes and head for home, when she saw a sign advertising that the club had a full spa complete with a hot tub. Thinking it would be nice to soak in the warm, bubbling water, she headed in the direction the sign pointed her.

A few minutes later she sighed as she settled down beneath the surface of the soothing water. "Ahh…much better." She closed her eyes as she felt the liquid warmth begin to work its wonders on her tired, aching body.

She began to feel drowsy as her body relaxed, but her senses snapped back to full alert when she heard the creak of the door opening. Her eyes popped open and she looked to find that the door had been pushed open several inches, but there was no sign of anyone else having entered the spa.

"Serena!" a voice hissed in her ear.

Startled, she jumped, barely catching herself before she slipped under the water. Her head whipped around so that she could glare at the black cat that was sitting on the side of the tub.

"What the hell, Luna? You scared the crap out of me!"

Luna looked anything but contrite. "Well if you had been paying attention to the job we are here to do instead of lounging around in hot tubs, I wouldn't have been able to sneak up on you like that."

Serena waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever! I spent an hour going through torture in this place and never saw anything even remotely suspicious; unless you count the fact that all of the trainers look like they're pumped up on anabolic steroids or something. All except that first guy we met when we came in, he looked normal enough. But he creeped me out a little at the same time. There was something familiar about him."

Luna felt her patience snap. "That's because it was Jadeite you idiot! He's using this gym as a front to collect people's energy. He's got some kind of machine down in the basement that he's passing off as some kind of high tech relaxation chamber and people are falling for it. He's already attacked your friend Molly and her classmates, and now he's got that English teacher of yours in there."

Serena shivered at the sound of Jadeite's name. Luna had confirmed his identity after she had caught a glimpse of him during the fight at the radio station. She told Serena that he was definitely one of Queen Beryl's high ranking generals, but Serena felt more comfortable just calling him 'scary blonde guy'.

"Great!" she groaned. "What is it with Molly and Miss H. always getting tangled up in this mess? Do they have targets painted on them with a sign that says 'come and get me'? Honestly!"

"We don't have time for that right now. You need to transform into Sailor Moon and shut this operation down before it's too late," Luna demanded.

"Fine," Serena said dejectedly as she climbed from the tub. She quickly toweled off and discarded the wet bathing suit for her clothes. She pulled the broach from her bow and held it up. "Moon Prism Power!"

Transforming still felt strange to her, but she did enjoy the feeling of that rush of power that ran through her as the light and ribbons wrapped around her body. She was out the door with Luna on her heels as soon as her transformation was complete.

Following Luna's directions, she crept down a flight of stairs that led to a dark, gloomy basement. If it hadn't been for the glow of light coming from the massive machine with what looked like alien pods attached to it, she wouldn't have been able to see her hand in front of her face, much less the scene before.

Luna had been right, Miss Haruna was inside one of the pods while Jadeite stood in front of it, cackling in glee at the sight of the energy that was flowing freely from the teacher in shimmering waves.

Sailor Moon stiffened her back and called out in a tone that she hoped didn't betray her fear. "The game's over negajerk! How dare you trick people like this in order to steal their energy! I'm Sailor Moon! And it's time for you to pay for what you have done!"

He turned his head to smirk at her. "Ah, Miss Moon, so nice of you to join us. I didn't expect you to uncover our operation quite this quickly, but no matter. Allow me to introduce you to a few of my associates."

Out of the shadows came the three beefcake trainers from earlier, and they began to converge on Sailor Moon who shrieked and began backing away.

"Sailor Moon, what are you doing?" Luna demanded. "You have to stand up to them."

She squealed and danced out of the way as one of them lunged for her. "But they're so big! Were they this big earlier? I can't fight all three of them at once! They'll flatten me into a pancake!"

"You can and you will!" Luna insisted. "Just remember what I've taught you. Find a way to take out those headbands they're wearing. I'm sure that's how Jadeite is controlling them."

Sailor Moon quit darting around and turned to look at her adversaries. Sure enough, each one of them had a gold band similar to her tiara around their heads. How could she get those off of them? She didn't want to get too close.

That idea flew out the window a moment later when two of the goons moved in on her. Reacting on instinct, she punched one as hard as she could in the stomach before spinning and kicking the second one with all her might. She turned to find that the third one had snuck up behind her and she jumped back, losing her footing and falling to the ground. She whimpered as her knee cracked painfully against the concrete.

The third trainer was bearing down on her, and her gaze darted around quickly. A red rose would look really good right about now. Where was Tuxedo Mask? He always came to her rescue when she needed help. The hulking ape of a man was almost right on top of her. She screwed her eyes shut and waited for the worst.

Then an idea popped into her head. It was a move that Luna had been trying to teach her, but she had yet to get it to work right. She didn't have a choice though; it was her last chance. She just hoped that she didn't kill any of them with this stunt. It wasn't their fault that they had been brainwashed into fighting for Jadeite.

She ripped her tiara from her head and charged it quickly before flinging it in front of her. "Moon Tiara Magic!"

She concentrated on the glowing disc as she never had before, willing it to follow her directions. It skimmed by the face of the first trainer, barely missing him but nicking the headband, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. She then changed its course to send it at the other two. She breathed a sigh of relief as the headbands disappeared without harming anyone and they fell unconscious to the ground.

Her tiara returned to her hand and she turned to face Jadeite. The blonde man scowled at her with hatred burning bright in his blue eyes. "You'll pay for that Sailor Moon! Where's your little boyfriend? He usually shows up to rescue you. Well let's see if he can save you from me!" A ball of fiery red energy appeared in his hand.

'_Jadeite! Return! Now!' _Beryl's voice screeched through his head.

"_But my queen, I have the moon brat helpless and in front of me,' _he protested.

A growl echoed in his mind. _'I don't care about the twit right now. I'm more concerned with the fact that you have failed me again. Now return to me this instant!'_

'_Yes, queen Beryl,' _he replied. Then he snarled at Sailor Moon. "This isn't over, Sailor Moon! We will meet again!" _'If Beryl doesn't kill me first.' _Then he disappeared through a portal.

"Good job, Sailor Moon. I'm proud of you," Luna beamed. "I knew you had it in you. Now why don't you head home and get some rest. You worked hard today and deserve it. I'll call the authorities and get help for these people. I'll see you later."

Sailor Moon smiled at her feline advisor. "Thanks, Luna. I think I'll do that. I'll see you at home." She rushed up the stairs as fast as her aching knee would allow and then out a back exit to an alley. She looked around cautiously before jumping to the roof of a nearby building. She sat down and cradled her injured knee. It hurt like hell and would probably be black and blue by morning.

She sensed someone behind her, and turned to grin. "You're a little late this time."

Tuxedo Mask walked toward her with his cape billowing behind him. "My apologies. I was stuck in an appointment and it took me a few minutes to get out. Are you okay?"

She gave him what she hoped was a believable smile. "I'm fine, just a little shaken up. And don't worry about being late, I'm sure you have a real life that doesn't involve looking out for klutz queens like me."

He chuckled. "Just like I'm sure you have a real life that doesn't include running around and blasting monsters with a glowing tiara."

She frowned a little as she thought about how messed up her real life was at the moment. Sure, she had her friends, but Darien was a huge wrench in her normal existence right now.

"Hey! What's the matter?" Tuxedo Mask asked as he hunkered down next to her. "Did I say something wrong?"

His husky voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Oh no. I was just thinking about something."

"Wanna talk about it?" he offered.

She shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about really. It's just…relationship trouble."

"Oh!" he replied, wondering why he was so surprised. A girl as attractive and caring as Sailor Moon was bound to have a boyfriend waiting in the wings somewhere, but what idiot would give this angel of a heroine a hard time?

"It's no big deal," she reassured him with a wave of her hand. "He's not a boyfriend or anything, just a friend that I would love to strangle right now for being an idiot. You see, there's this girl that likes him, a lot, and he's being to thick headed to see it."

He thought about how he felt about Serena and how he fought against it everyday. "I understand. Maybe he has his reasons for it. Two people can like each other and still be completely unsuited for one another."

"Perhaps," Sailor Moon whispered as she stared out over the city. The sun was beginning to hang low in the sky. "It's getting late. I guess I better get going." She groaned a little as she stood up and her knee protested.

Tuxedo Mask zeroed in on the injured area that was already beginning to swell and discolor. "That's going to hurt like a son of bitch tomorrow."

She giggled. "Probably. But it could have been a lot worse I suppose."

Guilt for not getting here earlier swamped him. "I'm sorry. If I had been here sooner…"

Warm fingers covered his lips. "Hush! I told you that I understand. We may be super heroes, but we still have lives to live. Now I don't want you feeling guilty about this."

He nodded. "Can I give you a lift somewhere to make it easier for you?"

"Well…" she hedged.

"I don't mean take you all the way home," he reassured her. "I understand about protecting secret identities. But maybe I can get you a little closer so you don't have as far to go."

She thought about it for a minute. "Okay. Do you know where the Crown Arcade is?"

He snickered inside. If she only knew how well he knew that place. "Yeah. I know the place."

She looked relieved. "If you could get me there it would be a big help."

"Sure thing," he said with a grin and scooped her up in his arms bridal style. "Hold on tight."

She gripped the lapels of his jacket firmly as he took off over the rooftops like it was nothing. In just a few minutes he dropped into the alley behind the Crown.

"Thanks," she said as he set her gently on her feet, "I guess I'll see you around."

Tuxedo Mask stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Sailor Moon, wait just a minute. There's something I wanted to say to you. I know you're searching for the princess and the Silver Crystal. I am too. We are on the same side. So I propose that we work together. We'll have a better chance that way."

Sailor Moon froze. "You know about the Silver Crystal?"

He nodded. "Princess Serenity has been visiting me in my dreams as far back as I remember, but she only recently began asking me to help her get the crystal. I think it had something to do with you turning into Sailor Moon. She also said that there were other scouts that would awaken soon. We're on the same side in this. I want to help her, and I want to help you. So what do you say?"

She thought about it for a moment. The princess she was looking for had asked Tuxedo Mask for his help? She felt elation run through her. She could definitely use the help. She held a hand out to him. "Partners?"

He grinned and she saw a flash of blue eyes behind his mask. "Partners," he intoned as he gripped her hand.

She felt that shock again like she had felt the night she met him and it stole her breath for a second. She glanced at the darkening sky. "I better go now."

"Wait!" he protested. "We should set a time to meet. How about tomorrow night at the bridge in the park?"

She nodded. "Midnight?" she proposed.

He nodded in agreement. "Midnight."

She stepped away from him. "It's a date. I'll see you then." Then she disappeared around a corner.

He was grinning like a schoolboy. "Definitely, Sailor Moon." He ducked around the side of the arcade and let his transformation fade. He felt a tingling sensation that told him that Sailor Moon had detransformed as well.

He thought about that as he stepped out onto the crowded sidewalk. She was in her civilian form now, blending into the crowd just like him. She could walk right by him and they would never know. It was kind of disconcerting. Maybe one day they would be close enough to share their real identities with one another.

He slid through the doors of the arcade and waved to Andrew. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," the blonde answered. "That meeting took longer than you thought it would, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," Darien replied as his eyes scanned the arcade for a glimpse of those golden meatballs. His talk with Sailor Moon had doubly reassured him that he needed to apologize to Serena for his nasty comments earlier. He spotted Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy at their favorite corner booth, but no Serena.

"She's not here," Andrew said a little coldly. "Not that I blame her. After what you said earlier I would want to stay away from you too."

"I didn't mean any of it, you know that," Darien hastened to say.

Andrew set a soda in front of him. "I know that, and you know that, but Serena takes things to heart, Darien. I don't think I've ever seen a look on her face like the one she had today in gym after you shot her down like that. You better apologize to her."

Darien sighed. "That's why I'm here. I was looking for her so I could tell her I was sorry. Maybe I should go by her house."

Andrew snickered. "Yeah, you do that. I'm sure her father's home from work by now. Ken Tsukino keeps a loaded shotgun in the hall closet just to have handy in case any teenage boys decide to come on his property in an attempt to talk to Serena. Ilene's cool enough, but Ken's like a rabid dog."

"But you go over there all the time," Darien pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm practically family," Andrew said. "Serena and I have known each other all our lives and our parents are best friends. I'm like her brother. So I think it would probably be best to wait until tomorrow to talk to her. Tomorrow's Saturday, so she'll probably be here all day."

"I guess you're right," Darien moaned in a defeated voice. He really wanted to clear up this misunderstanding between them as soon as possible, but not at the risk of becoming up close and personal with an enraged father and his shotgun. He fell silent and took a sip of his soda.

**(Change in POV)**

Sailor Moon darted down a couple of alleys until she was sure that she was a decent distance away from Tuxedo Mask before she tapped the broach on her chest and turned back into Serena. She felt warm and fuzzy inside despite the chill in the air, like she guzzled one of Andrew's large hot chocolates. For the first time since this whole Sailor Moon business started, she felt hopeful.

She had an ally, one that wasn't a talking cat. No disrespect to Luna, she was a wonderful asset and a great teacher despite her bossy ways, but now she had another person to stand by her side. A person who could help her fight against these assholes from the Dark Kingdom. And with Tuxedo Mask's help she would be able to find the other scouts much quicker than on her own, thus taking more of the responsibility off of her already overburdened shoulders. Then once the princess and the crystal had been recovered, the Dark Kingdom would be blasted away and life would return to normal.

She stepped out of the alley and saw with dismay that the route she had taken had put her where she would have to pass the arcade on her way home. She had planned to avoid the place this afternoon to minimize her chances of running into Darien. Her heart still felt shattered from his coarse words earlier, so she thought it was just best to avoid him.

She ducked her head as she hurried by the large window of the arcade, intending to speed by quickly so that nobody would notice her. But when she glanced up from beneath her lashes and saw Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy at their usual booth, laughing and enjoying cocoa, milkshakes, and cheese fries, she ground to a halt.

She was about to turn around and join her friends when she saw that head of silky ebony hair that glinted under the lights. Darien was sitting at the counter chatting with Andrew while he sipped a soda. He looked as if he didn't have a care in the world.

She felt anger bubble up inside her. Darien would do well to take lessons from Tuxedo Mask on how to treat a girl. Tuxedo Mask spoke to her kindly, his voice always low and husky; never loud and condescending the way Darien's was. Darien would have fallen on his ass laughing about how she had stumbled and hurt her knee, but Tuxedo Mask had been genuinely concerned about her well being. And the tender way he had held her while he had carried her across the rooftops; she couldn't picture Darien ever being that gentle with her.

And the most important thing of all, Tuxedo Mask knew the truth. He understood the heavy weight that now rested on her. She could talk to him about it openly and know that he would be able to sympathize with her. That was something that she would never be able to do with Darien. So as much as it tore her up inside, she knew that she needed to let this crazy crush on him go. Her heart would thank her for it later.

So she ducked her head back down and hurried away, never knowing that two people inside the arcade looked up mere moments after she passed. The blonde girl stared out the window with tears shimmering in her blue eyes while the black haired boy looked in confusion. He was certain that he had felt something a moment before. He just didn't know what.

And in the deepening twilight, Serena limped home. Wanting to seek the solace of one of her mother's fabulous dinners, her family's love, and her fluffy, comfortable bed.

**A/N **So there's chapter 2. I hope it wasn't too boring. I think my favorite scenes to write are the ones that take place between Serena and Darien. Whether they are picking on each other or being sweet, they are just too cute. I pulled in a few other characters just to even the odds between the guys and gals a little. For those of you that don't know, Asanuma was a character from the manga who was an underclassman at Darien's school and kind of hero-worshipped him. He also had a crush on Lita that I thought was sweet. And Kobyashi was from an episode in the SuperS season who went to school with Darien and had a crush on a girl named Saori, who in turn liked Darien. Just thought I'd clear that up in case any of you were unsure. And of course we all know who Andrew is (he's my fave right after Darien, but any of you that have read Lunar Princess or GT know that…lol). I always thought they should have had more of him in both the anime and manga. And I'm sure some of you are wondering about Mina and why she's acting the way she is. Well she, Artemis, and Luna all have partial memories from the Silver Millennium and know that Serena and Darien are Serenity and Endymion, but they don't want to say anything until the team is together as a whole and the crystal is found to protect their identities for as long as possible. Okay, I hope that cleared up things if you had any questions. If not feel free to ask. That's enough out of me! Don't forget to tell me what you think…review! LOL! Lots of love to you guys! See ya next update!

~Sere~


	3. Goodbye Old Flame, Hello New Friend

**A/N **Whew! I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get an update out this week. I've had some computer issues going on and it's really messed up my work. I lost a huge chunk of chapter 12 of GT and a few things from some of my other stories I've been planning, including some notes for my real novel (yes, I would love to be published for real someday). So long story short, it's been a hell of a week. Luckily I had this chapter saved on a flash drive and I was able to whip it into shape for you. Needless to say, GT might be a little delayed on the update, but I'm going to try my best.

Okay, enough of my moaning and complaining. Let's move on. Thanks bunches for all of the great reviews for chapter 2. I was excited to see how much you guys are embracing this story. It gives me the warm fuzzies inside. BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Seredhiel05**

**xo Usako ox**

**Chibi Kitt**

**Moon-Bunny557**

**jade2nightwing**

**Fedski**

**amaramichelle**

**tiny2008**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**BostonBill**

**Shinobi of life**

**afallenblackrose**

**rainbabie**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**anime-lover10**

**SailorBoo**

**LGCoffeeAddict**

**Luthien Morgon**

**GoldenDragon326**

**ange de l'aube**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

**chimichurri**

Thank you so much, as always! You are always so kind with your words. Well I'm going to stop blabbering and let you move on. Just a quick note! I have a question about a little dilemma I'm facing with this story that I'll post in my ending notes. So if you don't mind, take a moment to tell me what you think about it. Okay! Nuff said!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 3

Goodbye Old Flame, Hello New Friend

"Serena, are you sure you should be out here gallivanting around like this? I think you should stay at home and rest. Yesterday's fight was pretty rough on you," Luna worried as she followed her mistress down the street.

"Luna, I'm fine," Serena insisted brightly. "Okay, so I was a little bummed out last night. But I'm fine now. Stop worrying so much."

"Just be careful with that knee," the feline muttered.

Serena turned and stooped to pick the cat up. "It's really sweet of you to be concerned about me like this, Luna, but I'm really all right. My knee is almost completely healed thanks to Sailor Moon's fast healing. It's only a little sore and you can't even see the bruise anymore. Which I guess is surprising considering how much it swelled up last night. I never knew skin could turn so many shades of purple. But a good night's sleep was all I needed to set me right again."

'_A good night's sleep my furry foot!'_ Luna thought to herself. She had sat up most of the night, her heart aching for the young girl that had spent half of the night at the mercy of her dreams, twisting and turning as she cried quietly in her sleep. She had alternated between mumbling the names of Darien and Tuxedo Mask before sobbing Endymion's name as she clutched her chest right above her heart. Finally she had quieted and had fallen into a deep sleep.

Serena hugged Luna close for a few more moments before setting her back on the ground. "Now I'm going to the arcade to meet the girls for lunch, Luna. I'm sure you've got something you'd rather be doing besides following me around. Go chase some mice or something."

Luna shot her a contemptuous look. "Fine! I do have some important things to take care of." She turned with a swish of her tail muttering under her breath, "Go chase mice indeed! Do I look like a common alley cat?"

Serena shook her head in amusement as she watched the cat disappear around the corner. Luna could be a bit of a nag, but she was a comfort to have around at times. But sometimes Serena needed to get away from the long discussions about her mission to find the princess, the crystal, and the other scouts and just enjoy being a teenage girl. Thank goodness she had her friends to fall back on for that.

She turned and hurried toward the direction of the arcade, shivering a little as a brisk wind blew by. She was definitely going to forego her usual milkshake in favor of one of Andrew's scrumptious hot cocoas today.

She breathed a sigh of relief as stepped inside the warm confines of the Crown. Predictably the place was busy on such a cold Saturday afternoon. Winter was almost on them, so people were beginning to look for indoor entertainment to avoid the elements outside.

"Hey, Sere!" Andrew called out to her from behind the counter.

She gave him a bright smile and waved to him as she rushed over to the counter, keeping her eyes adverted from the last stool at the end. She knew he was there without even having to look to confirm it. She had felt his presence from the moment the doors had opened. Even now she could feel the stare of his ocean blue eyes boring into her, but she refused to acknowledge it.

'_Let the jerk suffer!' _she thought in an uncharacteristic way. She had done some long, hard soul searching the night before and had decided that she needed to put Darien Shields as far out of her life as she could. She knew that it would be impossible to cut him out completely because of school and mutual friends, but she was going to avoid contact with him as much as possible. He was just another complication that her already hectic life didn't need right now.

"So, what can I get my favorite little sister today? A chocolate milkshake, perhaps?" Andrew said in welcome as she came to lean against the counter.

Serena shivered at his words. "No thanks, Drew. Nothing against your milkshakes but it's too cold for that. And watch it about calling me your little sister. I still remember that time Lizzy got jealous because she thought I was taking her place in your life and she almost torched my manga collection."

Andrew laughed as remembered that incident. His younger sister was a few years younger than him, and she was extremely jealous of his relationship with Serena. One time when the Furuhata's were having dinner at the Tsukino's house a few years back, the red haired then elementary schooler snuck up to Serena's room with a cigarette lighter, intent on burning the mangas that she knew the blonde treasured so much. Luckily Serena and Andrew had walked in and caught her before any damage was done.

"Lizzy got over that phase once she hit middle school, Sere. I think you're safe," he chuckled. "Well since you turned down my milkshake, how about a hot cocoa instead?"

Serena answered with a grin. "Now you're speaking my language. Hook me up."

Andrew turned away to get the requested drink and Serena looked around lazily. Her eyes automatically zoomed in on the back corner booth where she and her friends always sat and wasn't disappointed when she saw the four girls sitting there. She waved to them and gave them the sign that she would join them in a minute.

She had just turned back to face the counter when she felt someone step up beside her and she stiffened in response. She didn't need the drop in the noise level of the arcade or see Andrew reaching for the notebook that he kept records of the odds in the betting pool about her and Darien's ongoing war to know who was standing next to her. It was as if everyone were holding their breath and waiting to see what would happen next.

"Um…Meatball Head…" she heard his voice say hesitantly. This made her almost give in to the temptation to look at him. The cocky, confident, self centered Darien Shields that she knew would never sound so unsure of himself. But she resolutely turned her head to stare in the opposite direction.

She heard a long sigh come from him and felt her hair ruffle as his breath rushed past her ear. "Listen Ser…Serena," he stumbled over her name. "I really need to talk to you."

Andrew came back then with a steaming mug of cocoa and set it in front of her. He was about to say something, but one icy, hard looked from his best friend's steel blue eyes had him backpedaling away.

Serena reached for the hot drink, intending to grab it and escape to the booth with her friends before she got caught up in yet another confrontation with him, but she paused with a startled squeak when a larger, stronger hand covered hers.

"Serena, please," Darien said in a quiet voice. "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you yesterday. I had no right to say that."

Serena felt her insides beginning to melt. He sounded so miserable. It would be so easy to turn to him with a smile and tell him all was forgiven. But then she remembered the piercing pain that she had felt the day before and every other time that Darien had decided to attack her with an unexpected volley of hurtful words and she stiffened her resolve. She couldn't go on being his punching bag anymore; it hurt too much. She had to move on.

But she wasn't a cruel person either, so she finally turned to him with a sigh. "Look Shields," she thought she saw him flinch at her intentional use of his last name, but she was too busy trying to avoid contact with his eyes. She knew that if she looked into those sapphire depths all of her conviction would fly right out the window.

She took a deep breath and continued. "Maybe you don't mean to say the things you do to me, but the point is that you do. I know that on the outside I may seem like nothing more than an air headed blonde with nothing better to do in my life other than drool over movie stars and read manga."

Darien's mouth popped open to protest, but Serena held up a hand to stop him. "Please let me finish. I may come off as being a little flighty sometimes, but I am a person with feelings too. Now I'm not going to hold this against you, I just think that there is something in our personalities that is like oil and water; we just don't mix. So I forgive you for everything that you've ever said to me, and I apologize in return if I have ever said anything that has hurt you, but I think it would be for the best if we try to avoid any interaction with one another. Now if you will excuse me, I have a lunch date to keep."

Darien stood there in shock as he felt her pull her hand from his. He hadn't realized that he had been holding onto it the entire time she had been talking. He watched in silence as she picked up her drink and walked to the back of the arcade to join her friends.

He jumped when a voice spoke right next to him. "Wow! I guess hanging around with Amy is beginning to rub off on her. I don't think I've ever heard Serena sound so serious or so mature."

Darien turned and nodded to Andrew before heading back to his seat at the end of the counter and his abandoned soda.

Andrew followed him. "Dude! Aren't you going to do something? You're not just going to let her walk away from you like that, are you?"

Darien dragged his fingers through his already tousled ebony hair. "I don't know what I'm going to do, Drew. She said that she wanted us to stay away from each other, and I really can't blame her for that. She's right, there's just something about us that doesn't mesh. Why should I keep subjecting her to that type of torment when she doesn't deserve it?"

Andrew's hazel eyes widened in surprise. "So you're giving her up? Just like that?"

The midnight black head shook slowly back and forth. "How can I give up what was never mine to begin with?" Then he smiled sadly at his friend. "Besides, I already told you, I don't like Meatball Head in that way."

"You are so far in denial that it's not even funny," Andrew snorted.

Darien shrugged and stood up. "Whatever you say, man. I've gotta run. I've got some studying to catch up on."

"Stupid, blind bastard!" Andrew hissed under his breath as he watched his obviously heartsick friend leave the arcade.

"Yes he is, isn't he?" a soft voice said right in his ear.

Andrew jumped two feet into the air and let out a yowl like a cat that had gotten its tail stepped on. He whirled to find a pair of baby blue eyes dancing with mirth. "Mina!"

The blonde girl leaned casually over the counter toward him. "The one and only!" she giggled as she flashed him the V sign that had helped make her famous as Sailor V.

Andrew's cheeks flushed red. "How much of that did you hear?"

She lifted a shoulder nonchalantly. "I heard enough. Honestly I think they're both acting pretty thick headed. It's obvious that Darien likes Serena a lot, and I would have to be dead not to realize that Serena is gaga over him. But neither one of them would ever admit it out loud."

Andrew twisted the towel that he held in his hands. "Why do they have to be so stubborn? I'm almost tempted to lock the two of them up in the broom closet and not let them out until they have confessed to one another."

Mina patted his shoulder. "That may be a little drastic to drop on them right away. I say we give it a few days and see if they can work past this little speed bump on their own. But we should definitely keep the closet idea in mind in case they prove difficult."

A sandy blonde brow arched at her. "We? Is this matchmaking scheme about to become a joint effort?"

"W…well," she stammered as her face blushed a delicate pink. "I just figured that since Darien is your best friend and Serena is mine, it's up to us to get them together. We want to see our friends happy, right?"

"Yeesss…" he agreed hesitantly, a little intimidated by the gleam in her eyes. "But I don't mean that we should do anything crazy either, Mina. We can't force them to be together if they don't want to be."

"Oh pooh!" she exclaimed, waving a dismissive hand. "Like you wanting to lock them in a closet isn't a crazy idea? I didn't mean that we should do anything insane, I was thinking more along the lines of making sure they don't have the opportunity to avoid each other like they're planning. After all, we all usually hang out together as a group, right? We just have to make sure that neither one of them try to avoid the group if the other is around. That's where we come in, to make sure they are kept in the loop. There's no way that they will be able to avoid talking to one another if they are around each other."

Andrew rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "That's true, but we're going to have to be really subtle about it. If either one of them catch on to what we're trying to do they're liable to skin us alive and roast us for Christmas dinner."

The bubbly blonde bounced in excitement. "So we have a deal! Put it there partner!" She held a hand out to him.

"I sure hope I don't regret this," he muttered as he shook her hand.

"Mina! What's taking so long? I thought you were ordering our food!" Serena wailed across the crowded room. "I'm huunnggrrryyy!"

"Oops!" Mina said in embarrassment. "I knew there was another reason why I came over here. Andrew we need…"

"Five burgers with the works, a plate of cheese fries, a large order of onion rings, and five milkshakes; chocolate for Serena, strawberry for you, banana for Lita, caramel for Raye, and vanilla for Amy," the blonde junior broke in smoothly, rattling off the order that he had long since memorized.

Mina gave him a blinding smile. "Wow! You are good!"

* * *

Darien stalked into his apartment and shut the door behind him with a lot more force than was necessary before leaning against it and letting his head fall back with a solid sounding thump. Today had not gone at all like he had thought it would.

"I can't believe she just froze me out like that," he groaned. The Serena he had always known was supposed to have accepted his apology with a big smile and then they would have been back on speaking terms, giving him the opportunity make his confession to her.

He pushed away from the door with a growl. Yeah, that's right, after sitting up most of the night wrestling with his inner demons, Darien Shields had decided to declare his love for Serena Tsukino. He'd had it all planned out too.

First he would apologize to her and clear the air between them. Then he would have asked her to accompany him someplace a little less crowded, maybe a quiet café somewhere where he could buy her lunch. He would joke with her some to get her laughing, and then when the time was right he would take her small hand in his and tell her how much he cared about her. It was completely out of character for him, but Serena tended to bring out another side of his personality that he had never known existed.

In his perfect vision she would throw herself into his arms and tell him that she felt the same way about him. He would ask her to the school's winter dance and she would squeal in excitement. And then maybe, just maybe, he would get the chance to kiss her like he had dreamt so many times.

He threw himself across the couch. Well that idea had sure gone up in smoke. He hadn't blamed her for ignoring him when he first began speaking to her. She was understandably mad at him. But when she had turned those large, sky blue eyes of hers on him, he had flinched at the sight. He had expected them to be blazing with anger, not filled with such determination and resignation.

And her voice, he wished he could block that from his memory all together. She hadn't screamed at him or said anything mean to him in retaliation of his actions. Instead she had spoken to him calmly and rationally in a very controlled tone. But the words she had said cut him to the quick.

How could he survive without his daily interaction with the petite blond angel? She had become such a fixture in his life that he could barely recall the way his days had been before she had come crashing into his life. But he had thought about it as he had dragged himself home just now and figured he may as well throw the towel in and admit defeat.

He knew Andrew would say that he was giving up too easily and that he should fight for her, but he wasn't going to force his presence on her when it was obviously not wanted. He cared for her too much to subject her to that. He would just have to be content to watch her from a distance.

"I'm such a loser," he groaned as he threw an arm across his eyes. He was so mentally and physically tired that he slipped of to sleep within minutes.

_**Darien's Dream**_

He found himself once again surrounded by the thick mist that obscured his vision. It was a scenario that he had been dreaming as far back as he could remember. Usually he enjoyed these dreams. The princess had been a source of comfort to him over the years. She always seemed to know when he needed her and would show up to encourage him with her softly spoken words; at least until she had started all this business about her missing crystal.

He turned toward the dark outline of the building and spotted the shadowy figure standing on the balcony. "No offense, Serenity, but I'm not in the mood to hear you go on and on about the Silver Crystal today. I'm looking for it, okay. I can only do so much."

He heard a disdainful sniff. "Hmph! Sounds like somebody's had a bad day."

He immediately felt guilty for taking his frustrations out on her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be lashing out at you. It's just been a hell of a day."

Her soft laughter trickled down to him. "It sure sounds like it. I haven't heard you this grumpy since you were studying for your high school entrance exams. Even your spats with Serena don't get you this cranky."

"Ugh!" he groaned. "Can we please not talk about Serena?"

"Ah ha!" Serenity crowed. "So she does have something to do with this after all! I knew it! Very few people get under your skin, but she's a pro at it. So what did she do this time?"

Darien heaved an irritated sigh. "I said I didn't want to talk about it, okay? Let's move on to another topic."

"Fine," her voice sounded amused. Then she turned serious. "Has the Dark Kingdom made any more moves?"

Darien related to her what little he knew about the attack at the gym the day before. "I'm really not sure what all took place. Sailor Moon had it wrapped up by the time I got there. But I'm sure I'll find out more when I meet up with her later tonight."

He thought he heard a gasp. "You've set up a meeting with her?"

"Yesss," he drawled uncertainly. "I talked to her yesterday and we decided that we should work together since we both have the same mission. And to be quite honest, the girl needs the help. You can tell that she hasn't been doing this whole sailor scout thing very long. I've had to save her butt on more than one occasion. Is that okay? I know she's the head of your guard and all…"

"No, no, it's fine," Serenity hastily reassured him. "I just don't know how the rest of my scouts will feel about this alliance when they awaken. They are fiercely independent, so don't be surprised if you meet with a little opposition later on."

Darien snorted. "I'm not worried about them. But for now Sailor Moon is the only one around, and she needs help. So why shouldn't we work together? Two heads are bound to be better than one."

"I'm not surprised you feel that way," he thought he heard the princess mutter, but then she continued. "Hey I'm all for it. All of my scouts hold a special place in my heart, but Sailor Moon is the nearest and dearest to me. I'm sure the two of you will make an amazing team. I'll be free again before I know it."

The swirling mist became thicker, a sign that Darien knew meant he was waking up. "I guess I'll see you later," he said as Serenity's outline completely faded from view.

"Good bye and good luck," he heard her reply, and then he thought he heard her whisper softly, "Endymion."

_**End of Dream**_

Darien blinked his eyes open slowly, the late afternoon light coming in through the glass doors that led to his balcony chasing away the last fuzzy images of his dream. He yawned as he sat up and stretched. That nap and his talk with Serenity had done wonders for him. He felt much more clear headed now.

He stood and walked into his kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and was reaching in to pull out a soda and the makings of a sandwich when a picture that somebody, probably Andrew, had stuck on the freezer door caught his eye.

Asanuma was a member of the photography club, and he kept everybody on their toes to not be caught in any embarrassing situation since he was fond of taking candid shots. This photo in particular must have been taken earlier in the school year because it showed the gang outside under the tree where they liked to eat lunch when the weather was nice.

In it, Raye and Lita were talking together while Amy had her head buried in a book as usual. Mina was staring at Andrew with goo goo eyes while he was laughing with Kobyashi about something. But it was the two people in the middle of the scene that caught his attention. Serena and he were glaring at one another like always. She was poking him in the chest while he was pulling on one of her long streamers of golden hair.

He sighed at the sight. That was him and Serena for you, always fighting. What had he been thinking when he had decided to tell her that he loved her? It would never work out. They were too different. He was just glad that she had cut him off before he made a fool out of himself. A relationship between the two of them could only lead to disaster.

And plus, now that he thought about it, relationships were supposed to be based on truth and openness, and he'd had no intentions of telling her about his new part time super hero gig. So he would have been withholding things from her from the very beginning. Not a good way to start things off. It wasn't that he didn't trust her with his secrets, but even if she had believed him, what girl would want to know that her boyfriend was out with another girl roaming the night. He knew that he would be eaten up with jealousy if the roles were reversed.

And then another thought struck him. How could he have been so stupid? Here he was thinking of petty details instead of looking at the bigger picture. He was Tuxedo Mask! He was now involved in a fight against some pretty serious characters. If his civilian identity was ever discovered the enemy could come after the people closest to him in an attempt to get to him. Now he was grateful for Serena's sudden change of character. If she had become his girlfriend and the Dark Kingdom found out about her, he shuddered at the thought.

He shook his head and continued to pull the things out of the refrigerator that he needed. He was going to have a quick snack and then he was going to tackle his weekend homework before he had to go meet up with Sailor Moon. He needed to put this whole Serena business behind him once and for all. His life was on a different path than hers, and it was time to move on.

* * *

The fuku clad girl landed on the roof of the Crown arcade, her long blonde hair swirling around her in the cold wind of the night. She looked around tensely, alert for any sign of disturbance. But it was late and the streets were quiet. Everyone was at home, tucked into their beds, which is where she wished she was instead of being out here jumping around the city in a skirt that did nothing to protect her from the cold.

She sighed and dropped down into the alley behind the arcade and pushed on the back door, knowing that she would find it unlocked. It swung open soundlessly and she slipped inside before closing it gently behind her. She looked around to ensure that she was alone. Once satisfied, she hurried over to the glowing screen of the Sailor V game.

It was showing the regular start up menu for the game, but with the pressing of a few keys it disappeared to be replaced by another screen that showed a crescent moon and prompted her to enter a password. She typed it in quickly and was rewarded with a soft hum as the machine slid back to reveal a flight of stairs leading down.

She descended them, hearing the entrance close behind her, and entered a large, brightly lit room. It was furnished with tables, chairs, and even a couple of sofas, but her attention was drawn to the cat sitting in front of a computer at the far end of the room.

She grinned. "Hard at work Artemis, or hardly working?"

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Very funny, Venus. How are things out there tonight?"

She shrugged and sat down next to him. "Quiet. No sign of Beryl stirring up any trouble tonight. I went by and checked on everyone and they're all fine. Raye is meditating. Lita's cooking. Amy and Darien are both buried up to their eyeballs in studying. And Serena was howling over some manga she was reading. So everybody's safe and accounted for."

Artemis chuckled. "No sign of any of the scouts waking up yet?"

Venus shook her head. "No. But I'm sure it will be soon. According to Luna, Serena has been having dreams about the past. She said that she cries and calls out Endymion's name in her sleep and that it's occurring just about every night now, so it's only a matter of time. Serenity is fighting to be freed and her spirit will call to the others. It won't be long before we are all reunited."

The white feline shook his head. "Let's hope it's soon. Beryl has started out kind of small, but I have a feeling that she's going to be stepping up her game soon. She's not exactly a weakling, and I'm sure she's eager to collect enough energy to awaken Metallia and unleash the darkness over the world before the princess and the crystal are found."

Venus frowned at his solemn tone. "What is it, Artemis? I know you, and I can tell by your voice that you've discovered something."

He sighed and turned back to the screen. With a few clicks he brought up a couple of images. "I've been going over the surveillance footage of the fights that Serena had at the radio station last week and the gym yesterday. You know, the ones where you couldn't get close enough to see what was going on."

The orange suited scout nodded. "Yeah. I tried to get as close as I could without being seen and blowing my cover. There was some kind of a youma there that was stronger than usual that managed to get away, but I couldn't tell much about it. I was busy concentrating on Serena to make sure she didn't get hurt."

Artemis's shoulders slumped. "That was no youma. Beryl's got more firepower in her arsenal than we thought. And if what I suspect is true, then this fight is going to turn real ugly real quick."

A shiver ran down Venus' spine. "What do you mean, Artemis? I know Beryl has Metallia behind her. But what else could she possibly have to use against us?"

Artemis looked at her sadly. "The same thing she did last time." He pressed a button and the videos began playing.

Venus felt her blood turn to ice just like she had just gotten hit by one of Mercury's attacks as she saw the man on the screen. "But how?" she whispered. "That's not possible Artemis. They died the same as us that day on the moon. Queen Serenity wouldn't have left them under Beryl's control. If anything she would have given them a fresh start just like us."

"I don't know how it happened, Venus," Artemis said slowly. "But I can tell you that my scans show that he is not a reincarnation. He is exactly the same as he was during the Silver Millennium. The DNA is a perfect match."

Sailor Venus closed her eyes, memories of long silver hair and steel gray eyes crashing through her head. Pain, betrayal, and heartache collided together. "Is Jadeite the only one, or does she have the others as well?"

Artemis nudged her cheek with his head. "I don't know. Jadeite's the only one that has shown himself so far. He may be working for her alone, but we should be prepared in case she has all four of them."

Venus opened her eyes and forced a smile on her face. "Well if Jadeite knows what's good for him, he'll disappear before Mars wakes up or there's going to be hell to pay. She'll roast him faster than you can say barbeque."

Her advisor eyed her dubiously. "Mina, are you okay? I know this is a big shock for you. You don't have to hide your feelings from me. I know you loved him."

She let out a high-pitched giggle and waved a hand at him. "Oh Artemis, you worry too much! He's ancient history. I've moved on to bigger and better things." She sighed dreamily. "Like Andrew. Now there's a stud if I ever saw one. I'm just working on reeling him in slowly."

Artemis wisely let the conversation drop, but he could see right past her cheerfulness. Even though she tried to hide it, pain burned deep inside her big blue eyes that were shining with unshed tears. But if she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to force her.

Silence fell between them as they both became lost in their own thoughts. But a few minutes later they both jumped at the sound of the secret entrance opening. They both stared at each other for a long moment before scrambling for a place to hide. They had thought that Luna wasn't bringing Serena here tonight to train. If Serena caught them here now it would blow everything sky high.

"Artemis! Mina! Are you here?" they heard Luna's voice call frantically.

"Luna?" they both said in confusion as the black cat came careening into the room.

"Oh, thank Selene you're both here," she panted heavily.

Venus' senses suddenly went into hyperdrive. "What's wrong, Luna? Has something happened?"

Luna shuddered. "I'm not sure. I fell asleep on Serena's bed earlier while she was reading manga. And then when I woke up a little while ago she was gone. I checked the whole house, thinking that she might have just gone to get a snack, but I couldn't find her anywhere. I don't sense any youma around, so I don't think she's gone to fight. What if Beryl figured out who Serena is and kidnapped her from her bed?"

"Calm down, Luna," Artemis tried to sooth his troubled counterpart. "I'm sure there's a perfectly logical reason for her disappearing." He cocked his head toward Sailor Venus. "Mina?"

"I'm on it!" she answered immediately, rushing from the control room, through the arcade, and out the back door. She jumped up to the roof and took off across town, keeping her eyes peeled for her wayward princess.

She was near the park when she heard the distinct clatter of heels pounding the sidewalk in a dead run. She looked down just in time to see Sailor Moon enter the park. Curious about what she was doing at the park at such a late hour, she discreetly followed her.

A big grin split her face when they reached the lake in the center and she saw the man in the a cape and black tuxedo standing there, obviously waiting for Sailor Moon's arrival. Serena and Darien may be on the fritz right now, but it looked as if their alter egos were getting along. It was a start.

Sailor Venus retreated back out of the park. She was no voyeur after all, and she sure wasn't going to spy on her princess having a private moment with her prince, even if it was innocent and they had no idea who one another were.

She pulled out her communicator and called Artemis and told him to tell Luna that everything was fine before heading for home. She climbed in her bedroom window and detransformed before collapsing on her bed.

The tears that she had been holding back finally broke free as she hugged her pillow tightly and sobbed into it. "Kunzite…oh Kunzite. Please don't be with that devil woman."

* * *

Tuxedo Mask looked at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time, 12:15. Sailor Moon was late.

'_Or maybe she changed her mind about teaming up with you,' _his inner voice whispered.

He shook his head. Granted he didn't know her well, but she didn't strike him as the type to make empty promises. She seemed open and honest.

'_Just like Serena,'_ he thought. Then he groaned as he shoved the thought out of his mind. He had to stop thinking about her so much. Serena was his past. Sailor Moon held the key to Serenity and his future. There was no sense dwelling on the feelings he had for Serena.

"_It was just a crush. It will go away,' _he told himself sternly as he felt a sensation flare up inside him that told him that Sailor Moon had transformed.

A few minutes later he heard the sound of running footsteps and looked up to find Sailor Moon hurrying toward him, her twin tails of golden hair streaming behind her reminded him of…

He quickly squashed that thought before it could fully materialize in his head and turned his full attention on the girl before him.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she panted. "Getting out of my house was harder than usual. I didn't think my dad would ever go to sleep."

He grinned as he took in her flushed cheeks. "It's okay. You're not that late. I was prepared to wait a little bit. I'm just glad you didn't change your mind about meeting with me."

She looked up at him with a big smile. "Not on your life! As you pointed out, we're on the same team after all. There's no reason for us not to work together. I have to admit, I'm pretty useless in this super hero business."

"Are you kidding!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed. "You took care of that attack at the gym yesterday all by yourself. I'd call that being pretty useful. By the way, how's the knee?"

Sailor Moon blushed a little at his compliment. "Oh! It's fine. It swelled up like a balloon last night and turned about fifty different shades of purple and it was still a little sore this morning, but it's all better now. Thank goodness I heal quickly since I've become Sailor Moon. I would've hated trying to explain that injury to my parents."

He winced a little at the thought of the pain she must have felt before her healing abilities kicked in. Then he thought about what she'd just said. "Wait a minute! You didn't develop the ability to heal fast until you became Sailor Moon?"

She shook her head. "Nope! Up until two weeks ago I was as normal as the next person when it came to getting hurt. What about you? Do you heal fast?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I've always been able to. And if I had banged my knee the way you did, I would have been fully healed in about six hours instead of it taking a full day like it did for you."

"Wow! That must come in handy," she exclaimed. "I wish I had grown up with that ability. It would have saved me a lot of trips to the emergency room."

Tuxedo Mask chuckled. "Is that your way of saying that you're clumsy?"

She swatted at his arm playfully. "Hey! I'm just a little bit vertically challenged. Now let's get serious, you didn't ask me here just so we could talk about my shortcomings."

He quickly smothered his laughter, amazed at how easy it had been for him to relax with this girl. There were very few people that he felt comfortable enough around to be himself. But with Sailor Moon it was as easy as breathing.

She hopped up to sit on the bridge railing, putting them at eye level. "So I hope you have a plan, because I'm clueless. The only thing I've been doing up until now is waiting for a youma to attack and then going after it. But it's kind of a cat and mouse game and it's not very helpful in finding out any information about Princess Serenity or the Silver Crystal. Most youma don't talk anyway. Now if only I had been able to get something out of that creepy blonde guy…"

"You mean the one from the radio station?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. He was at the gym yesterday, too. He's not a youma; he's something else. Almost like us I guess. He looks human and he sounds human, but he has powers. He seemed to be in charge of the attacks."

"I wonder who he is," Tuxedo Mask mused as he leaned up against the rail next to her. "I thought the Dark Kingdom was run by a woman."

"It is," Sailor Moon told him. "Queen Beryl is in charge of everything. But this guy supposedly works for her. He's some kind of general. My advisor, Luna," she held up a hand to ward off the question she could see forming on his lips. "Don't ask. I'll tell you later. It's another long story. Anyway, she told me that his name is Jadeite."

The tuxedo-clad hero froze at the familiarity of those names. The name Beryl left him with an unpleasant taste in his mouth. But Jadeite, that one sparked a ball of anger in the pit of his stomach.

He felt something on his arm and looked down to find a small, white-gloved hand resting on it. "Hey! Are you okay? You looked like you were a million miles away."

He forced a smile onto his face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess since we have no idea where this Beryl is hiding her forces, we have no choice but to wait until she sends her lackeys out to attack again. But that doesn't mean that there's nothing we can do. I think you could use some help on learning some fighting techniques, and I would be more than happy to teach you."

"You, teach me?" Sailor Moon said doubtfully. "Are you sure about that?"

He smirked at her. "Are you doubting my ability?"

She shook her head. "No. I just meant are you sure you want to? I have to warn you, I got kicked out of karate class when I was younger. My sensei said I was hopeless."

"Well I don't think you're hopeless," he told her firmly. "I have black belts in two different forms of martial arts, and I think I'll be able to teach you if you are willing. So how about it?"

A grin curled up her lip. "You're on! But don't say I didn't warn you. So when did you want to start?"

He answered with a grin of his own. "How about tomorrow? We need a place where we won't be interrupted, and I think I know just the place. I just need to go check it out first. I have some other errands I have to run though, and I'm not sure how long it will take. Do you have a cell phone?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"I don't think it will compromise our identities if we exchange numbers. This way we can stay in touch," he told her, pulling a black cell phone from his pocket.

She blushed a little. "I didn't bring mine with me. I left it on my beside table."

"That's okay," he told her. "Just give me your number and I'll call your phone. That way you'll have my number on it."

"Okay," she agreed, rattling off her phone number. He had pressed in the digits and had held the phone to his ear when panic struck her. Her voicemail message started off with _'Hi! This is Serena!' _If he heard that he would know her real name. She breathed a sigh of relief when he hung up after only letting it ring a few times.

"There!" he said with a smile. "Now we can stay connected. But you don't have to call me if there's an attack. I can feel it when you transform and sense where you are."

Her eyes widened. "Really! That's weird. Hey wait a minute! I think I can sense you too! Have you been transforming a lot this past week?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I've been going out on patrols. I was also looking for you."

She slapped herself on the forehead, almost tumbling backward and into the lake. Luckily Tuxedo Mask's quick reflexes saved her from a chilly dunking.

"Thanks," she mumbled in embarrassment. "But like I was saying, I've been getting these strange tingly sensations every night. At first I thought it meant a youma was attacking, but it was you. I wonder why we can sense each other like that."

He shrugged. "Beats me. But then again, none of this has made a whole lot of sense so far. I've just learned to roll with it."

"Me too," she agreed. "Hey what time is it?"

He glanced at his watch. "Almost one thirty. Wow! Have we really been standing here talking for an hour?"

Sailor Moon hopped down off the rail. "I've gotta run! If my dad decides to check on me and finds out that I snuck out, I'll be grounded for the rest of my life."

He straightened up. "Well we can't have that. So I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I hate to run, we have so much that we could talk about. I think we could sit up all night and not even barely scratch the surface of all the topics we could cover."

He chuckled. "You're probably right. Now get home before you get in trouble. I can't have my partner under house arrest while there are bad guys to be defeated."

She giggled and turned away. "All right, already! I'm going. See ya tomorrow!"

And then she was gone, running down the path back the way she came. Tuxedo Mask watched her until she was out of sight with an amused smirk on his face. What a character she was! He had barely felt the time pass when he was with her. What's more, the blonde super heroine had kept him so distracted that he hadn't thought about Serena at all.

He felt more lighthearted than he had in the past couple of days as he dashed out of the park and took to the rooftops to head home. Maybe Sailor Moon was just what he needed to get Serena Tsukino out of his head.

* * *

Jadeite's body fell to the floor, smoke rising off of it from the blast of power that had just been slammed into it. Delighted snickers came from the shadowy corners of the cavern.

Beryl, in all of her skeletal looking, red haired glory sneered down at the pathetic sight in front of her. "Tell me, Jadeite, why I shouldn't fry you to a crisp right now. I give you one simple mission, to procure energy from these lowly humans so that I may awaken our great leader, Metallia. And you can't even manage that!"

Jadeite pushed himself up onto his knees, trembling under the glare he was receiving from his queen. "I apologize, my queen. With the sailor scouts not yet awakened and the princess and the crystal still unaccounted for, I didn't expect to run into any opposition, much less ones so powerful."

"Who are these upstarts that would dare to meddle in my plans?" Beryl snarled.

"I know not, your majesty," Jadeite wheezed. "The girl calls herself Sailor Moon, but we both know that there has never been a scout of the moon. And the boy's identity is just as hard to discover. He keeps his features hidden at all times."

Beryl's orb floated in front of her as she conjured an image of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. After a thoughtful moment she spoke. "Jadeite, do you think it's possible that these two could be Serenity and Endymion?"

"Ha!" Jadeite barked out. "Not likely, my queen. Sailor Moon is nothing more than a bumbling, loud mouthed girl. She is nothing like the moon princess. And as for Tuxedo Mask, he's just been lucky. He has no power to speak of. Endymion was never one to hide himself. He was entirely too cocky for that. And he also bears the power of the Golden Crystal. This boy is nothing but a wannabe hero in a tuxedo."

"And yet you have defeated on several occasions by these ones that you don't consider to be threats," Beryl said in a dangerously low voice.

The terrified blonde man in front of her backpedaled quickly. "I never meant that weren't a threat, your majesty, just that they are an unexpected complication. I will find a way to deal with them and get the energy that we require."

"See that you do this time!" Beryl snapped. "I grow weary of your constant failures."

Jadeite bowed and quickly made his escape. As he passed by a large hulking shadow, an amused voice spoke to him. "You'd do better to give up now, Jadeite and let someone better qualified take over. You're clearly in over your head."

"Piss off, Nephrite!" he snarled in return. "Queen Beryl gave me a job to do, and I will succeed!"

"I'm sure you will," Nephrite said in a mocking tone.

"Bastard!" Jadeite hissed as he left the room.

Beryl raised a hand to her temple, feeling a headache coming on after witnessing that exchange. She wished that she had been able to win Endymion's real generals over to her side. But alas, they had been too strong to give into her brainwashing. So she had been stuck with ripping their souls from them and then reanimating their bodies with dark energy. They still retained the power of the famed earth generals and were powerful allies, but it wasn't the same.

That was okay though. She had a much bigger prize in mind. Once they had the energy to release Metallia and she unleashed the darkness on the world, she had no doubt that the pitiful little princess would show herself. And wherever Serenity went, Endymion was sure to follow. She would kill the moon brat and pry the Silver Crystal from her cold, lifeless hand. And then she would take the prince for herself.

Her tongue reached out to run over her fangs as she pictured the man that she had obsessed over for more than a millennium. Tall, strong, and proud with his raven hair and sapphire eyes, there had never been another man born that could hold a candle to her Endymion. He may have been bewitched and stolen from her by that pale, insipid moon princess before, but not this time. This time Beryl swore that she would make him hers, and then they would dominate the Earth together.

* * *

Serena sighed as she rolled over and punched her pillow, trying desperately to find a position that would lure her to sleep. Physically she felt exhausted, but mentally she was still riding the high from her encounter with Tuxedo Mask earlier. He had been so much fun to be around, the perfect mixture of joking and seriousness. If she'd had her way she would have stayed there in the park with him all night.

She felt a little pang of guilt as Darien's face fluttered through her mind. Her heart still ached for him, but she had convinced herself that she was doing the right thing by keeping him away. Her life had taken an unexpected turn of events, and he had no part in that. How could she ever try to build a relationship with him, even if he was willing, and try to balance her life as Sailor Moon at the same time? It was impossible.

She flopped over on her back to stare at the ceiling. How she wished Luna were here, At least that would give her someone to talk to while she waited for the sandman to come visit her. But the cat had been gone when she had returned from the park. She was probably out hunting or whatever it was that she did when she disappeared.

Just then she heard a muted beeping and she looked over to her nightstand where her cell phone was flashing with lights. She picked it up and flipped it open to look at the screen. The phone had been the first thing that she had rushed to when she had gotten home. She changed her message so that her name wasn't mentioned if Tuxedo Mask were to ever get her voicemail and she had programmed his number into her contact list.

Words flashed up on the screen, informing her that she had a new text message from Tux. She opened it, almost squealing with glee. _'R U still up?'_

She started to hit reply, and then decided to press call instead. The phone rang twice before his voice answered. "Hey! I didn't wake you did I?"

"Oh no!" she quickly reassured him. "I wasn't asleep. I was just lying here bored."

His husky chuckle came over the line. "I just wanted to make sure you made it home okay."

She smiled at the concern in his voice. "I'm here and all in one piece. How about you? You didn't get busted for sneaking out or anything, did you?"

There was a sharp intake of breath before he replied. "Uh no, my parents aren't around, so I'm safe from the threat of being punished."

Serena heard the underlying tension in his voice. "Oh, good! I sure don't want you getting grounded anymore than I want to. Where would I be without my masked hero to keep me safe?" she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Evidently it worked, because he laughed. "I'm sure you would manage. Now get some sleep. I won't be able to teach you anything later if you're falling asleep on me."

She giggled quietly. "Okay. You get some rest too. I don't want a crabby, sleep deprived teacher either. Sweet dreams!"

"You too," Darien said softly as he disconnected the call. He lay back down in his bed with his arms behind his head and a smile on his face. Yep, things were looking pretty good right now. Sure the whole thing with Serena had gone sour, but working with Sailor Moon gave him a sense of purpose. Given time, he thought that he might even be able to develop feelings for the spunky super heroine.

Barely a half a mile away, a black cat scurried up a tree and leapt through a partially open bedroom window. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the teenage girl curled up under the covers.

Even after Venus had called and said that Serena was okay, Luna had fretted over her mistress. After all, Queen Serenity had given her the job of watching over and guiding the reincarnated princess, and Luna was never one to take her assignments lightly.

The feline studied her mistress' face, expecting to see the frown and lines of tension that had become common for the girl while she slept. Instead she was surprised to find a gentle smile on Serena's face as she lay on her side, gripping her cell phone lightly in her hand.

* * *

'_Soon the time will come for your true self to awaken, Mercury!'_

Amy jerked awake from where she had fallen asleep at her desk while working on her stack of assignments for both her regular school and her cram school. Most people would have surveyed the size of her workload with trepidation, but Amy had always thrived on academic challenges.

She rubbed her blurry eyes, trying to erase the voice that was still echoing in her head. She had been having strange dreams for the last few nights. They always started out with her at a party, giggling and laughing with four other girls whose features weren't clear to her. Her logical mind told her that subconsciously she must have been envisioning her four best friends when she was having these dreams, but she couldn't figure out why the dreams always took the dramatic turn that they did.

The ground would begin to shake and loud booms drowned out the music that was playing. People began screaming as they panicked and ran. She pushed her way through the crowds, fighting against their momentum as she struggled toward the source of the disturbance.

She ran through a large set of doors and found herself standing at the top of a grand marble staircase that reached down toward an unusual white, rocky landscape. Her breath would always freeze in horror at the sight of the carnage before her.

People were fighting one another with murderous rage burning in their eyes. A large, dark shadow hovered in the sky, letting out thunderous growls as bolts of energy shot from it, destroying buildings and killing people in a matter of seconds. A tall, skeletal looking, red haired woman cackled gleefully from where she stood on a pile of rubble.

Then lights exploded around her and her hair stood on end as fire, lightning, and a beam of gold energy swept past her. She raised her hands in front of her and it felt like ice was crystallizing in her veins as bubbles shot from her fingers to encompass the area around her in a mist.

Fear flooded her as the shadow in the sky shot a blast of energy in her direction. She jumped away from it, sighing in relief at her escape. And then came the pain.

A searing burn tore through her back and she looked down, shocked to find a bloody blade protruding from her chest. She gasped as she felt the sword being ripped back out of her flesh and turned on shaking legs to look behind her.

A man with long, dark blonde hair and hard green eyes stood there staring at her. He held the sword dripping with her blood at his side and had an amused look on his face.

An ache in her heart overpowered her wound. "Why?" she whispered.

His cold gaze held hers. "Because my queen asked me too."

Her vision began fading, but she nodded at his words, tears streaming from her eyes to freeze against her skin. A long, pointed icicle appeared in her hand. "I'm sorry," she said softly, and then lunged to bury the shard of ice into his chest.

They both went down together. As her consciousness fell away, she mumbled, "Serenity, Zoicite, please forgive me."

Then she would find herself alone in a fog where a soft, gentle voice always said the same thing, that soon her true self would awaken.

Amy shook her head. What kind of nonsense was that? Her true self? She knew exactly who she was. She was Amy Mizuno, daughter of Dr. Mizuno and the only other person besides Darien Shields to hold a perfect GPA at Azabu High. Her best friends were Serena, Raye, Lita, and Mina and she loved them all dearly. That's who she was!

Deciding that she'd had enough studying for one night, she packed away her things. She frowned when she found some of the papers to be a little damp. Good grief! Had she drooled on them while she slept?

She padded into the bathroom where she washed her face and brushed her teeth before returning to her room and crawling into bed.

"No more crazy dreams tonight," she muttered. "I need some uninterrupted sleep so that I can get up early and finish my work so I will have time to hang with my friends."

As she slept, she was not haunted by any more disturbing images, but the temperature of the room fell until her breath could be seen coming out in cloudy little puffs. The glass of the window frosted over until it was covered in a glistening sheet of ice. And a barely visible blue symbol flickered briefly on the sleeping girl's forehead before fading away.

When she woke up the next morning, she felt well rested, but was surprised to find herself and her sheets drenched as if she had taken a swim. She quickly changed clothes and gathered her bedding to put in the washing machine, grateful that her mother was at work at the hospital and not home to question the soaked condition of her sheets and blankets.

After starting the wash she made herself a quick breakfast before settling down with her remaining schoolwork. She tried to push the incident from her mind, but it kept popping back up.

Where had all of that water come from? She knew that it couldn't have come from her. Nobody could perspire that much and not be dead from dehydration. There had to be a more logical explanation.

'_Or maybe,' _she thought, suddenly very afraid, _'Maybe there's something wrong with me. Perhaps all of those girls at my old school were right and I'm nothing but a freak!'_

She'd never had friends until she had left the snobby prep school she had attended all of her life and started going to Azabu. Serena had been named her guide and the bubbly blonde had taken her under her wing from the very first day. That had been a little over a year ago now, and they had been inseparable every since. Their group had grown as Raye, Lita, and Mina had come along, but Serena had been the first to reach out to her and treat her like a normal person instead of giving her the cold shoulder just because she happened to have a high IQ.

Tears blurred her eyes. What would Serena think of her now if she knew that she was suffering from hallucinogenic dreams of dying and murdering someone and waking up in a puddle of water that appeared from nowhere? Serena was a generous and loving soul, but that was a lot to expect anyone to take in.

Her fingers tightened around the pencil in her hand until it snapped. "No," she growled, not sounding at all like herself. "I'm not going to give in to whatever this is. I will not lose my friends."

Pleased with her conviction, she turned her attention back to her work, humming a tune to herself. If she concentrated really hard, she would be done in time to join the girls for an afternoon snack at the arcade.

**A/N **So there you have it. Serena and Darien may not be talking right now, but it's looking like Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask are getting pretty tight. Poor Mina, it's got to be rough on her to be the only one of the scouts to remember anything, and now she's freaking because it's possible that all of the generals may return. That's gotta suck! Mercury is trying to awaken, but Amy is fighting it. I'm not going to wake her up right away because I want to expand on Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's relationship before any of the others come intruding into their little world. But I'm not giving up on Serena and Darien, they are still going to have their moments too. I'm just getting started into their complex relationship. There is one thing that I would love to have some feedback on. In What If when Serena and Darien kissed and Rini came crashing down on their heads, I said that it was their first kiss. Now remember that the story is like five years old and I didn't change much when editing it to post here. I had never planned to go back and do this season at the time, but now that I have I was just wondering if it would be wrong of me to put in one or two kisses. I mean the kiss between them at the D-Land ball is kinda famous ya know. So let me know yes or no to adding a smooch or two. Enough babbling from me. Don't forget to drop me a review. Lots of love!

~Sere~


	4. A Memorable Day of Shopping

**A/N **I know! I'm super late with this update. Please don't shoot me! I've been soooo busy with stuff lately that I hardly know which way is up. I had to get my son situated back in school and I'm finally putting the new degree of mine to work by starting a new job. To top it all off my flash drive that I keep all of my stories on broke under crazy circumstances. Luckily a friend of mine is a computer genius and he was somehow able to recover everything that I was sure that I had lost. So I'm back in business, yay! Anyhow, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support. You guys rock! So here are my hugs for chapter 3. BIG HUGS TO:

**amaramichelle**

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Thanks for your ongoing support. I appreciate it sooo much. As some of you are aware, I have put GT on hold for a while. I am happy to report that I have been doing some deep thinking about that particular project and it is starting to come together into the story that I planned for it to be. It may still be a little bit before I update it because I don't quite have anything ready for it yet, but I'm happy with the results so far and I don't regret taking a break from it. Anyway, I hope that this installment will keep you entertained for the time being. So I guess I'll let you get to it!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 4

A Memorable Day of Shopping

Sailor Moon ducked as she saw a fist flying at her face. She spun around to avoid the larger male body that was hurtling at her, sidestepping him neatly as he flew by her. She aimed a kick at him, but found it blocked as he turned with all the grace of a stalking predator. He caught her booted foot and gave it a twist.

It was all over in a flash. One minute she was upright, and the next she was one her back on the ground, staring up at the sky; at least until a dark figure bent over her and blocked her view.

"Oh crap! Are you okay?" Tuxedo Mask asked anxiously. "I didn't mean to take you down like that. I'm so sorry!"

She shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't sweat it! You're supposed to be teaching me, right? A few tumbles are to be expected. Besides, do you think a youma is going to stop and apologize if it knocks me down? I don't think so."

"But…but…" he stammered helplessly.

She sat up and pushed against his shoulder playfully. "Would you stop that! I told you it was no big deal. There's no harm done, I promise. How do you expect to teach me anything if you keep holding back on me?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I've just never sparred with a girl before. You're so much smaller than me that I'm scared I'm going to snap you like a twig. But I have to say, Moonie, you've made a lot of progress. I was proud of the way you took out that youma two nights ago, you almost didn't even need my help."

"That's bull!" she retorted. "I would have been toast if you hadn't jumped in and got me out of the way when that second one snuck up on me. Which by the way, is the only reason I'm letting that crack about me being a girl slip by. I'm well aware of the fact that I look like a refugee from Munchkin Land."

Tuxedo mask held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. You just look so tiny and delicate, but I've seen you in action. You pack quite a punch."

Sailor Moon's breath caught as he turned his head so that she caught a glimpse of his deep blue eyes behind his opaque mask. It was times like this that she was glad that he wore the thing. She had never thought that there would be another man who had the same hypnotic eyes as a certain black haired junior, but she had quickly thrown that notion out the window. She had a feeling that she would find herself flat on her back more than she already did if she had to train with him while she could be distracted by his eyes.

"…distracted?" she heard him say.

"What?" she squeaked, terrified that she had said something about her fascination out loud.

He chuckled at her. "I said that you've seemed really distracted lately; especially the past week or so. Is everything okay?"

She pasted a big smile on her face. "Oh yeah, everything's fine. I just have a couple of little things going on in my personal life right now, but it's really no big deal."

'_Liar!' _her internal voice screamed at her. It had been two weeks since she and Tuxedo Mask had started this little alliance of theirs, and while she was grateful for his presence and for the time he was devoting to helping her, she couldn't help but feel that her normal life was starting to pay the price for her super hero alter ego.

She'd been grilled by her parents twice now when she had almost been caught sneaking back in after a youma battle in the middle of the night. She had been able to convince them that she was just up getting herself a midnight snack, but they had still asked her several questions, wanting to make sure that she wasn't involved with drugs or anything of that nature. She assured them that she wasn't, but they didn't seem convinced since she seemed so tired and out of it most of the time.

She was starting to have a hard time getting up in the mornings, causing her mother to have to yell at her to get out of bed. Luna was slightly sympathetic to her plight, knowing that the girl had a lot on her shoulders, but she continued to preach to her about responsibility and getting her priorities straight.

Her friends were beginning to get a little irritated as well. She hadn't been spending as much time with them since she and Tuxedo Mask had begun working together. He had found a secluded clearing on the far side of the park that was surrounded by thick underbrush full of thorny plants for them to practice in. Nobody in their right mind would bother them there.

They had spent a couple of hours almost every afternoon there and even more on the weekends, so her social life wasn't what it used to be. As a result, Raye was grouchier than usual, griping about the times she was late to meet them. Lita had become a little brusquer, even asking Serena flat out if she had done something wrong. Mina hadn't changed much, but Serena had caught her watching her a few times with a concerned look on her face. Amy was the one she worried about the most. The shy, quiet girl seemed to be retreating back into the shell that she had hidden in before she had befriended the others.

Andrew wasn't giving her too hard of a time. He would occasionally mime a heart attack when she would walk into the arcade, saying that it had been forever since she had been there, but he always said it with a laugh and in a joking manner. Then she overheard him talking to Asanuma and Kobyashi one day saying that he thought she was avoiding the arcade to keep from seeing Darien.

Of course Andrew would think that was what it was all about. And the truth was she hadn't talked to Darien, at least not directly, since that day at the arcade. It was impossible to avoid him altogether since they shared so many friends. She had tried skipping out on lunch, but Mina wouldn't hear of it and had dragged her to their table. Andrew had done the same thing with Darien when he attempted to eat somewhere else. So the two of them spent the time they were forced to spend together being careful to not acknowledge one another in any way. It still stung a little when she happened to glance at him briefly, but it was becoming manageable.

A hand waving in front of her face snapped Sailor Moon out of her thoughts. She blinked a few times before giving Tuxedo Mask a questioning look. "What?"

He studied her for a moment. "You look tired. Why don't we call it quits for today? We've already been going at it for a couple of hours. You should probably go home and rest."

Oh., but…" she began to protest.

"No buts!" he interrupted. "The training is good for you, but you also need to have proper rest. Now I want you to go home and take a nap. And don't get out of bed unless a youma is attacking. Doctor' orders!"

"Fine," she grumbled, then muttered under her breath, "damn pushy, overbearing male."

"What was that? I didn't quite catch it," Tuxedo Mask asked with a smirk, letting her know he most certainly had heard her.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Now be a gentleman and help a lady up." She held her hands up in front of her.

He straightened up and took both of her hands in his to pull her to her feet. "So you don't mind my manliness when I'm helping you up off your butt, but you don't like it when I try to give you some advice."

"Oh, be nice!" she said as she dusted herself off. "I was just messing with you. Trust me, I have every intention of going home and crashing. My bed sounds really good right now. I just hope the Dark Kingdom decides to give it a rest today, I think we could both use a break."

He grinned at her. "We sure could. How about we take the rest of the weekend off and relax? We can meet up again on Monday at our usual time."

"Sounds good to me," she agreed. "Now you head home too. I'm not the only one moving a little more sluggishly than usual."

He chuckled. "Okay. I'll talk to you later."

They both leapt into the trees to get out of their secret place and then took off in opposite directions. Sailor Moon stuck to the trees for a few minutes until she was sure she had put some distance between them before detransforming and dropping from a low branch to the ground.

She stretched her arms and yawned. "Man I'm beat! But I really don't want to spend my whole Saturday in bed. I actually need to get some shopping done."

November had melted into December and Christmas was right around the corner. With as busy as her schedule had been lately, she hadn't had a chance to hit the mall to shop for gifts yet. And since she hadn't been blowing all of her allowance at the arcade, she had actually saved up a little money.

Her phone began buzzing in her pocket, and she pulled it out to glance at the screen. She grinned before flipping it open. "Hey V-babe! What's shaking?"

Mina groaned over the line. "Serena…how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? I'm not Sailor V anymore. I outgrew her."

Serena giggled. "Sorry Mina, but you'll always be my favorite super heroine, no matter what."

The other blonde laughed as well. "Anyway, the other girls and I are at the arcade and we wanted to know if you were coming for lunch. And afterward we were thinking of going to the mall to shop for dresses. We only have a week left until the dance, ya know."

"Omigosh! The dance! I totally forgot!" Serena screeched. "Tell the others I'll be right there. And don't you guys leave without me!"

She hung up and took off running so fast you could almost hear a sonic boom. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten about the dance. When none of the girls had been asked to go by the guy of their choosing, they had all decided to go together as a group. This wasn't to say that guys hadn't asked, but they hadn't accepted any of the offers.

Serena laughed to herself as she remembered how Lita had pinned down that over muscled wrestler that had asked her after he got really cocky and put his arm around her saying she couldn't do better than him. Amy had been mortified when one of the geeks from the Math club asked her to go with him. Amy might be a genius, but even she had her standards when it came to men. A goth looking guy had run from Raye in a panic after she had threatened hang him from a spit over the fire in her temple. Several guys, of course, had asked Mina, but she only had eyes for Andrew so she turned them all down flat.

Serena alone was the only girl that hadn't had at least one ask her, but she wasn't surprised. Her father's overprotectiveness of his only daughter was legendary. No teenage boy in his right mind would get up the nerve to ask her out, knowing they would have to come face to face with a psychotic Ken Tsukino. The only boys that had ever hung around her until she had reached high school had been Andrew and Melvin, and her father only allowed that because the families were friends.

Serena really didn't mind it all that much, they're really wasn't anyone that she wanted to go with anyway. Okay, that wasn't exactly true. If Darien had asked her three weeks ago when they were being friendly to each other instead of turning back into Captain Sarcastic, she would have jumped at the chance. But she didn't dwell on that too much.

She was still pretty confident that she had made the right choice about avoiding him. Darien wasn't the smartest guy in school for nothing. He was always sharp and observant, and she knew that if she had been spending a lot of time around him recently that he would have picked up on the changes in her. And that was something that she didn't need right now.

Pushing the thoughts of Darien out of her head, she rounded the last corner onto the block where the arcade was located. She dashed up to the doors, and then found herself on the ground for the second time that day as she collided with what felt like a slab of concrete.

She looked up to see what she had run into, and groaned when she saw that it wasn't a 'what' she had crashed so spectacularly with, but a 'who'.

"Geez, Meatball Head! Where's the fire?"

* * *

Andrew shook his head with a grin as he watched his best friend walk into to arcade mere seconds behind the fuming blonde girl that he thought of as his little sister. Darien stalked straight over to his favorite stool at the end of the counter while Serena walked over and threw herself into the booth containing Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy. The looks that she was shooting toward her black haired nemesis carried enough acid to melt through solid steel.

"Problems with Serena?" Andrew asked innocently.

"Ha!" Darien snorted. "I swear that girl is a walking disaster. I don't see how she made it to the age of sixteen without breaking every bone in her body. She should wear a warning sticker on her forehead telling people to stay out of her path. She's a menace!"

Andrew tried to sound sympathetic. "She did plow into you pretty hard. But then again, she has been dubbed the 'Tsukino Tornado' since she was little." Then his expression turned sly. "Most guys wouldn't complain about being knocked on their backs by her though."

Darien bit back a growl. "Can I get a coffee, please?" He wasn't going to rise to the bait that easily.

"Sure thing," the sandy haired blonde said, turning to get a cup of the steaming hot brew and setting it in front of his brooding friend. He decide to let the subject drop for now and brought up a different topic. "So you're still coming to my parent's party tonight, aren't you?"

This time the growl did rumble in Darien's throat. Every since he had become friends with Andrew over two years ago and his parents had found out about his orphaned status, the Furuhatas had insisted on including him in all sorts of gatherings, from parties to cook outs. Normally he didn't mind it too much, but since Andrew's family were close friends with Serena's, that almost ensured that she would be there.

"I don't know, Drew," he said carefully. "I've got exams to study for. I'd probably do better to stay at home."

"You can't do this to me!" Andrew shrieked. "If you don't come my mom will give me the third degree. You have to promise me that you will show up, at least for a few minutes."

Darien was taken aback by his friend's pleading. "Fine! I'll put in an appearance. Are you happy now?"

His enthusiastic blonde friend bobbed his head. "I'm ecstatic! That will keep mom off my back. Just promise me you won't stand me up."

"I said I'd be there, didn't I?" Darien grumbled. The Furuhata's annual holiday party was always the talk of Juuban and Azabu, and he had attended faithfully the last two years without fail after Mrs. Furuhata had insisted that he come to brighten up his otherwise lonely holidays. He was also expected to attend Christmas dinner at their house, which he had to admit, always made him feel like he was a member of the family. The joking, laughter, and music was so different from the dull, quiet holidays that he had spent in the orphanage.

"I'm holding you to this. If you don't show I'll come and drag you out of your apartment myself," Andrew threatened. "I don't consider myself to be a guy that is easily intimidated, but my mom can be one scary woman when she wants to be. I'd rather face a herd of fire breathing dragons than piss her off."

"I hear ya," Darien commiserated. While Andrew's mother was a petite woman that wasn't much taller than Serena, she was a strong willed woman that had a fiery personality that matched her bright red hair. She kept her family in line, including her husband and teenage son, both who stood a full foot taller than her. Everyone who met her knew that she was a force to be reckoned with.

A flurry of movement caught the corner of his eye, and he turned to see Serena and her crew getting up from their booth and pulling on their coats as they prepared to leave. As they passed by the two boys at the counter, Serena gave Andrew a wave and a bright smile before turning her nose up at Darien and stalking out the door. The other girls called out hasty farewells as they hurried after their friend.

Darien sighed and turned back to his coffee, only to let out a yelp a moment later as Andrew leaned across the counter to haul him up by his jacket.

"What did you do to her this time?" the blonde demanded, his hazel eyes snapping furiously. "You two have ignored each other like the plague for the last two weeks, and now you have one thirty second encounter on the sidewalk and Serena looks ready to murder you. Don't tell me you insulted her that quick."

Darien was tired and cranky from trying to squeeze in training and studying along with fighting the youma that seemed to pop up every few days. He felt his temper surge and he knocked his friend's hands away. "Step off, Drew. I didn't do anything to your precious Serena. I merely pointed out her lack of grace when she decided to pretend that the sidewalk was a demolition derby arena, that's all."

Okay, so there was a little bit more to it than that. He had been walking down the street in a daze, his thoughts consumed with Sailor Moon as he thought with pride of the progress she had made in such a short time. When he had suddenly found himself sprawled on the concrete and looked up to see Serena's familiar golden pigtails, he had unconsciously slipped back into his old routine.

"_Geez, Meatball Head! Where's the fire?" he snapped._

_Her big blue eyes looked up in horror as she realized who she had rammed into. For a moment she looked like she was about to flee without a word, but then her face flushed with anger._

"_Get a life, Shields!" she said hotly. "You know, a gentleman would normally offer to help a lady up after he knocked her down."_

_That had brought back the memory of when he had helped Sailor Moon up after he had accidentally sent her tumbling to the ground during their morning practice. The difference between the two girls was huge, despite the similarities in their looks. Then the stupid part of his brain had taken over again._

"_Well I guess it's a good thing that nobody would ever mistake you for being a lady then," he drawled, and immediately felt like kicking himself in the ass for it. _

_He expected her to shot back with an equally demeaning comment like the good old days, but was shocked when she simply stood and looked down at him haughtily. "Well luckily I've discovered recently that gentility and chivalry still exist in this world, and that there are people out there that are willing to see that there is more to me than meets the eye. Good day!"_

_Then she had swept through the doors of the arcade, leaving him flabbergasted on the sidewalk._

"Yo! Earth to Darien! Are you still in there?" Andrew's voice penetrated his thoughts.

He came back to reality in a rush. He felt a surge of panic as he thought about her parting words. "Hey Drew, has Serena, you know, started seeing somebody?"

Andrew looked perplexed. "Not that I am aware of. I haven't heard any of the girls say anything about her being with anyone. And anyway, her father would never allow it."

"Oh come off it!" Darien scoffed. "A lot of fathers forbid their daughters to date, but they find ways around it. Remember how you and Rita had to sneak around the first six months you were dating?"

Andrew laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's true. I was on pins and needles the whole time expecting her father to leap out at me with a gun or something. It was a godsend when he admitted that he knew about us and gave us his blessing."

"So do you think it's possible that she's sneaking around with someone?" Darien asked hesitantly.

"Well..." his friend hedged. "I'm not going to jump to conclusions, but Serena hasn't been around as much lately. The rest of the girls still come in like clockwork, but Serena has been skipping out a lot on her afternoon milkshakes. I still think that if she were seeing someone I would have heard about it. She would have at least told Mina and the others and they would have told me."

"Not if she didn't want anyone to know about it," Darien persisted. "What if some guy has gotten his hooks into her? She can be too trusting for her own good sometimes. What if he's an older man, or worse, married? Or what if he's a gang member or a drug dealer? She may be caught up in a dangerous and abusive situation and be too scared to say anything."

"Whoa! Okay! Enough caffeine for you!" Andrew said with a chuckle as he tried to wrestle the mug of coffee away from his friend. "Seriously, Dare! Serena's not that secretive of a person. You make it sound like she's living the secret life of an international spy or something. This is Serena we're talking about. If she had something going on in her life she would say something."

Darien shook his head. "Perhaps you're right. I'm probably just overreacting. Maybe I've been studying too much. Forget I said anything."

"You have been hitting the books kinda hard lately," Andrew agreed. "As a matter of fact, you've cut back on the amount of time you spend in here as much as Serena has. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were the one that might have a secret girlfriend stashed away somewhere."

"Yeah right!" Darien snorted. "I'm having a secret love affair with Trig and Economics. Get real!"

Andrew chuckled. "I'm just kidding ya, man! I know you better than that. You're a less likely candidate than Serena for living a double life. Although this concern for a certain blonde sophomore does make me raise an eyebrow. Why would you be so worried about Serena's personal life?"

Dark blue eyes rolled at him. "Just because Meatball Head isn't my favorite person in the world doesn't mean I want to see her get hurt. She's a good kid, she's just not my type."

He cringed a little as the lie slipped through his lips. He looked away, not noticing the speculative gleam that lit up his friend's eyes. He knew Serena had something big going on in her life right now, and he was going to find out what. He may not be able to claim her as his own, and he wouldn't deny her the opportunity to be with someone else, but he had to make sure she was okay just to put his own mind at ease.

* * *

"Ooo, Raye! That dress is absolutely dazzling on you! You've just got to get it!" Serena gushed enthusiastically.

The raven-haired priestess surveyed herself critically in the mirror. "Do you really think so? You don't think it's too flashy, do you? I mean, it's awfully bright." The dress was short, strapless, and clung to her like a second skin. It was deep crimson in color and was accented by a pattern of glittering red sequins across it.

Serena nodded. "It's perfect! You've definitely got the goods to pull off a dress like that."

Raye gathered her hair up on top of her head as she twisted and turned to take in her image from all angles. Then she grinned. "You know what, I think you're right. It's just a good thing that we are getting ready at Mina's that night. If grandpa saw me in this he'd tell me not to come home without a husband. He's been trying to set me up with the new guy that we have working at the temple. Can you believe that?"

"Are you talking about Chad?" came Lita's muffled voice from one of the changing rooms. "I don't see what you have against the guy, Raye. He's kinda cute in a rugged way. He reminds me of my ex-boyfriend."

"All guys remind you of your ex-boyfriend," Mina said loftily as she swept out of her changing room in a flurry of vivid orange. The off the shoulder design and plunging neckline were a little daring. But Mina had been a movie star and was used to wearing clothes that showed her creamy skin off.

"That's not true!" Lita retorted as she appeared in a straight sheath dress of deep forest green with wide shoulder straps. "It's only the brunettes that remind me of him. And actually Chad's hair isn't quite the right color. My ex's hair was more of a deep mahogany."

"Well if he was so perfect why did you guys break up?" Raye said slyly.

Lita shrugged. "I don't know. I was drawn to him for some reason, but after a while I just started feeling like we weren't compatible. I think it was his eyes that put me off. I always thought he should have had blue eyes instead of brown."

"I've always been partial to blondes myself," Raye said nonchalantly. "I kinda like that blonde haired, blue eyed surfer boy look myself."

Mina smothered a grin before jumping into the conversation. "Well then, it's a good thing that Andrew has hazel eyes, because I've set my sights on him."

"Oh, Lita, Mina! You both look so pretty!" Serena exclaimed, changing the subject before things could heat up between her friends. "Now we just need Amy out here to see how she looks." She walked over and knocked on the closed door to the stall Amy was in. "Amy, how's it going?"

"I'll be out in a minute," Amy called back. True to her word, a few minutes later her head popped out the door and her wide blue eyes fastened on her blonde friend. "I don't know about this, Serena. This really isn't my kind of thing."

"Don't be silly!" Serena scolded. "I know that you will look sensational. Now come on out here and let the rest of us see what you look like."

Resignation burned in the shy girl's eyes. "Fine!" she said simply before opening the door all the way and stepping out. She kept her head down as she greeted nothing but silence. Then the squeals started.

"Amy!" Serena shrieked. "You look like a goddess! We're going to have to beat the boys off of you with a stick!"

"Stick my ass!" Lita retorted. "I may have to bruise my knuckles before the night's over to save her from unwanted attentions."

Raye nodded her head. "Remind me to bring some of my charms to the dance to ward off the perverts because our Amy is going to need it."

"You look way chic!" Mina squealed. "We are all going to cause a stir when we show up looking so beautimous!"

Amy blushed furiously as she ran her hands nervously over the ice blue silk of the Grecian style dress she wore. "Are you guys sure? I feel a little out of my element here."

"Are you kidding?" Serena protested. "That color is fab on you. It brings out the lighter blue highlights in your hair. It's perfect!"

Amy looked at Serena gratefully and then looked worried. "But what about you, Serena? You haven't tried on anything yet."

The bubbly blonde winked at her. "I'm just waiting on the saleslady. They didn't have my size out on the floor in the dress I wanted to try, so she went to the back to see if they had one in stock. Speaking of which, there she is. I'll be right back guys!"

She hurried over to the approaching saleswoman and took a dress that was draped in white plastic from her before scurrying into one of the unoccupied dressing rooms.

"Ten bucks says whatever dress she's picked out ends up being pink," Raye whispered to the others. "I've never known a girl her age that loves pink so much. She's such a Barbie."

Amy spun around and pinned Raye with furious eyes. "So what if it is pink! The last time I checked it was a free country and you could wear whatever color you wanted. If Serena wants to wear pink, then let her wear pink! I think she looks adorable in it. You're not her keeper, Raye, so lay off of her!"

"Whoa! Break it up!" Lita exclaimed, pushing her way between the two glowering girls. "What gives, Amy? Raye didn't mean anything by it. She was just picking as usual. You know how she is."

"I don't need you to stick up for me, Lita! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Raye retorted. "Have you got some kind of a problem with me all of a sudden, Mizuno?"

Amy visibly wilted under her friend's heated glare. Her eyes glassed over with tears. "I'm so sorry, Raye. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I don't know what came over me."

Raye took a deep breath. "Apology accepted. I guess I was being petty. Serena's one of my closest friends and I would never actually hurt her. She's just so easy to pick on. I guess I can see why Darien enjoys it so much. The girl is an absolute hoot when she gets flustered."

"Serena's been a true friend to us all," Mina spoke up. "I don't think that any one of us would ever do anything to hurt her. I know I would defend her with my life if I had to."

"Hear, hear!" Lita agreed. "There's just something about her that makes you love her. Which brings up an interesting point. What do you guys think happened between her and Darien? They haven't spoken in two weeks, and then after they had their little run in earlier Serena's back to cursing the guy under her breath. It's really weird."

"Darien Shields is a world class idiot!" Mina hissed softly. "If the guy had an ounce of common sense buried underneath all of those book smarts of his, he would have swept Serena off her feet months ago."

Lita's eyes lit up. "Do you really think that there's something between them?"

Raye snorted. "I'd be willing to stake my soul on it. You don't have the kind of tension that brews between the two of them without it being fueled by some powerful emotion. They see it as hate, but the old saying is true, there's a thin line between love and hate."

"Exactly!" Mina said with a firm nod of her head.

"I don't know," Amy spoke up quietly. "I didn't say anything before, but I think Serena's been seeing someone secretly. That's why she's been pulling away from us."

Alarm widened the other three sets of eyes. "What!"

The blue head nodded. "I was walking home from the library one night last week and saw Serena across the street. It was one of the days when she didn't meet us after school. She was skipping down the sidewalk with a dreamy smile on her face and was carrying a small bouquet of red roses. I called out to her, but she didn't hear me."

Raye and Lita each went to grab the girl by an arm, but she nimbly jumped away from them. Mina quickly choked back a cackle of glee at the sight of the familiar move that she remembered seeing Sailor Mercury perform a hundred times in their past lives.

"What is wrong with you two?" Amy demanded. "I just said that I have my suspicions. I don't have any concrete proof."

"And you're just now saying something?" Raye growled. "I thought it was strange when Serena suddenly started skipping out on us, but I never thought to connect it with a guy."

Lita glared at the closed dressing room door. "That little sneak! She's been holding out on us. How dare she land herself a new love interest and not dish out the gossip to us! This calls for drastic measures. I say we tie her up and taunt her with her favorite ice cream until she spills the beans."

"Hold up just a sec!" Mina intervened. "You guys are jumping the gun. I seriously doubt Serena is seeing somebody on the side. We all know how gaga she's been over Darien, even if she's too stubborn to admit it to herself. She doesn't have eyes for anyone other than him."

'_Even if she doesn't know it's him that she's been sneaking off to see almost everyday,' _she thought to herself. _'But they'll figure it out sooner or later. In the meantime, maybe it's time to bring in some reinforcements to help me and Andrew out with our plan to get Serena and Darien to spend more time together.'_

"You're all going to the Furuhata's party tonight, aren't you?" she asked innocently.

All three of her friend's heads nodded.

Mina's blue eyes began to sparkle mischievously. "Excellent! I want the three of you to come over to my place early to get ready for tonight. We have some plans to make."

"Okay, guys!" Serena's muffled voice called out through the wood of the closed door. "Here I come. And I want your honest opinion."

The door opened and the petite blonde stepped out. The sounds of four mouths popping open in shock were audible as their chins hit the floor.

Serena spun in a circle nervously. "So what do you think? I know it's a different look for me, but I wanted to try something new."

All four girls had the same thought running through their heads. Darien Shields was going to flip when he saw Serena at the dance.

* * *

Jadeite looked around the crowded mall at all of the busy, bustling holiday shoppers, his eyes gleaming in satisfaction. This was the perfect location to gather a large amount of energy for his queen. With so many people together in one place he should be able to suck out their energy quickly and make his getaway before that interfering moon brat or tuxedo boy showed up to try to stop him.

"This is absolutely providential," he chuckled to himself as he watched from a dark secluded corner.

A shadow swirled next to him as Nephrite appeared. "So, you're planning a hit and run, are you? How like you to take the cowardly way out."

A growl erupted from the blonde general's throat. "What the hell are you doing here? Beryl gave this assignment to me. So why don't you go back to the lair and talk to your stars or something. Your help isn't needed or wanted here."

The chestnut haired general laughed. "You fool! Like I would help you. I simply came to observe the situation in case Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask show up. It's always good to find out everything you can about the opposition. It's only a matter of time before our queen grows weary of your consistent failures and turns this mission over to someone much more capable, someone like me."

Jadeite snarled and a sword materialized in his hand. With just a flick of his wrist he had the blade pressed against the larger man's neck. The metal turned red and waves began shimmering off of it as it heated up. "Just give me a reason. All I need is one excuse to permanently separate your head from your body."

Nephrite merely looked amused as he touched a fingertip lightly to the blade and sent an electrical charge racing down the sword. His grin widened as Jadeite cursed and dropped the weapon. "You're always so quick to let your temper override your common sense. Like I said, I'm not here to intrude on your little plan. I'm simply here to observe. I will leave you now."

"Smug bastard!" Jadeite grumbled as Nephrite faded away. "Shakura, come forward!"

Another form appeared next to him; this one a slender, buxom blonde woman. "You summoned me, master?"

"Indeed I did," Jadeite confirmed. "We must gather energy for our queen. I want you to drain as many people can quickly and return to the Dark Kingdom. If anyone tries to interfere I want you to make your escape as soon as possible. Do not try to engage them in battle. Is that understood?"

Shakura bowed to him, a sinister grin unfurling on her lips and a wicked looking whip appearing in her hands. "It will be as you wish, Lord Jadeite."

* * *

"I'll see you guys later!" Serena called out to her friends and waved goodbye to them as they exited the mall. She slung the garment bag that contained her dress for the dance over her shoulder and readjusted her grip on the shopping bag that contained the shoes, accessories, and the few small gifts that she had picked up. It had been a productive afternoon, but man was she tired.

"At least I'll have time to catch a nap before going to the party tonight," she sighed. "This superhero stuff is seriously cutting into my beauty sleep. If Tuxedo Mask ever found out I spent all day shopping instead of resting like he told me to he'd probably blow a gasket. But it is kinda nice to have someone worry about me like that."

True to his word, her masked partner had called to check on her earlier to make sure she was keeping her promise to enjoy some rest and relaxation. She was just glad that she had been inside the quiet dressing room when her phone rang. She felt a little guilty about lying to him and telling him that she was at home vegging out, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, she had told him to get some rest as well, and she could tell by the noises in the background that he hadn't been at home either, but she hadn't said anything.

Grateful that she didn't live too far away from the mall, she prepared to make the trek home. She hadn't gone more than ten steps when she felt the familiar shiver down her spine that alerted her to a youma's presence.

"No, no, no! Not today!" she moaned. "Can't a girl catch a break around here? I just want to go home and sleep. Is that so wrong?"

She cringed as she thought about the implications she would face if she were to ignore the youma and walk away. The mental image of Luna pinning her to the bed with her razor sharp claws only inches from her face and her cinnamon colored eyes blazing as she screamed at her that she was Sailor Moon and she couldn't neglect her duty had her scrambling to find a place where she could transform and hide her stuff.

She finally found spot around the back of the mall where the delivery docks were. She squeezed between a trash dumpster and the brick wall and put her purchases down, praying that they would still be there when she got back. Then she pulled her broach out of her pocket where she had been keeping it.

"Moon Prism Power!"

The power burst forth in a rush of lights and ribbons, chasing away some of the fatigue and making her feel stronger and faster. As soon as her transformation was complete, she leapt from her hiding place and onto one of the loading docks. Following the pull that would lead her to the youma, she dashed back inside the mall.

She pushed her way through the crowds of panicked people that were beginning to rush for the exits. She heard the cries of "Demon Lady!" so she knew that she must be getting close.

She heard the sounds of the attack before she actually saw it. There was a strange hissing and snapping sound followed by short screams and then the thud of a body hitting the floor.

Sailor Moon looked around and realized that she was in the women's clothing department of a large department store. And standing on top of a glass display case was a very well endowed youma that looked as if it should be in Fredrick's of Hollywood rather than surrounded by the much more conservative styles of this particular store.

"What is it with these Dark Kingdom goons all looking like they should be Playboy centerfolds?" Sailor Moon muttered to herself as she took in the voluptuous blonde wearing a black lace corset top with a black leather mini skirt that was so short that it almost couldn't even be considered a skirt. Her thigh high black stiletto boots squealed against the glass as she turned and snapped the whip she was holding at a fleeing woman.

There was a crack and a hiss as the whip wrapped around the woman's waist. She started to scream, but it was cut short as the whip glowed, sucking her energy out of her in a rush and sending her tumbling to the floor amid close to thirty other victims.

Sailor Moon had seen enough. Taking a running leap she sailed through the air and landed on top of another display case not far from the youma. "That's it! These people came in here to shop for Christmas gifts for their family and friends, not to have their energy stolen by a Hooter's reject like you. Now why don't you go crawling back to whatever street corner you came from!"

The youma turned to sneer at her, revealing a set of fangs. "Well, well, you must be Sailor Moon. I wasn't expecting you to show up quite so soon."

"I don't care what you were expecting!" Sailor Moon shot back. "Return these people's energy to them now, before I turn you into moondust!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the youma cackled. "My master ordered me to collect this energy for our queen, and I intend to do just that. Now run along home little girl before you break a nail."

"We'll see who laughs last," Sailor Moon ground out as she removed her tiara from her head. The small piece of metal began glowing before it turned into a spinning disc that hovered above her palm.

She pulled back her arm in preparation to send it flying at the youma. "I hope you've said your prayers. Moon Tiara…"

She broke off her attack as a second figure shimmered into view beside the youma. Her blood ran cold as she recognized the blonde general with the hard, frightening eyes. "Jadeite!" she exclaimed softly.

"Shakura!" he snapped. "I thought I made your orders clear. You are not to engage Sailor Moon in battle. Now retreat with the energy you have."

The blonde bowed to him. "As you wish, my lord." And then she disappeared.

Jadeite turned to face the shaking heroine. "Now then, Lady Moon. I must confess that I was surprised at your quick response to my attack. Are you here alone, or is your faithful lapdog here as well?"

She thought quickly. She didn't know why, but Jadeite scared the crap out of her. She'd rather face ten youma on her own rather than admit to him that she was here with no backup. Maybe she could bluff her way through this.

"I'm never alone, Jadeite!" she told him in a voice that she hoped didn't shake too much. "Tuxedo Mask prefers to have a certain element of surprise. You should know that by now."

He gave her an evil grin. "That's true. The masked man is fast. But let's see if he's fast enough to save you from this!" He flung out his hands and sent a wave of dark energy speeding toward her.

She saw it coming and tried to jump out of the way, but she was just a second too slow. The dark energy slammed into her, throwing her back and sending her careening through several racks of clothes. She bounced off a few mannequins, knocking them over as she blew by. Her flight was finally stopped when crashed shoulder first into a wall hard enough to crack the drywall.

She slid to the floor in a daze. Her vision was blurry, but she looked around for any sign of Jadeite. He seemed to have vanished into thin air. She heard voices approaching and pulled herself painfully to her feet. There was one rule that Luna had pounded into her head over and over; once the battle was over she was to flee the scene as quickly as possible.

She managed to take a few steps before she stumbled over a downed mannequin. She pitched forward, her head spinning. Blackness was beginning to bleed into the edges of her consciousness, and she gave herself up to it.

Just before she passed out completely, she felt a pair of arms scoop her up before she could hit the floor. She snuggled into the embrace as she felt herself being carried away. A voice whispered harsh curses near her ear, causing her to smile.

'_My dark knight came for me,' _she thought happily before slipping into oblivion.

* * *

"Okay, tell me why I'm here again," Darien grouched as he pushed his way through the throng of holiday shoppers.

"Oh, chill out a little, Dare!" Andrew scolded. "I told you my mom needed me to pick a few last minute things for the party. And you, being the good friend that you are, graciously volunteered to help me."

"That's not the way I remember it," Darien growled. "You blackmailed me into this and you know it!"

Andrew pasted an innocent look on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just casually mentioned that it would be nice to have some help carrying this stuff back. And since you're always cashing in on the free food and drinks at the arcade, you were the logical choice."

Darien crossed his arms and glared. "Hey! I never ask for freebies! I can't help it if you're sending your family into bankruptcy with all the stuff you give away. I'm perfectly capable of paying for what I consume."

"I know that," Andrew said with a roll of his eyes. "Stop being such a Scrooge and come on. I'm sure you didn't have anything planned for this afternoon except for burying your head in a book anyway. I'm going to inject some holiday cheer into you if it kills me."

"All right!" Darien said with a laugh. In all honesty the only thing he'd had planned for the afternoon was crawling into bed and catching some sleep before the party tonight, but instead he found himself at a mall crowded with holiday shoppers. He followed Andrew into a party supply store.

Forty-five minutes later, he was at his wits end. "For crying out loud, Drew! I don't think your mom will be able to tell the difference if we substitute one roll of fire engine red streamers."

Andrew's hair was sticking up all over his head from where he had run his hands through it repeatedly. "So says you! She was very specific in saying that she wanted five rolls of candy apple red."

"Well they only have four!" Darien snapped, holding the two supposedly different color streamers side by side. "You can't even tell the difference between them."

Andrew shook his head. "She'll know. I don't know how she does it, but she'll figure it out somehow. She'll rake me over the coals if I try to pull a fast one on her."

It was times like this that made Darien hate the holidays. People tended to go a little psychotic at this time of year. He was about to tell Andrew that he quit when an ominous feeling washed over him. It felt like someone had jammed an icicle down his spine and every hair on his body seemed to stand on end. A youma was nearby.

He had barely registered what it meant when another sensation hit him, the one that told him Sailor Moon was transforming. He had to find a way out of there.

"Hey, I've got an idea," he said to his friend, trying to sound nonchalant. "Why don't you call your mom and explain things to her? That way she can come up with her own solution. While you do that I'm going to run and look at something real quick, okay."

"Sure," Andrew agreed as he fished his cell phone out of his pocket, mentally preparing himself for the tongue lashing he was sure he about to get. "Just meet me back here when you get done."

"Will do!" Darien said with a grin as he made his escape. The moment he left the store his face took on a concerned expression. He could feel that Sailor Moon had confronted the enemy, and the tension that he was sensing from her was through the roof.

He ducked into a men's restroom and checked to make sure he was alone. Once he had confirmed that he was the only one in there, he pulled a red rose from the inside pocket of his jacket. It had taken him a couple of weeks to figure it out, but he had discovered that this particular rose held his transformation powers just like Sailor Moon's broach held hers. Now that he knew that he had more control over his transformations and no longer feared that he may suddenly transform without warning.

There was no flashy announcement of his transformation, just a slight fluttering of a breeze as his tuxedo and cape materialized around him. The moment his metamorphosis was complete he knew something was wrong. Fear exploded in his gut, making him feel shaky and cold sweat beaded on his brow.

He didn't stop to think, he just went on instinct, following the invisible link that pulled him automatically to Sailor Moon's side. He was nothing more than a black blur as he covered the distance to the other end of the massive mall in a matter of seconds, jumping over the heads of the panicked crowds when they blocked his way.

He blew past the last few stragglers as he reached the entrance of a large department store. He ran in, leaping over unconscious people and fallen merchandise in his path. He was concerned about the victims, but Sailor Moon was his main focus at the moment. He had to find her and make sure she was okay.

He finally saw her above the endless racks of clothing. She was obviously standing on something for him to be able to see her normally petite frame. And she wasn't alone; Jadeite was barely twenty feet from her, glaring at her with a look of unholy glee on his face.

No wonder he had felt her fear. He knew that Jadeite scared Sailor Moon senseless, and he didn't blame her. There was something innately sinister about this lackey of Beryl's, something that ignited rage inside of him every time he caught a glimpse of the blonde general.

He heard Jadeite say something to Sailor Moon, but he couldn't make out the words. He was rushing as fast as he could to reach her, but when he saw Jadeite shoot an energy blast at her his heart almost stopped. There was no way he would reach her in time. The blast hit her head on and sent her flying across the store.

"You bastard!" he yelled as he charged Jadeite, his cane in one hand and several razor sharp roses in the other.

Jadeite simply turned to rake a contemptuous look over Tuxedo Mask, his savage eyes full of gloating, before disappearing in a swirl of darkness.

"That son of a bitch!" Tuxedo Mask hissed as he turned in the direction that he had seen Sailor Moon be flung. His heart was pounding furiously in fear for his partner.

"Please be okay," he chanted over and over under his breath. He didn't know what kind of condition he would find her in. That had been a powerful attack Jadeite hit her with.

His steps faltered a little in relief when he saw her struggling to her feet from the rubble around her. She took a few stumbling steps before her eyes glazed over and she swayed drunkenly. He dashed forward and caught her in his arms as she began falling, sweeping her up in his arms bridal style.

She let out a little sigh, and he could have sworn he heard her whisper, "You came for me," before she went limp in his grasp.

He heard the voices of what was probably mall security coming to check out the disturbance and knew that he had to get them out of there. The authorities could handle taking care of the victims, but he couldn't let them find Sailor Moon. Her real identity could be compromised if they took her to a hospital, not to mention that there would be a lot of questions asked.

So he drew his cape around the precious bundle in his arms and headed as fast as he could for the nearest exit, never noticing a second sailor scout that was watching him from a distance.

* * *

"My queen, we had some success today. Please allow me to present you with this energy that we collected from the humans. I know that it's not a lot, but there is more to be had," Jadeite said as he bowed down before the throne.

Beryl's reddish brown eyes speared him. "So you actually managed to escape with some energy this time, Jadeite. And you even brought the youma back alive as well. I must say that this is an improvement over your other abysmal attempts, but it doesn't make up for your past failures."

"I am extremely sorry, your majesty," Jadeite said humbly with his head down. "But I do think this new method of mine is the way to go. It may not result in a large amount of energy at one time, but at least we didn't lose it to the moon brat this time. But future endeavors may prove to be more fruitful. I was able to injure Sailor Moon today, so she may not be able to fight for a while."

"Don't be a fool, Jadeite!" Beryl snapped. "I don't know who this Sailor Moon is, but if she is actually one of Serenity's scouts she will heal extraordinarily fast. She won't be out of commission for long. And what of Sailor Moon's little boy toy? Were you able to injure him as well?"

Jadeite shook his head. "No, my queen. He didn't arrive until after I had attacked Sailor Moon. He appeared to be in quite a rage, so I decided that it was best to retreat with the energy that Shakura was able to drain from those pitiful mortals."

"So he has feelings for the girl," Beryl mused. "This could prove to be most helpful. Continue as you were, Jadeite. Strike where you see fit and bring me what energy can. And if you get a shot at the moon brat again I want you to eliminate her. That would surely strike into the heart of the masked man and get him off our backs as well. That is all." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

As soon as the blonde general left she turned to the shadows beside her. "Well, what do you think of his plan, Kunzite?"

A tall man with long platinum hair that hung below his shoulders and hard, steel gray eyes stepped out of the darkness to take his place at her side. "It has merit, your majesty, but what remains to be seen is whether or not Jadeite can pull it off. He's entirely too impulsive and quick to anger. I believe he's underestimating this Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. They have more power than he realizes."

"I agree," Beryl assented. "I think perhaps it's time to give Nephrite a chance to earn his keep. Perhaps with both him and Jadeite out collecting energy we can gain the amount needed to awaken Metallia that much sooner. It will also stretch Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask to their limits. After all, they can't be in two places at once. And since there is no sign of any of the other scouts it may be safe to assume that Queen Serenity's grand plan to reincarnate everyone backfired and they weren't all reborn."

Kunzite nodded. "That would definitely work in our favor. Things would go much smoother without having to worry about all of those meddling scouts. They are a nuisance."

"That much is true, but I can't help but wonder about the existence of the other scouts." Beryl said softly. "It is said that the princess's protectors will follow her wherever she may go. Has there been any word about Princess Serenity's whereabouts?"

Kunzite's head bowed. "Not since she disappeared from London almost a year ago after defeating the man I had following her. Initial reports said that she died in an explosion, but no body was ever found. She vanished without a trace and I haven't been able to locate her since."

Beryl's eyes narrowed. "If she was able to defeat one of your underlings so easily she may already have the Silver Crystal in her possession. But I'm not sensing it's energy nor that of Endymion's Golden Crystal. Is it possible that perhaps you were after the wrong girl before and neither Serenity nor Endymion alive?"

"I don't think so," Kunzite disagreed. "The girl in London went by the name Minako DeLune and she was an actress that gained some fame by playing a super hero named Sailor V. She was also moonlighting as a vigilante upholder of peace under the same guise. The reports that I was given confirmed that she had powers of some kind. She also bore the crescent moon on her forehead that marked her as lunar royalty. She may be flying under my radar now, but I am certain that with us attacking Tokyo and the emergence of Sailor Moon that she will soon surface."

"Keep your eyes open for her, Kunzite," Beryl demanded. "It's time to step up our strategy. I want Jadeite and Nephrite out collecting the energy we need. Zoicite is working on locating the Silver Crystal. And you, my dear number one, your job is to concentrate on finding that little bitch of a moon princess. Once you have her in your grasp I want you to bring her before me. The little slut will pay for seducing my Endymion away from me."

"As you wish, my queen," Kunzite replied with a short bow before turning and leaving the chamber.

Beryl took the swirling orb of energy that Jadeite had brought back to her carefully in her hands and walked over to where a set of stairs led down deeper into the belly of this underground hell. She made her way slowly down them and into a large, dark chamber. The only light was the eerie glow coming from the center of the cave.

Situated there was an enormous orb that was filled with a bubbling sickly orange liquid. Inside this liquid swam a smaller black mass that twisted and turned in all directions.

Beryl approached it and held out her offering. "Oh great leader Metallia! Please accept this gift of human energy. May it help strengthen you so that you may one day return to your former glory."

The energy was absorbed into the orb and Beryl watched in excitement as the black mass inside grew visibly larger. "Good! I have my men out now procuring more energy for you. Soon you will be resurrected, and then the Earth will belong to us."

* * *

Serena groaned as she felt reality beginning to intrude her sleep-fogged brain. She felt like she had been run over by an eighteen-wheeler. Her entire body ached and her shoulder burned as if she had fallen into the fire at Raye's shrine. But despite all of that she felt warm and safe. She snuggled into the silky material around her, not ready to face the world yet.

But the noises around her began to become clearer and she found them impossible to ignore. She could hear the muffled voices of people talking and hum of car engines in the background, but the most disturbing sound was the rhythmic thumping under her ear that sounded a lot like a heartbeat. She tried pressing her ear into her pillow, but that only made it louder.

'_What is that noise? And when did my pillow get to be so hard? What the hell is going on?' _she grumbled to herself. Figuring there was only one way to find out, she slowly opened her eyes.

'_Darien!' _she shrieked mentally when her eyes found a pair of dark blue ones watching her intently. Luckily she realized her mistake before she blurted anything out. "Tuxedo Mask?"

He smiled at her softly, the movement causing his mask to turn opaque again, hiding his eyes from her. "Hey! How are you feeling?"

She could have said death warmed over, but she didn't want to worry the poor guy. "I'm okay. So what happened? Where did Jadeite go?"

He growled and she felt a rumbling under her cheek. Suddenly she realized that she was sitting on Tuxedo Mask's lap, wrapped up in both his cape and his arms with her head lying on his chest. Well that definitely explained the heartbeat she was hearing and the hardness of her "pillow".

"Oh wow!" she gasped, feeling the heat of a blush beginning to burn in her cheeks. She pulled away from him reluctantly. "I didn't mean to pass out all over you like that. Sorry."

It suddenly clicked to him about the intimate position they were in and he wound his arms from around her as she scrambled from the folds of his cape and off of his lap. He immediately missed her slight weight resting against him.

Sailor Moon shivered as the cold December air hit her. She searched for a topic to cover her embarrassment. "So, where are we?"

Tuxedo Mask cleared his throat. "Um, we're on the roof of a building across the street from the mall. After you fainted mall security came nosing around, so I figured I better get us out of there."

"Good call," she muttered, trying to ignore the ache in her shoulder. "So how long was I out?"

"Not long at all, less than ten minutes," he reassured her. "That's pretty amazing considering the hit you took. That bastard Jadeite really laid one on you."

She grimaced. "He took me by surprise. There was a youma when I first got there; she was sucking up people's energy. Then tall, blonde, and scary showed up and sent her away with the energy she had collected. I thought he was going to run too, but then he attacked."

"He took off quick enough when he saw me coming," Tuxedo Mask ground out. "It's a good thing he did too. I was afraid he had really hurt you. I wish you had waited on me."

"That youma was attacking innocent people," Sailor Moon argued. "I couldn't stand by and do nothing. Besides, I didn't know how long it would take you to get there."

"Speaking of which," he drawled. "How did you get there so fast? I felt you transform only a few seconds after I sensed the youma. You must have been somewhere close by. Yet when I spoke to you barely an hour before you said that you were at home resting."

She flushed guiltily. "I had some shopping that I needed to do. It is almost Christmas. And you're one to talk. I thought you were going home to get some sleep, but I heard the noise in the background when you called me. So you can't fuss at me when you are just as guilty as I am."

He at least had the good grace to look sheepish. "All right, I get your point. I think it's safe to say that we're both at the point where we are running purely on adrenaline. We'll end up paying for it sooner or later. I just hope we don't have to pay for it with our lives. If I had gotten my hands on that damn Jadeite earlier I would have planted him six feet under for what he did to you."

"Whoa! Down boy!" Sailor Moon chastised. "Violent much are we?"

He took a deep breath. It had been a long day and it was far from over. His earlier confrontation with Serena still burned in his mind, but he had no right to vent his frustrations on Sailor Moon.

"Sorry," he grumbled. "I'm just having an off day I guess."

"I know how you feel," she said softly, thinking about her run in with Darien. "My day hasn't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows either. It's like there's not enough hours in the day to get everything done. I think my parents are convinced that I've joined a gang and have gotten hooked on drugs, I can't tell my friends why I can't spend as much time with them as I used to, and I've never been a stellar student but now my grades are close to hitting rock bottom. I never asked to be the reincarnation of some ancient princess' guardian, but here I am, fighting monsters while trying to juggle a normal life. It's a lot to take in."

He struggled to find the right words to say to her. Sure, he was having a hard time adjusting to the changes in his life, but he also lived alone and didn't have to answer to anybody. Sailor Moon though sounded as if she had a life full of people outside of fighting the Dark Kingdom.

"Hey, I…" he began, but was cut off as a musical tone began playing. Sailor Moon began patting down her short skirt and soon retrieved a small silver cell phone from a hidden pocket.

She glanced at the screen and sighed before flipping it open and saying in a cheery voice. "Hey mom, what's up?" she paused for a moment, listening to a voice on the other end of the line. "No, I'm done shopping. It must have happened after I left. I'll be home soon, okay," another break. "Yeah, all right. I love you too, mom. Bye!"

Tuxedo Mask heard the way her voice trembled on the last words and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I take it you have to go."

She fought against the agony the weight of his arm was causing on her injured shoulder and nodded. "Yep! It's all part of keeping up the charade of being normal. My family and I have some plans for tonight and my mom was just calling to remind me. It also seems that the youma attack just made breaking news, so she was calling to make sure I was okay."

"Sounds like you have a great family," he replied a little wistfully.

"They're the best," she answered, a few tears sparkling in her eyes. "I guess I better get going."

"Okay," he said letting her go and standing up as she did the same. "But if you need someone to talk to I'm just a phone call away."

She gave him a tremulous smile before impulsively leaning forward and kissing his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered softly and then blushed madly as she leapt away to make her escape.

He stood there for a moment in a daze, watching her until she dropped off the roof of a neighboring building and out of sight. Then he raised his fingers slowly to touch the spot on his face where her soft lips had just been. He suddenly felt warm and tingly all over.

A grin quirked his lips. He didn't know how it had happened, but somehow the little heroine had managed to worm her way into his affections, something that he normally avoided letting anyone do.

He felt the small rush that told him that she had let her transformation go to return to her everyday life and sympathy flooded him. She was trapped between two worlds right now, each of them pulling her in different directions. Right then he made a vow to himself to be there for her, not for Serenity's sake, but for hers. They were all each other had in this madness. And he had to admit that he was starting to become just as dependent on her as she was on him.

* * *

Mina walked out of her bathroom wrapped in a towel with her long blonde hair damp down her back. She threw herself on the bed with a groan. "What are we going to do, Artemis? I feel like such a failure. I can't believe I just stood by and let her get attacked like that. Queen Serenity would have had my head if that had happened back during the Silver Millennium."

Artemis raised his head to look at her from his spot at the foot of the bed. "You did what you had to do, Mina. I know it was hard for you, but you said yourself that it wasn't life a life threatening attack and that the prince showed up only seconds later. We have to keep your identity a secret for as long as possible in order to keep the Dark Kingdom believing that you are the princess. As long as they are searching for you they'll never suspect that Serena is really Serenity."

Mina sat up with a sigh and picked up a stack of photos from the bedside table. They were from the Sailor V photo shoot that she'd had a few weeks before. She looked at herself in the red, white, and blue costume that had made her famous, striking her signature pose with her V sign.

"I hope that reviving Minako DeLune is enough to get Beryl off of Serena's back for a while," she said softly. "I just need to buy us a little more time until everyone has awoken. Mercury is close to coming back to us and Mars isn't too far behind. The way the two of them were bickering earlier reminded me of old times. I wouldn't have been surprised if fire and ice hadn't started flying through the air. I'm not seeing any signs from Lita yet, but once Amy and Raye come around I'm sure Jupiter will follow."

"That will be a blessing," her feline advisor said. "Once everyone is together we will be able to locate the rainbow crystals and reunite them to call forth the Silver Crystal. But we need Serenity in order to purify the crystals first so that Beryl's shadow warriors don't break free. Is she progressing at all?"

Mina grinned. "It's actually quite humorous to watch. Serena and Darien are resisting each other with everything they have, but as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask they are growing extremely close. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out who each other are."

Artemis snorted. "Considering the past they have in this life they're more liable to kill each other rather than kiss. They're not exactly the same as Serenity and Endymion you know."

Mina nodded. "That's true. Serena's much more bubbly and laid back than Serenity was, and Darien can be such a stick in the mud compared to how jovial Endymion always was, but there is still a spark between the two of them that nobody can deny. They just need a little push in the right direction."

Artemis shivered at the manic light that had entered her eyes. "Uh oh, what are you planning?"

She gave him a wink. "Nothing too bad. I'm just going to make the two of them spend some quality alone time together, that's all. They'll thank me for it later."

"Mina," he groaned. "Can't you just let things develop naturally between them?"

"No can do!" she chirped and then squealed as she heard the doorbell ring. "And there are my partners in crime now! It's going to be an interesting night!"

"I have a bad feeling about this," the white cat muttered as he heard Mina trip down the stairs and open the door to Raye, Lita, and Amy. "Those girls are just as much trouble in this life as they were in the last."

Beryl would be the least of their worries if Serena and Darien caught wind of whatever those little troublemakers were planning. Serenity and Endymion had never appreciated the scout's meddling in the past, and he doubted that their reincarnations would like it any better.

_**FLASHBACK**_

Artemis strode down the hall of the moon palace in his human form in search of Princess Serenity. The royal families from all of the planets, including Earth, were present for a conference that Queen Serenity had called to try to negotiate peace between all of the planets, and she had requested for her daughter to attend some of the talks.

As he passed by a door that led to a small supply closet he heard a strange rustling sound and what sounded like muffled voices coming from inside. Curious as to what was going on, he tried the knob only to find it locked. He pulled out a set of keys and located the master key that would unlock any door in the palace.

The door flew open with a bang as two bodies fell from inside the cramped interior of the closet. One was the ebony haired prince from Earth, and the other was none other than the golden haired princess he sought.

"Princess Serenity!" he exclaimed in shock. "What is the meaning of this? How did you become locked in the closet with Prince Endymion?"

Serenity jumped to her feet with her blue eyes blazing. "Where are they? I swear I will strangle them all when I get my hands on them. Or better yet, maybe I'll send them all to Pluto for a month of training with Hades. That'll teach them to play such a rotten trick on me."

Artemis chuckled as he turned to the prince. "I assume that she is talking about the scouts. They're the only ones I can think of that would produce such a reaction from her."

Endymion shrugged, but his eyes carried an irritated light as well. "It seems that they thought that Serenity and I hadn't had enough alone time together lately, so they conspired to somehow trap us together in the closet. We've been in there for close to an hour now. I'm grateful that you discovered us."

"Those girls," Artemis sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with them. They mean well enough, but they have a tendency to take things too far. I hope you haven't been too inconvenienced, your highness."

Endymion grinned at him. "It wasn't completely unpleasant, but it was beginning to get a little stuffy in there."

"What are you talking about, Endy?" Serenity raged. "They were completely out of line with what they did. We are practically engaged! I don't need them to schedule my time with you. You just wait until your generals arrive. I'll find some way to get them back."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Artemis said with a chuckle.

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"Oh well, it's their funeral," Artemis muttered as he leapt from the bed to go find someplace quiet to take a nap where he wouldn't have to listen to the gaggle of squawking girls and what they had planned for Serena and Darien.

He felt sorry for the clueless couple. There was no telling what would happen before the night was over.

**A/N **Ooo…what do the scouts have planned for our favorite couple? You'll just have to wait and see. I have quite a bit finished on the next chapter, and I have to say it is probably one of my favorite chapters I have ever written. Let's just say that it involves a group of matchmakers at a holiday party and their crazy antics that lead to a certain warring couple being locked in a bathroom together with no escape. Lots of Sere / Dare moments coming up. Will they emerge as friends, or will the battle continue? And will they be able to keep their secrets from each other? Find out in chapter 5, Bathroom Confessions. Don't forget to leave those reviews telling me what you think. Later gators! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	5. Bathroom Confessions

**A/N **All right! Here we go! Chapter 5 has arrived! This is a nice long update for you. I'm actually surprised that it turned out as long as it did, but I just couldn't stop. There're so many emotions in this chapter that I don't even know where to start, so I'm not even going to attempt to. I'm just going to let you guys read it and see for yourselves. I'll just say that there are highs and lows, kinda like a proverbial rollercoaster. So anyway, time for my hugs. I can't start a new chapter without giving those out. So BIG HUGS TO:

**xo Usako ox**

**James Birdsong**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**mandii-xo**

**LGCoffeeAddict**

**Fedski**

**samsox**

**Shinobi of life**

**tiny2008 **

**amaramichelle**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**GoldenDragon326**

**anime-lover10**

**jade2nightwing**

**KatanaPrincess**

**Fire Dolphin**

**BostonBill**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**chimichurri**

**afallenblackrose**

**rainbabie**

**Seredhiel05**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I hope I didn't forget anyone. I've been going out of my mind between starting my new job and lots of other things, so I have been a little more scatter brained than usual. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter though. I didn't get a chance to reply to all of the reviews because of time issues, but I wanted to answer a couple of questions that were left. Yes, I mentioned Artemis's human form. He had one in the manga and it popped up a couple of times. I just couldn't see a cat being able to open the door to let Serenity and Endymion out of the closet. And Venus is posing as Serenity, just like she did in the manga and in the live action PGSM. I think it will make for some interesting scenes later in the story because of a little twist in the story that I have planned for later. But my lips are sealed on what that may be.

Oh yeah, I'm hoping to have GT back up and running sometime this week if anyone is interested. I'm not promising anything because my schedule is super crazy right now, but I'm itching to jump back into that story as well. Okay, I'm shutting up now. Go! Read! Have fun! LOL!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 5

Bathroom Confessions

"Hey! You made it!" Andrew exclaimed as he opened the door to his family's house to admit the Tsukinos. "Mom and dad were beginning to wonder if you were going to show up."

Ken chuckled. "Well you know how it is with this family. It takes us forever to get everyone coordinated. I'm surprised that we made it as soon as we did. Oof!" he let out a puff of breath as his wife shoved the covered dishes she was carrying into his arms.

"Drew dear!" Ilene exclaimed as she grabbed the young man that she thought of as a son into a hug. "How have you been? Serena hasn't been driving you crazy begging for free food and drinks at the arcade has she?"

"Mooom!" Serena wailed. "Please stop! You're embarrassing me!"

Sammy snorted. "Not like that would be hard to do. Maybe if you didn't make such a pig out of yourself all of the time people wouldn't pick on you. You're such a glutton!"

"Knock it off you little parasite!" Serena hissed menacingly. "Keep it up and I'll tell everyone about the crush you have on Mika!"

"Anyway," Andrew said, neatly inserting himself between the squabbling siblings. "Dad's around here somewhere and mom's in the kitchen. Hey Sammy, some of your friends are back in the game room. And the girls got here a little while ago, Serena."

"Thanks for the save," Serena told him a minute later after her family members had dispersed into the crowd. "That Sammy can be so annoying sometimes."

Andrew laughed. "What else are younger siblings for? Now how about we go hunt down our friends?" He offered his arm to her.

Serena couldn't help but giggle. "Lead on, gallant sir!"

Andrew frowned at the tired sounding giggle and the slight trembling he felt coming from the girl next to him. Closer inspection allowed him to see through the carefully applied cosmetics to the tiredness her face carried. Her eyes were dull from fatigue and purple shadows marred the delicate skin beneath them.

"Sere, are you okay?" he asked gently. "You look like you're ready to drop any second."

She smiled at her oldest friend, but it was a pale shadow of her usual exuberance. "I'm fine, Drew. I'm just a little tired, that's all. I haven't been sleeping the best in the world lately and I guess it's starting to catch up with me. You don't have to worry about me."

Andrew stopped abruptly. "The hell I don't!" he retorted. "Something's up with you, Sere, and I know it. Everybody's noticed a change in you lately. The girls, Asanuma, Kobyashi…hell, even Darien was worried about you after you left the arcade this afternoon. Is something wrong? Are you sick?"

Serena patted his cheek softly. "It's sweet of you to be so concerned, but I'm really fine, honestly. There's no sense in everyone getting so worked up. I'm sure you're over exaggerating. Darien Shields would never waste a moment of his precious time worrying about me. Now let's drop this subject. This is supposed to be a party after all."

Andrew was dying to say more, but he wisely held his tongue. He had known Serena since she had been in diapers and he could tell when she was lying through her teeth, but the last thing he wanted to do was push her away with excessive prying so he laid off.

Instead he grinned at her. "You're right. Let's go get our groove on." Then he dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Asanuma snuck in a bottle of rum and spiked the punch and egg nog that mom made for us. It should be an interesting night."

Serena tried to look mortified, but humor sparkled in her eyes. "He is so bad! Your mom will flip if she finds out."

"Nah! She stopped being a drill sergeant about two hours ago when the wine that she had been sipping on all afternoon while she was cooking finally loosened her up," Andrew said flippantly.

"Nevertheless, I think I'll just stick with soda," Serena told him. She hadn't much tolerance for alcohol, and the last thing she needed to be was tipsy if the Dark Kingdom decided to attack again. They had never attacked twice in the same day before, but she didn't want to take any chances.

"You have to join us for at least one drink," Andrew insisted. "It'll be bad luck if we don't toast the holidays properly."

"You are such a goofball sometimes," Serena laughed as they entered the glassed in conservatory at the back of the house. It was full of plants and looked out over the Furuhata's spacious backyard that was complete with a pool. A roaring fire in a fireplace kept the room at a comfortable temperature despite the freezing weather outside.

"Serena!" You're finally here!" Mina squealed as she jumped up from where she had been sitting on a sofa to run over and pull her blonde friend away from Andrew to hug her tightly.

Serena bit down sharply on her tongue to keep from whimpering as her injured shoulder protested the movement. After taking a deep breath she pasted a bright smile on her face. "Okay, Mina, I would like to breathe. You act like we haven't seen each other in days, but we were just at the mall with each other a few hours ago."

Mina let her go with a pout. "Can't I be excited to see my bestest friend in all the world? You wouldn't be so cruel as to deny me that, would you?"

"Airhead!" Raye muttered darkly. "So where have you been Meatball Brains? We've been waiting for you forever."

Serena shot a mock glare at her. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get my family mobilized? First dad was late coming home from work and he had to shower and change. Mom was busy cooking and then she had to get ready. And Sammy was tied up in some video game that he literally had to be dragged away from."

"Ah," Raye said slyly. "I see you neglected to include yourself in that list. What were you doing while the rest of your family was trying to get coordinated? I bet you had your head stuck in a manga as usual."

"I did not!" Serena shot back. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to wash, condition, dry, and style this mile long hair? It's not easy."

She winced a little at the lie. The truth was she had gotten home from the mall and had crashed like a rock after downing a couple of aspirins to dull the ache in her shoulder. She had managed to squeeze in a couple of hours of sleep before her mother barged in ranting that they were going to leave without her if she didn't get moving. She didn't have time to go through her normal routine of getting ready, so under Luna's reproving glare she had used the Luna Pen to make herself look halfway normal.

"Well I say it was time well spent," Lita interjected. "You look great, Sere. I don't think I've ever seen that sweater on you before. Is it new?"

She fingered the soft pink sweater that the Luna Pen had paired with a slim, knee length skirt and white ballet flats. "Uh, no. It's been hanging in the back of my closet for ages and I forgot about it. I decided that this would be a good time to wear it."

"Enough of the girl talk!" Asanuma declared as he bounded over to Serena and shoved a glass of punch into her hand. "Now that little bunny Serena has decided to finally grace us with her presence we can get this party started. I propose a toast to a great holiday season. May we all get the gifts that we are hoping for. I think we should go around and say what we are wishing for. I want a new digital camera. Kobyashi?"

"Hmm," he mused for a moment. "I know it's just wishful thinking, but I would love a new car."

"Rita," Andrew sighed wistfully. "I want Rita to move back here."

Mina's face fell for a moment, but then she smiled brightly. "I wish my parents would take a break from their work and come home for at least a couple of days to visit me. That would make my Christmas."

"Wow, you actually said something intelligent," Raye scoffed. "Well I am a priestess, and we are taught to not covet worldly things. But I am grateful for my grandfather and my friends."

"I agree with Raye," Amy said quietly. "But I could use a new laptop. My old one is so outdated."

Lita laughed. "I'm a simple girl and I don't need much. But I would adore it if a certain friend of mine could wrangle a certain lemon pie recipe from her mother."

Serena giggled at the sight of Lita's pleading green eyes. "I'll see what I can do. But I'm sure mom would just give it to you if you asked."

"And what about you, Serena?" Asanuma asked. "What is your Christmas wish?"

She fell silent, thinking hard about it. A year ago she would have said mangas, jewelry, candy, or something else frivolous, but the last several weeks had changed her perspective on things. She raised her head as she felt someone staring intently at her.

Darien was leaning against the fireplace mantle where he had been since she had walked into the room. She had known that he was there, but had avoided looking at him. Now her eyes locked with his and she saw concern and even warmth burning in their sapphire depths.

"I know what my wish is," she said softly, finally tearing her gaze away from him. "My biggest wish is for everyone to be healthy and safe and live long happy lives. I want us all to grow up to be successful and have families of our own someday. That's my hope for everyone."

"Whoa! That was deep," Andrew chuckled. "I've never known you to be so insightful, Sere. What about you, Dare? You're the last one up. What is your Christmas wish for this year?"

The black haired junior shook his head. "I think Serena summed things up pretty well. I wouldn't dare attempt to try to follow up on that eloquent speech."

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" Andrew demanded as he charged at Darien who laughed and side stepped him easily. "Numa, Koby, hold him down so that I can check to see if he has a temperature. He has to be sick if he passes up the opportunity to regal us with one of his genius speeches."

"Just shut up and let's make the toast before you spill your punch all over yourself like a three year old," Darien said good-naturedly.

"Hallelujah!" Asanuma cried. "Let's get this party started. Here's to all of us having a fantastic holiday season as we close out yet another year in pathetically boring teenage lives. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" everyone else echoed as glasses clinked all around.

* * *

Amy quietly slid the door leading to the patio open and stepped out into the bitter winter night. The cold air should have cut through her like a knife, but instead it felt like a gentle caress.

She sighed deeply as she walked over and sat in one of the patio chairs. Everyone else had gone off in search of food, but she needed a few moments to herself. She was trying hard to fit into the party atmosphere, but she just wasn't feeling it. As a matter of fact she hadn't felt herself for the last few weeks.

She was still being plagued by bizarre dreams of death and war, of killing and being killed. It was becoming a common occurrence for her now to wake up drenched from head to toe like she had just climbed out of a pool.

There had also been a few other strange events. Like the glass of juice that had suddenly frozen solid in her hand when she had become frustrated with her studies one night. And then there was the time that a bus had driven through a puddle of water and slung it at her. She had thrown up her hands in defense to try to shield herself as much as possible, and not a single drop landed on her. The entire area around her had been soaked, but she remained bone dry.

Just yesterday she had been at her afternoon cram school when she had overheard a couple of girls talking about her. When she heard them saying hurtful things like how she was a geeky freak and a misfit, she had lost her temper. She had never struck another human being before in her life, but when she heard those two malicious girls she wanted to tear into them. A blue haze had covered her vision for a second before she heard shrieks. When her eyes had cleared she saw that the fire sprinkler above the vicious gossips had sprung a leak and was raining buckets of water down on them. Rather than feel sorry for them, she had felt a deep satisfaction.

These things worried her. She knew that she had somehow frozen the juice, controlled the water so that it wouldn't splash her, and she felt that she had caused the sprinkler leak. But it just wasn't possible. There was no way that anyone could cause these things to happen. It wasn't logical.

And then today when Raye had said those degrading things about Serena when they were at the store trying on dresses, her friend's words had struck a chord with her. Serena was her best friend, and she wasn't going to let anyone, not even another friend, badmouth her. The blue film had clouded her eyes again, and she had been scared that she would do something to hurt Raye.

But then the strangest thing had happened. It was if a wall of flames had pushed back against her and chased away the blue haze. For a moment she even thought that she had seen Raye engulfed by the fire. It had broken the spell around her and made her feel disgusted with herself for snapping at a friend like that.

What if something was really wrong with her? What if she accidentally hurt someone that she cared about, her mother, Serena, or one of the others? She would never be able to live with herself if that happened.

The soft hiss of the door had her head snapping around to find Serena slipping through it. The petite blonde was wearing her coat and had Amy's draped over her arm. She crossed over quickly and draped the coat over the blue haired girl's shoulders before taking a seat next to her.

"There!" Serena said in satisfaction. "I can't have you sitting out here and turning into a popsicle. Then I'd have to drag you to Raye's temple to thaw you out in front of her fire."

Amy couldn't help but smile at her thoughtfulness. "Thank you. But you'll freeze if you stay out here too long."

"It's worth it to be with you," the blonde replied. "I've had a feeling that something's been going on with you recently, Amy. Is there something that you need to talk about?"

Amy gave her an obviously fake smile. "Nothing's going on. I'm just stressed out about exams coming up. You know how I get."

Serena leaned forward to cover Amy's tightly clenched hands with one of her own. "You may be able to pull the wool over everyone else's eyes, but that doesn't work on me, Ames. I can tell that something is bothering you and I wish you would talk to me. I'm your friend. You might feel better if you get it off your chest."

Amy stared deep into her friend's cerulean eyes and felt like shattering into a million pieces. The stress of the last few weeks finally caught up to her and she finally broke down.

"I don't know what to do, Serena!" she sobbed as she flung herself from her seat to her knees where she buried her face in Serena's lap. "Everything is so messed up! I think I'm going crazy!"

Serena was immediately concerned. "Is there something wrong at home? Are you and your mom having problems?"

The blue head shook. "No, it's nothing like that. This has to do with me alone." She raised her head to look up with tear filled eyes. "I think something is wrong with me, mentally."

Serena smiled gently. "Come on, Amy. You're the most mentally sound person I know. Why would you think you are going crazy?"

"It runs in my family," Amy replied softly. "On my dad's side. My grandfather was declared clinically insane before he died. He attempted to burn down the house with the whole family inside. When the police and firefighters arrived they found him sitting on the lawn laughing. He told them that god spoke to him and told him that his family was evil and must be sacrificed. He spent the next few years in an institution until he managed to get a knife somehow and slit his wrists. That was years before I was born, but I've heard the stories. He claimed that he heard voices and saw visions.

My aunt met a similar fate when I was about five. I always remember her as being so sweet and kind. She was very smart and was in law school. She was about to graduate when she suddenly flipped out one day. She walked out in the middle of an exam after she told her professor off. After that she drove over to her best friend's house and physically assaulted her. My grandmother came home that night and found her drowned in the bathtub. She had left behind a letter that said that she had begun hearing voices and seeing frightening things. She didn't want to end up locked up like her father had been, so she decided that it was better to go ahead and die."

Serena was shocked at the tale. She had never though that her shy, quiet friend harbored such a tragic family history. "I'm sure that it's scary to think that something like that may happen to you someday, Amy. But I just don't see it. You're a smart, kind, loving person. You are also very strong. I don't believe for a second that you could ever let something like that beat you."

"That's what I've always told myself," Amy sighed as she looked up at the half moon that was peeking out from behind the clouds. For some reason its soft light made her feel better. "But lately things have been happening that have made me question whether I'm as sane as I thought."

"Are you about to tell me that you've been hearing voices in your head?" Serena asked with a grin in an attempt to lighten the mood. "You're not about to jump me are you?"

Amy looked horrified at the thought. "No! Of course not! I would never do anything to hurt you, Serena! You have to believe me!"

"Hey! I was joking," Serena hastily reassured her. "So what's got you thinking about this so much and getting yourself down?"

Amy moaned and laid her head against Serena's knee. "It's this stupid nightmare that I keep having every night. I'm in this strange place and there's a battle going on all around me. People are killing and dying everywhere. There's a black shadow in the sky and this red headed woman with an evil laugh. It gives me the creeps. Then someone stabs me from behind and when I turn around there's this man with long, dark blonde hair standing there. Before I know what's happening I stab the guy with a spear of ice that comes out of nowhere. It really freaks me out."

'_Could Amy be a scout?' _Serena wondered in stunned surprise. The dream she was describing sounded very similar to her own nightmares and what Luna had described to her about the fall of the moon kingdom. She was definitely having a long talk with her feline advisor when she home tonight.

"Has anything else strange happened lately?" she asked curiously.

The blue haired girl shrugged. "A few things, but nothing that I want to get into right now. Let's talk about you now that I've spilled my guts. Just where have you been hiding out recently? In the year and a half that I've known you I've never seen you skip an afternoon of milkshakes at the arcade, but I can count on one hand the number of days that you've been there in the past two weeks."

"O…oh," Serena stuttered in response to the change of subject. "I've just had some things to take care of, that's all."

Her genius friend studied her. "Hmm, are you staying away in hopes of avoiding a certain dark haired hottie, or is there someone new in your life that you're not telling the rest of us about? It's not fair to keep secrets, you know."

"I don't have a secret boyfriend stashed away somewhere if that's what you're asking," Serena grumbled. Technically she wasn't lying. She and Tuxedo Mask had teamed up together to fight against the Dark Kingdom. It wasn't like they were dating or anything. Sure, she considered him a friend, but in reality she didn't even know who he really was.

"And furthermore," she continued in an even voice. "You just broke one of my cardinal rules. You know I don't anyone to say that Darien's hot in front of me. It makes me nauseous. That scrawny nerdboy is on the opposite end of the spectrum from being hot."

"Me doth thinks the lady protests too much," Amy replied loftily. "Come on, Sere. Raye, Mina, and Lita aren't around right now to pick on you, so confess. You like Darien, don't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" the blonde scoffed. "I do not like Darien Shields. He's a stuck up, egotistical asshole and I detest him with every fiber of my being."

Amy looked at her sadly. "You wanted me to be honest with you, so why can't you return the favor? You know I would never tell anyone anything that you share with me in confidence. I'm not a gossip like the other girls."

Serena growled low in her throat. "That's playing dirty pool, Ames. Fine! I like him a lot, okay! I think I might even be in love with the arrogant snob. But he has the personality of a rabid sewer rat and that overshadows his tall, dark, and sexy looks. The guy may look good enough to eat, but I'm not masochistic enough to put myself through the emotional beating I would get if I tried to pursue him. There's plenty of other guys out there, and I'm sure I can find one better than him. Now let's go inside and grab some food. All this talk about that jerk has made me hungry."

Amy grinned and followed her back inside. As soon as she spotted Mina she hurried over to whisper to her. "I know I said earlier that I wasn't sure about whether or not I wanted to be involved in this scheme of yours, but now I've decided that it couldn't hurt. What do you need me to do?"

Mina's blue eyes twinkled. "I just need you to keep your eyes and ears open for the right time to put our plan in motion."

* * *

"Whew," Darien sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I didn't know I was invited to this party to provide free manual labor. Do you think we have enough?"

Andrew groaned as he settled the logs he was carrying on top of the pile in the wood box. "Should be enough. Thanks for helping me out. It's turned so cold that dad's keeping all of the fireplaces going. I would have been out here all night moving this wood if you hadn't lent a hand."

"It has gotten cold," Darien agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised to see snow soon. We may end up with a white Christmas this year."

Andrew nodded. "That would be cool. Now let's go in and wash up so we can attack the food again. My hands are filthy and frozen to the point that I can't even feel them anymore."

"Sounds good to me," Darien seconded whole-heartedly. He was ready to get back inside so that he could get back to what he had spent his whole night doing, Serena watching.

He was hoping that he would find an opportunity to catch the petite blonde alone. He knew that she probably didn't want to speak to him, but he felt an overwhelming urge to talk to her and make sure that she was okay. Her appearance tonight had him worried. She looked so much paler than normal and seemed to be exhausted. He'd also caught a look on her face a few times during the evening that seemed to be a grimace of pain. She was covering her unusual lack of enthusiasm well behind smiles and laughter, but his sharp eyes could see right through it.

"Oh man!" Andrew moaned as he saw a handful of people standing in the hall outside of the bathroom. "Good thing this house has two more bathrooms upstairs. Come on, Dare!"

"What's your hurry?" Darien asked in amusement. "It would have only taken a few minutes to wait it out."

"Yeah, but my mom's chocolate pie is calling to me," the blonde said flippantly. "I swear I'm going to have to hit the gym big time to work off all this food before I pack on an extra fifty pounds."

Darien snickered. "That would piss coach off if you turned into the Michelin Man when we're so close to the playoffs."

Andrew shuddered. "Thanks a lot! As if I don't have enough nightmares about that drill sergeant already! Do you know how many laps I've had to run in my dreams because of that man?"

"Probably as many as you have in real life," Darien replied as they reached the second floor. "If it weren't for the possibility of scoring scholarships I wouldn't be playing at all."

"I hear ya," Andrew nodded. "That's the only thing that keeps me on the team. I have some money in savings for college, but I don't want my parents to have to foot the bill for everything. But what are you worried about? You've got enough money to pay for school and still have plenty left over."

"I'd rather hold onto it rather than spend it all on school. Med school isn't exactly cheap," Darien told him. "Damn! Looks like this bathroom's occupied too."

"We'll go use my parent's," Andrew interjected smoothly. "I'm pretty sure no one would go in there."

As he led his friend toward the master bedroom, he turned to look over his shoulder to see the bathroom door crack open enough to reveal a pair of bright blue eyes. A slim hand crept out to give him a V sign.

The master bathroom was really two separate rooms. The first one was more like a dressing area with a double vanity that connected to a second room that housed the toilet, shower, and a sunken garden tub.

Andrew walked to the sink and began washing his hands while Darien proceeded to the second room. "Might as well take advantage of this empty bathroom while I can. I'll be out in a minute," he said.

He closed the door and then relieved himself. He heard the water cut off in the other room and then the sound of voices shortly after. It seemed that someone else had come in search of vacant facilities as well.

He flushed and opened the door so the next person could have it. He heard a gasp and looked up to find the last person he had expected to see.

"Darien! What are you doing in here?" Serena asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"I'm just doing what people normally do in a bathroom, Meatball Head," he returned smoothly. "What happened to you?"

She had what appeared to be red fruit punch splattered all over the front of her sweater. "Oh, um, Lita accidentally bumped into Raye and she spilled her drink on me. I was just looking for a place to try to clean up as much as possible so I don't walk around looking like a murder victim for the rest of the night." She turned to the sink where she wet a washcloth and began dabbing at the stain.

"Oh," was all he said as he went to the second sink and began washing his hands. He looked up when he heard a giggle to find Serena watching him in amusement. "What?"

"You've got some streaks of dirt on your face," she told him with a laugh. "What on earth have you been doing, mud wrestling?"

"Not exactly," he said as he looked in the mirror to see that he did indeed have several spots of dirt on his face. "I was helping Drew move some firewood from the shed out back to the wood box beside the house."

"Well that was nice of you," Serena said as she concentrated on the fading stain she was cleaning.

Darien splashed some water on his face. "Of course I helped him. I'm not an ogre, you know!"

Her eyes glittered angrily. "I never said that you were an ogre. I just thought it was nice of you to help out a friend, that's all. You don't have to bite my head off!"

"Well you don't have to sound so surprised to hear that I did something unselfish!" he shot back. "I am a human being!"

"Ooo…" she fumed. "Never mind! Forget I said anything. I was trying to be nice and carry on a civil conversation with you for once, but I should have known that it would be impossible to talk to you!" She threw down the rag and pushed by him.

"Serena, wait! I'm sorry!" he said in a panic and reached out to grab her shoulder. He let go of her quickly when she let out a pained moan and almost fell to her knees. The loose neckline of her sweater slipped and he was able to see a little bit of a purpling bruise.

"How did you get hurt?" he demanded.

She shot a glare at him. "Not that it's any of your business, but I tripped over my cat and fell down the stairs. Now why don't you go ahead and laugh and tell me what a classic Meatball Head move that was? Go on and get it out of your system."

But Darien surprised her. He went to pull gently on her sweater. "Let me see it. You look like you're in a lot of pain. You should probably go and have it checked out. You may have seriously injured something."

She took a step back, shocked by his gentle words. "It's not as bad as it seems, just a little sore. I'm always falling over something so I'm used to it."

Darien's eyes narrowed. He felt that she was hiding something. This seemed like more than just a tumble down the stairs. Her injury, her exhaustion, none of it added up. "Serena, is there something going on? You haven't been yourself for a while now. Have you gotten into a bad situation? Did somebody give you that bruise?"

She shivered a little as Jadeite's face flashed before her eyes. The maniacal gleam that had shown in his blue gaze as he had attacked her chilled her to her core. But she couldn't tell Darien that a Dark Kingdom general had attacked her. He belonged in the normal world, not the supernatural one she now walked in on a regular basis.

So instead of throwing herself at him and crying out her fears like she longed to, she smiled at him. "You are at least the third person that has asked me that today. What is with everyone suddenly thinking I've got some dangerous bad boy hidden away somewhere? Like I told Drew, Amy, and everyone else, I've just had a hard time sleeping lately. That's it, end of story. Now I am going back to the party so I can try to enjoy the rest of my night."

She reached for the doorknob and tried to turn it, but it refused to budge. Frustrated, she yanked on it repeatedly. "Uh, Darien, I think the door is stuck."

* * *

Mina clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle a giggle as she watched through the crack in the door as the two boys disappeared into the master bedroom. As soon as they were out of sight she rushed out to the top of the stairs and sent a sign to Amy at the bottom who had been waiting for her.

The blue haired girl nodded and signaled Lita, who _"accidentally" _bumped into Raye, sending a glass of punch splattering all over Serena.

"Oh my gosh! Are you two okay," the tall amazon gushed quickly.

Raye looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Serena. We need to get that punch washed out of your sweater before it stains." She grabbed the blonde by the hand and pulled her toward the stairs.

Mina grinned when she saw them coming and scurried back to the bathroom, meeting Andrew as he came running from the master bedroom. They both ducked into the small room just as voices were heard coming up the stairs. They grinned conspiratorially at each other.

"Did you get the lock jammed," she asked softly.

"I did," he whispered back. "Now if Serena can get in there and close the door in the next minute or so we should be in business."

"Looks like this bathroom's occupied," Raye's voice came through the door. "Why don't you go use the one in the master bedroom? I'm sure Andrew's parents won't mind."

"Okay," Serena agreed. "I'll be out in a minute."

The sound of her footsteps faded away. After a short pause a light knock was heard on the door. "You guys can come out now."

Mina and Andrew stepped out to join Raye just as an anxious faced Lita and Amy came dashing up the stairs.

"Well, was it a success?" Lita demanded.

Raye grinned evilly. "Definitely. She never had a clue. She walked right into that bathroom and closed the door behind her. Now they're both trapped in there."

"How long are you going to leave them locked up together?" Amy worried. "They may end up killing each other if they stay in there too long."

"I say we keep them in there for as long as it takes for them to stop being a couple of brainless morons and start getting along," Andrew said firmly.

"Who're being brainless morons?" Asanuma cried as he bounced up the stairs, exuberant as ever with Kobyashi right behind him. "You must be talking about our resident love birds because they are the only ones missing from our happy little group."

"Where is the happy couple?" Kobyashi asked slyly. "Is Drew trying to make some extra money on the side by renting his bedroom out by the hour. I never took you for a pimp, Furuhata?"

Andrew flushed red. "Don't be ridiculous!"

Asanuma tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That is a ridiculous thought. But I am thoroughly disappointed in you, Drew. I know that if I were at my house and all alone upstairs with four beautiful women I would take them into my bedroom instead of standing in the hall squawking like a bunch of chickens."

"Pervert!" Raye hissed menacingly, flames sparking in her eyes. (A/N I know neither Asanuma nor Kobyashi make an appearance in What If, but I'm thinking I may at least bring Asanuma back a little bit in Stolen Hearts. He and Jake together might be pretty amusing, especially with Amara around…lol.)

"Anyway," Kobyashi interrupted. "Where are Serena and Darien? Did they kill each other off and you guys hide their bodies or what?"

"Something better than that!" Mina squealed. "We locked them in the master bathroom together where they can't get out."

Asanuma paled. "Are you guys crazy? Darien will kill you when he gets out of there. I don't know if you've ever seen him when he gets really angry, but it's not a pretty sight. And Serena may be a tiny ball of happiness most of the time, but she's scary when crossed."

Kobyashi nodded eagerly. "As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to head back downstairs. I don't want either one of them thinking I was in on this crazy plot."

"I'm with you on that," Asanuma agreed. "We're outta here."

"Cowards!" Lita called after their retreating forms. "I thought you were supposed to be men."

"So what do you think is happening in there?" Amy asked, glancing nervously in the direction of the master bedroom.

"There's only one way to find out," Mina chirped as she began tiptoeing quietly away.

* * *

"You may as well give it up, Darien. It's not going to open," Serena sighed as she slumped down onto the tile floor with her back resting against the wall. "We're stuck in her until someone comes and lets us out."

"I don't believe this!" Darien growled. "There has to be somebody out there that can hear us. Didn't somebody come up with you? I heard you talking to someone before."

She shrugged. "Raye was here, but I told her to go back down without me."

He thought for a moment. "Didn't you see Andrew out there? He was up here with me before."

The blonde head shook. "Nope. I didn't see anyone."

"Great!" he groaned. "We get locked in and everyone disappears. What are the chances of that happening?"

"Well getting upset about it isn't going to solve anything," Serena said gently. "I'm sure the others will realize that we're missing soon and come to look for us." She just hoped and prayed that she didn't sense any youma appearing while she was trapped in here. She would be in a bind if they did. There was no way that she could reveal her secret identity to Darien.

Darien was thinking along the same lines. He could have them out of here in two seconds if he became Tuxedo Mask, but then Serena would know about his alter ego, and he wasn't about to draw her into his crazy new life. He began pacing restlessly in the confined area.

"Would you stop that!" Serena finally cracked a minute later. "You're making me tired just watching you."

"So don't watch me then!" he snapped back.

She opened her mouth to fire something back and then clamped it shut. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, but not before he saw a glimmer of tears in the sky blue orbs.

He watched her silently for a minute before going over and taking a seat next to her on the floor. She cracked open one eye to glare at him. "Now what? You told me not to watch you so I stopped. Now you have to come over and invade my personal space? What is it with you? I wish you would make up your mind already!"

Darien bit back the sharp remark that was burning on the tip of his tongue. Why was it that he could joke and carry on a normal conversation with Sailor Moon, a girl that was a virtual stranger to him, but he couldn't say five words to the girl that he had known for two years without it turning into a screaming match?

He let his head fall back against the wall with a thump. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?" Serena asked in confusion.

He turned his head to look at her. "I'm just frustrated with the situation, but I have no right to take it out on you. So to make it up I'm going to give you a free go at me. Go ahead and call me whatever name pops into your head. I won't say anything in retaliation."

He closed his eyes and waited for her to lay into him with her usual enthusiasm, but all he heard was silence. After a moment he opened his eyes to find her staring at him intently. "What is it? Don't tell me that for once you don't have any double edged words to hurl at me."

She smirked at him. "Count yourself lucky. I'm not in the mood."

He placed a hand over his heart. "Do my ears deceive me? Is the razor tongued Serena Tsukino actually going to pass up such a momentous opportunity. Did the Earth stop turning? Are the stars falling from the heavens? Have pigs taken to the skies? That must be what has happened because I don't believe what I am hearing."

Serena couldn't help herself. She collapsed into a fit of giggles. "You are such a nerd!"

A huge grin split his face. "Now that's more like it! I must admit that I've felt really off my game the last two weeks without you screeching at me at least five times a day."

"Hey!" she exclaimed, sticking her lower lip out in a pout. "I don't screech! I wail with purpose."

A chuckle rumbled from Darien's chest. "Whatever you say, Meatball Head. Can you honestly say that you haven't missed our verbal spars?"

Serena frowned. "I don't miss our fights. Everything was fine when we were just picking on one another, but then it seemed like things always seemed to turn personal. One minute I would be calling you a jerk while you called me Meatball Head, and then suddenly I would become a stupid airhead blonde while you turned into cold, shallow bastard. You have to admit that it wasn't healthy for either one of us, and that's why I pulled away. I couldn't deal with it anymore. It got to where it hurt too much."

Darien ran an agitated hand through his already unruly hair, making it stick out worse than usual. "God, Serena! You have no idea how many times I would drag myself home after one of our fights feeling like the biggest loser on the face of the planet. I've never intended to hurt you, ever, but somehow I always managed to do just that. I don't blame you for shoving me away. I've always had problems with interacting with other people. Even when I was little and stuck in that stupid orphanage I managed to keep people at arm's length. It's like I'm cursed or something."

He felt a weight against his side and looked in surprise to see that Serena had laid her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him with large, sad eyes that were swimming with tears.

"You're not cursed, Darien," she said softly. "You're just misunderstood. You haven't had an easy life and you've built up a wall around yourself to try to protect you from the rest of the world. Not that I blame you for it. I can't imagine what I would be like if I had been through what you have."

"Hey! No tears!" Darien admonished her. "I didn't say that to make you sad. I was just helping you make your point about what a jerk I really am. I don't want you to feel sorry for me. Sure, my life may not be picture perfect, but it could be a hell of a lot worse. So don't you dare cry for me, you silly Meatball Head."

She cracked a smile. "Fine! I wouldn't waste my energy shedding tears for a know it all moron like you anyway." A shiver suddenly ran through her body. "It's cold in here."

The tile floor they were sitting on was cold. Darien moved his arm so that it was around Serena's shoulders and pulled her closer to his side.

"I'm not hurting your shoulder, am I?" he asked gently.

She shook her head and snuggled up closer to him. In reality her injury didn't hurt nearly as bad as it had only an hour before. Thanks to her accelerated healing the bruise would probably be only a memory by morning.

"So does this make us enemies again?" she mumbled sleepily.

Darien looked down at the top of the golden blonde head. "Is that what you want?"

She nodded. "Mm hm. It feels weird not fighting with you. I've missed you."

He sighed and rested his chin between the twin hair buns on top of her head. "Then yeah, we're enemies again. I've missed you too."

"You're so warm," Serena whispered softly. A few seconds later her breath was puffing evenly through her lips as she slipped off to sleep.

Darien watched her as she slept. He had always thought she had such an innocent look around her when she was awake; but when she was asleep her features took on an angelic quality. She was one of the reasons why he didn't mind becoming Tuxedo Mask. She was the embodiment of decency and kindness, and he would do what he had to do to defeat the Dark Kingdom and keep the world safe for her.

His own fatigue began to catch up to him, and in no time he was asleep as well. Her head was tucked neatly under his while his arms held her securely.

Serena smiled in her sleep as she nestled even closer to him. For a brief moment a crescent moon shone softly on her brow before it flickered and faded away.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Zoicite asked as he walked into the chamber to see Nephrite gathering his star charts together and stuffing them into a bag. "You're not running away are you? I thought you were a bigger man than that."

Nephrite glared at his fellow general. "Of course not, you idiot! Queen Beryl has given me a new assignment to help gather energy."

Zoicite flipped his long blonde ponytail over his shoulder. "Really? I thought that was Jadeite's job while you were supposed to be searching for the prince and princess."

"That hothead is muddling things up as usual, so her majesty has asked me to assist in acquiring the energy that we need in order to revive Metallia. She's growing impatient with Jadeite's inability to gather the amount needed in a timely matter," he replied smoothly.

"Well what did she expect?" Zoicite responded flippantly. "I was surprised when she gave such an important mission to him from the beginning. I always thought that you or I would be more suitable for the task. Kunzite would have had the required energy in only a day, but he's too high ranking for such a menial job. But why do you look like you're packing up to leave?"

Nephrite closed his bag. "Jadeite knows nothing of stealth. He sits here in this hole in the ground until he thinks of a place to strike. Then he rushes in headlong and attacks without thought. And if he's lucky like he was today, he comes back with a pitiful amount of energy. I, on the other hand, have decided to try a different tactic. I will join the mortal world and infiltrate them from the inside. When I find a suitable place to gather energy I will do it silently and subtly enough that by the time Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask realize that something's going on, I will have already made away with the energy of those pathetic humans."

Zoicite smirked. "Well, good luck with that. And if by some chance you should come across any information on the crystal…"

"You'll be the first one I tell," Nephrite reassured him as he left the chamber.

'_Like hell I will!' _he snarled to himself as he walked away. Jadeite might be clueless about the ones that were conspiring against them, but he had figured out Kunzite and Zoicite's plot long ago. He knew that the other two generals were hoping that Beryl would kill off him and Jadeite. Then they would wait until the crystal and that damn princess were found before taking the power for themselves and overthrowing Beryl and Metallia so that they could rule instead.

But if they thought he was just going to lie down and die they were sadly mistaken. Jadeite might be a goner, but not him. He would be successful in his mission to get the energy that his queen required so that he may stay in her good graces. As long as he still had her favor, neither Kunzite nor Zoicite would dare to make a move against him

He just had to make sure that Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask kept their little snot noses out of his business. If either one of them got in his way they wouldn't live to regret it.

* * *

"It's gotten awful quiet in there. What do you think they're doing?" Lita hissed as she pressed her ear against the locked bathroom door.

Raye shrugged. "Well whatever they're doing, they better get on with it! I've got better things to do than to eavesdrop out here all night. In case the rest of you have forgotten, there is a party going on downstairs."

Mina waved a dismissive hand. "Don't be such a downer, Raye. We're doing this in the name of love."

Amy chewed nervously on her thumbnail. "I don't know, you guys. They've been in there for over a half hour. I think it's been long enough."

"What did I miss?" Andrew panted as he ran into the room.

"Nothing," Raye muttered. "They've been silent for at least ten minutes. I think this plan is a bust. They're probably just sitting in there and ignoring each other. I say we let them out."

"That might be a good idea," Andrew told them. "When I was downstairs just now I heard Serena's dad say that he hadn't seen her in a while. If he comes looking for her and finds her and Darien locked up together he'll blow a gasket. You all know how protective he is."

"If we must," Mina sighed. "I just hope that they've been in there long enough to do some good. I wanted to give them at least a full hour before we let them out."

"And I want to keep my best friend alive," Andrew grated. "Ken will think the worst if he finds out about this and hack Darien into little pieces."

"I wonder what they're up to in there?" Lita cackled, rubbing her hands together with an evil glint in her eyes.

Mina joined her in musing. "I bet it's probably steamy. They sure haven't been talking, so maybe they found other ways to keep their tongues occupied."

"You guys!" Raye whisper-screamed as she clamped her hands over Amy's ears. The blue haired girl had gone beet red in the face. " You two are almost as bad as Asanuma. Have some respect for Amy's virgin ears. And I, for one, would rather not lose my dinner because of the nauseating mental images you are putting in my head, you little hentais!"

"Like you're one to talk," Mina scoffed. "I'm not the one with romance mangas hidden under her bed."

"Ladies!" Andrew interrupted. "Could we save this conversation until after we've released the prisoners from their cell?"

"Hmph!" Raye snorted and knocked on the bathroom door. "Hey Serena! Are you still in there?"

No reply.

She knocked louder. "Serena!"

Still no answer.

"Oh my god! They did kill each other!" Mina squeaked, grabbing the doorknob and yanking on it. "Does anyone see any blood coming under the door? Or maybe they strangled one another. Ooo! And I thought this was such a good idea. Now I've probably killed my best friend! What am I going to doooo?"

"Move out of the way, Mina!" Andrew ordered her, shouldering her aside. He pulled a pair of needle nose tweezers from his pocket and used them to remove the bobby pin that he had jammed into the locking mechanism earlier.

"Neat trick," Lita said snidely. "And people used to think I was the criminal type."

The lock released with a click and Andrew flung the door wide. He and his four cohorts crowded the doorway to peer in cautiously. They expected to find their friends a bloody mess, or at the very least knocked unconscious from each other's blows. But what they found instead shocked them all into near stupidity.

Darien was snoring softly as he sat with his back against the wall and his arms clasped tightly around the blonde girl next to him. His head was resting on top of the golden hair. Serena was curled up so close to the black haired junior that she was practically sitting in his lap as she slept peacefully.

"I don't believe it," Raye whispered in shock.

Lita let out a low whistle. "Go, Serena!"

"Oh my," Amy murmured and looked away, blushing madly.

Mina and Andrew grasped each other's hands before jumping up and down and squealing like a couple of fangirls.

Raye was the first one to recover. "Well let's wake up the sleeping beauties so we can get back to the party." She walked over and prepared to nudge Serena with her foot.

Mina grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Wait a minute. There's something I've gotta do." She fished in her pocket for a moment before pulling out her cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Lita asked as she watched the blonde flip open the phone with a devilish gleam in her eyes.

Mina giggled. "You'll see." The phone made a clicking noise as she began snapping pictures. "This is our blackmail material. Either Serena tells us the details of every moment that happened in here or these pictures will be posted on the school's website so that everyone can see what an adorable couple they make." (A/N Now you see why Darien was so worried in Chapter 13 of What If.)

"That is just plain evil!" Amy gasped, trying to look indignant, but a smile twitched the corners of her mouth.

"Anyway," Mina said breezily as she stowed her phone away. " I guess it's time to let them off the hook." She bent down and shook Serena's shoulder. The sleeping blonde squirmed and grimaced, and Mina could have sworn she heard her friend whisper, "Endy", before her eyes blinked open slowly.

"Mina?" she mumbled disorientedly. "What's going on?" As she became more aware she realized that all of her friends were there, looking at her with silly grins on their faces. She also noticed a firm warmth at her side.

Andrew chuckled. "Well, Snow White has finally decided to join the land of the living. I suppose I should wake up Prince Charming now."

"Huh?" Serena said in confusion as she moved her head a little to see what she was leaning against. Horror spread through her as she looked up into the sleeping face of her worst enemy.

"Shields!" she screeched, jerking out of his arms and scrambling away from him as fast as she could.

Darien fell over sideways, hitting the floor with a muffled "Oomph!" His sapphire blue eyes opened, looking immediately annoyed. He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. "What the deal, Meatball Head? First you scream in my ear and then drop me on the floor. Thanks a lot!"

"That's what you get for leaning against me so heavily, you big jerk!" Serena snapped back. "I never said that you could take a nap on my head. You probably drooled in my hair, yuck!"

He snorted. "At least I don't snore like a chainsaw. I thought the whole ceiling was going to come down on us at one point. Besides, you fell asleep on me first."

She stuck her nose up at him. "Perhaps that's because your company bored me to sleep. I think I'd rather spend an hour in an English lecture before I'd spend five minutes with you."

Darien growled. "Are you calling me a bore?"

She crossed her arms and looked away. "If the shoe fits, wear it! I think you need to check the lost and found for your personality, because it's definitely missing."

"Well while I'm looking for it I'll see if your coordination got dumped in there too. Then maybe you'll able to take more than five steps at a time without falling on your butt!" he sneered back.

Serena shot to her feet. "Jerk!"

He got up as well. "Meatball Head!"

They were almost nose to nose. Of course Darien had to bend down a little to make up for the height difference. Their gazes locked in battle for a full silent minute.

Darien had to bite back a laugh as he looked deeply into the crystal blue eyes before him and saw the mischief lurking in them. It seemed that the little imp was enjoying this spar as much as he was.

Serena fought down a giggle as she quickly drowned in his ocean depths. The humor sparkling in them made her want to throw herself into his arms and kiss him until they were both senseless, but she stood her ground.

Finally she tore her eyes from his and turned away with a haughty sniff. "Whatever, Jerkface! Now I'm going back downstairs. You may like hanging out in a bathroom all night, but I don't."

"Ha!" Darien burst out. "Tell the truth. You just want to go down there and stuff that black hole you call a stomach. You can't fool me."

"Ooo!" she fumed as she turned back and stomped her foot in anger. "Shut up! You just have to have the last word, don't you?"

He smirked at her. "Always."

Serena gritted her teeth and tried to sweep regally out of the room, but the effect was ruined when she tripped over a throw rug. Luckily Darien's quick reflexes kicked in and he caught her before she became up close and personal with the floor.

She trembled a little as she felt his arms close around her. She allowed herself to revel in the feeling for half a second before pulling away and wagging a finger in his face. "Not a word, mister!"

He rolled his eyes and gave her a little grin. She stuck her tongue out at him before returning his grin with a tiny smile. Nothing was said, but the silent message sent between them was understood, the relationship that they had both missed so much was back where it used to be.

Their five friends watched in stunned disbelief as the duo left the room. Nobody said anything for a minute. They were too shocked.

Finally Mina broke the silence. She squealed and turned to the others with a bright, cheerful smile. "Well at least they're talking again. It's definitely a start. Now the next time we…"

"Next time!" Raye interrupted. "Who said anything about a next time? We gave it a shot and it didn't work. Let the two of them work out their own relationship issues."

"I agree," Amy stated. "Like you pointed out, they are on speaking terms again. I think it's best to let things develop naturally between them."

"Yeah, let them handle it," Lita spoke up. "Something is bound to come out of it eventually. There's enough sparks flying between them to start a forest fire. They'll figure it out."

Mina thrust her fist into the air. "I'm not giving up that easily. I'm making a promise right here and now. I will have those two in each other's arms by the night of the winter dance. Andrew, where's your betting book? I want to make this official. I bet that Serena and Darien will dance together at least once while at the dance."

Andrew scratched his head sheepishly. "Normally I would be willing to take on a bet for you, Mina, but there's just one little problem."

She put her hands on her hips. "And what would that be?"

"Darien's not going to the dance."

* * *

_**Later that night**_

Serena groaned as she threw herself across her bed. "What a night!"

Luna jumped up next to her and nudged her with her head. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, I did," Serena mumbled around a yawn. "I saw a lot of people that I haven't seen in a long time and the food was great. I ate until I thought my eyeballs were going to pop out. The holiday atmosphere was flowing strong and it was nice to just hang out with everyone for a while. Even getting locked in the bathroom with Darien turned out to be a good thing."

Luna nodded. "That's nice. I know I preach to you a lot about the mission and your responsibilities, but everyone needs some time to relax now and then." Then her eyes widened as Serena's last words caught up to her. "Wait a minute! Did you just say that you were locked in a bathroom with Darien Shields?"

"Mmm hmm," her charge murmured dazedly. "I didn't realize that he was in there when I went in. Somehow the door locked by itself and wouldn't open. But when Andrew and the girls found us about thirty minutes later they said the door opened fine from the outside. It was kinda weird."

'_And I'm sure that the door had a little help in becoming stuck,' _Luna thought to herself. _'A thousand years and a reincarnation later and the scouts are still up to their old tricks. I'd be willing to bet a tuna fish sandwich that Venus was the mastermind behind it. How Artemis puts up with that girl and her hare-brained schemes is beyond me.'_

"Hey Luna," Serena said as she rolled to her side and propped her head up on a hand. "There was one thing that happened tonight that I wanted to talk to you about. Amy was acting strange so I went and had a long talk with her. She said that weird things have been happening around her and that she's having really bad nightmares, and it got me to thinking. Do you think it's possible that Amy is one of the scouts?"

Luna's mind raced as she tried to decide how to answer that question. She knew that if she confided that she had known all along that Amy was Sailor Mercury it would hurt Serena's feelings and make her feel like Luna didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth. Then she would probably correctly assume that she knew the identity of all of the scouts, and she didn't know of any easy way to break it to the girl that her four best friends were also her fellow scouts. And Mina was still working incognito as Sailor V, trying to keep the Dark Kingdom off the trail of the true princess.

So she decided to tell a partial truth mixed in with a couple of little white lies. "Amy recently aroused my suspicions so I did some checking and came to the conclusion that yes, I believe her to be one of the scouts, Sailor Mercury."

"I hope you're wrong, Luna," Serena whispered after a quiet moment. "I don't want poor Amy dragged into all of this. She's too sweet and gentle to fight against the Dark Kingdom. I'm afraid she'll end up getting hurt."

Luna nudged her mistress's arm lightly. "Be that as it may, Serena, if Amy truly is Sailor Mercury then it is her duty to take her place next to you. The planet is depending on us too save it from Beryl's evil grasp."

"I know!" Serena moaned as she pulled a pillow over her face. "So what do I do now?" her voice came out muffled. "If Amy is Sailor Mercury, do I say something to her?"

"I think it's best to keep this between us for now," Luna cautioned. "If she is Mercury then she will awaken when the time is right. If you try to tell her now she probably wouldn't believe you."

Serena flung the pillow away. "You're right. Amy's much too logical of a person to buy into this blindly. Even if I transformed in front of her she would probably just think I was playing a trick on her. Besides, there's still a possibility that you're wrong about her and she's not a scout."

"Oh, yes, of course," the cat haltingly agreed. She only said that for Serena's peace of mind. She knew without a doubt that Amy was Sailor Mercury. Her memories of the Silver Millennium were hazy in some places, but she had been floored the first time she had laid eyes on the quiet, blue haired girl. She was identical to the Sailor Mercury she remembered. Not to mention that she possessed a light blue aura that wrapped tightly around her like an icy shield. There was no doubt who she was.

It had been the same when she saw Raye and Lita as well. She hadn't needed the reassurance from Artemis and Mina to know that all of the scouts had been identified. Now if they would just all hurry up and awaken their scout powers and join their princess before she got herself killed.

She thanked the goddess that the prince was there to stand by her side. Endymion had always been fiercely protective of Serenity, and it seemed that the trait had carried over into this life. As Tuxedo Mask he kept Sailor Moon from harm at great risk to himself. And though they had a rocky relationship, Luna also knew that Darien would throw himself in front of a speeding bus if it kept Serena from getting hurt.

Serena's cell phone rang and she quickly fished it out of her pocket. As she pulled it out a thought struck her. Why hadn't she thought to use the phone earlier to call somebody when she and Darien had been locked in the bathroom? It would have been a simple fix to the situation. She giggled. Darien, Mr. Super Genius himself hadn't thought of that either. She made a mental note to point that out to him the next time they met.

She was so caught up in the thought that she answered without looking to see who it was first. "Hello."

"Well hello," a silky smooth voice replied. "I was worried that I might wake you up by calling this late, but from the sound of your voice I can tell I didn't. What's got you so tickled?"

Serena's breath hitched a little as she heard the voice of her masked hero. "Oh, I was just watching something funny on TV. So what has you calling me up so late?"

He chuckled. "I just wanted to check up on you. You still seemed a little out of it when you left this afternoon. Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine," she told him sincerely. Her shoulder injury had faded to a dull ache and she and Darien had an unspoken agreement between them to be friendly enemies. Life was looking up just a bit.

"That's good. I was worried about you," he said warmly. "I also wanted to tell you that I'm going to go out on patrol for a while and I didn't want you to flip out and come rushing after me when you felt me transform."

"Are you sensing something?" she asked in concern.

"No, nothing at all," he reassured her. "I'm just feeling a bit restless and thought I would go out and do some looking. It's no big deal."

Luna, in the meantime, had figured out pretty quick who was on the other end of the line by the way Serena's face had lit up. Figuring that she and Serena had covered all they needed to for the night, she squeezed through the crack of the barely open window and slipped off into the night. She really needed to talk to Artemis.

* * *

Darien paced the floor of his living room restlessly. He had gotten home from the party at Andrew's about twenty minutes before, but found himself too keyed up to go to bed. He decided to distract himself by going out to look for any sign of the Dark Kingdom.

He reached into his pocket for his transformation rose before a thought struck him. Sailor Moon could sense his transformations like he could hers. If she felt him transform she would probably come looking for him.

He glanced at the clock, 11:30. She may not be asleep yet. It wasn't too late to call her and check in with her, was it?

He pulled his cell phone out and pulled her number up. He hit the call button without a second thought. He waited while the phone rang a few times.

"Hello," her voice answered, sounding amused.

"Well hello," he replied back smoothly, stifling a chuckle at her happy sounding voice. "I was worried that I might wake you up by calling this late, but from the sound of your voice I can tell I didn't. What's got you so tickled?"

He heard her breath catch. "Oh, I was just watching something funny on TV. So what has you calling me up so late?"

He spent a few minutes talking to her to determine that she was indeed okay and safely at home before disconnecting the call and transforming to head out into the night. He traversed the rooftops and trees, covering the Dark Kingdom's favorite places to attack, including the shopping district and the park before stopping for breath.

His thoughts immediately turned to Serena, not that she had been far from his thoughts the whole night. Their little adventure in the bathroom earlier had led to some surprising results. The more he thought about the situation, the more he came to believe that Andrew and the girls had something to do with that door becoming stuck, but he couldn't bring himself to be mad at them. He and Serena were speaking to one another again, so that made it all worthwhile.

She had said that they were enemies again, but he knew that something had changed between them while they had sat on that cold tile floor. Sure, they had fallen back into the old routine of trading insults, but it was different. Now their voices held a hint of laughter when they were exchanging barbs and he had seen happiness sparkling in Serena's eyes instead of annoyance or anger.

It wasn't quite the way he wanted their relationship to go, but it would do for now. He didn't want to drag her into this mess with the Dark Kingdom anyway, and that was why he was out patrolling the city in the middle of the night. He was hoping that a youma or Jadeite would decide to show up. The sooner this fight was over and the crystal and the princess had been found, the sooner he could go back to his normal life. And the first thing he was going to do when things went back to the way they were was ask Serena to be his girlfriend.

He frowned as Sailor Moon's face appeared in his mind. He had grown close to the spunky little heroine over the last couple of weeks, even to the point that he'd even developed some feelings for her. He'd been so afraid earlier that day when she had been injured, but he couldn't deny that he'd felt a sense of satisfaction as he'd sat with her on his lap and cradled in his arms. It had felt just as right as when he'd held Serena in that bathroom tonight.

A sudden, horrible thought hit him while he was in mid leap between two buildings, making him falter and almost sending him plunging to the ground. He corrected his course quickly and landed on a roof, stumbling a bit and falling to his knees. His eyes were wide with surprise behind his mask.

"Oh my god," he whispered in shock. "I'm in love with both of them."

Saying the words out loud made him see the truth. Even though he was in love with Serena, and had been for a long time, he had somehow managed to fall in love with Sailor Moon as well. And it wasn't just a passing crush. In a short amount of time Sailor Moon had become just as important to him as Serena was. He found himself looking forward to seeing his fighting partner as much as he did his secret love.

He pulled his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. How had he fallen for another woman so easily? Was it because she resembled Serena so much? That had to be it! But looking back now he analyzed why Serena had captured his attention so quickly when dozens of other girls had tried and failed to do so, and that led him to Serenity.

His dream princess had been with him as far back as he could remember. She had been his only source of comfort all those long, lonely years that he had been in the orphanage. He had never been able to see her face since she was always hidden in a shadow of fog, but the outline he could see showed that she had long, rippling hair just like Serena and Sailor Moon. She was witty and always quick to laughter.

As a matter of fact, the first time that he had met Serena he had thought that he had finally found his princess in real life, but as time had gone on and he had seen more of Serena's personality he had changed his mind. That was why he had picked fights with her so much, because she had shattered his belief that he had found his dream woman.

So did that mean that he was in love with Serenity as well? Or was Serenity the only one he was truly in love with while Serena and Sailor Moon were simply substitutes? He was so confused. It was impossible for anyone to be in love with three people at the same time, wasn't it?

"Of course it's impossible," he muttered to himself. "Get a grip, Darien. You're fond of Serenity and Sailor Moon, but Serena is the one you love."

Feeling better after stating his conviction, he was overwhelmed with the need to see her. He took off once again, leaping from building to building until he reached a familiar, quiet neighborhood. Since he had visited Serena when she was sick, he knew exactly which window was hers. And luckily there was a tree that stood right by it.

He jumped from a neighboring roof and landed on a branch so lightly that it barely moved. He inched forward until he could see into the room through the window.

The TV was on, making it easy to spot the girl sprawled out on her stomach on the bed. She had kicked her covers off and they lay half on the floor. Her long hair was out of its usual style and spread out around her like a sheet of golden silk. The pink flannel pajamas dotted with little white bunnies that she was wearing made her appear adorable and innocent to his eyes.

He wished that he could see her face, but she was lying where she faced away from him. A cold wind blew by him and he saw her shiver. He frowned when he saw her window open a crack. Why would she have her window open in the middle of December? He reached forward to slide it shut when he remembered a conversation he had overheard at lunch a few weeks ago. Serena had adopted a stray cat that she had found on the street. Obviously the window was open so that the cat could come and go as it pleased.

He shook his head in amusement. "Silly Meatball Head! She's going to make herself sick again just to keep her cat happy."

He panicked for a second as she rolled over. She hadn't heard him, had she? He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that she was still asleep. His relief turned to concern a minute later as the light from the TV glistened off of what appeared to be tears that were rolling down her cheeks. He heard her whimper as she began moving restlessly around the bed. Clearly she was having an unpleasant dream.

She had told him that she was having trouble sleeping. Was this the reason why? Her whimpering turned to sobs, and he had to fight against himself to keep from pushing her window open and going to comfort her. He could just see how well that would go over if she woke up and found a strange masked man in her room.

She gasped suddenly and jerked upright in the bed. Her eyes were wide and frightened and she was panting for breath. She gripped the material of her pajama shirt right above her heart in a white knuckled fist.

'_Oh, Serena,' _he thought miserably as he watched her. _'How I wish that I could be there for you right now.'_

Her eyes jerked toward the window as if she'd heard his thoughts and he pulled back hastily to make sure that he was concealed in the darkness so she wouldn't see him. She stared out into the night for a long minute, but it seemed as if she were looking right at him. He wondered if she could see him after all, and he waited for her to scream. But after a minute she got up from the bed and stumbled to the adjoining bathroom.

She wandered back in a few minutes later, a glass of water in one hand and her face washed clean of the tears. She sat down on the bed with her back against the wall as she picked up the remote and began flipping through the stations. She stopped when she got to a twenty-four hour cartoon channel that was showing old Looney Toons reruns. She picked up her blanket and wrapped it tightly around her. She evidently wasn't planning on going back to sleep anytime soon.

Figuring that he better get out of there before she discovered him, he dropped silently to the ground. He began walking home instead of taking his usual rooftop route, mulling over what he had just seen.

It was no wonder that she was walking around like a zombie all the time with dark circles under her eyes if she was suffering from nightmares. He wondered how often they were disturbing her. He felt that it was pretty safe to bet it was every night given how zonked out she'd been lately. But what could she possibly be dreaming about that would disturb her so much?

He reached his apartment building and jumped from balcony to balcony until he landed on his on the top floor. He went inside and detransformed. As the power faded away fatigue settled heavily over him. He decided that a good night's sleep would do wonders for him. Then he would get up and finish what little bit of homework he had left before heading to the arcade.

Serena usually hung out there on Sunday afternoons and he wanted to talk with her. He was hoping to get her to confess that she was having nightmares and perhaps confide in him what they were about.

He threw himself on the bed and buried his face in a pillow. "Please, Serenity, don't come visit me tonight," he begged. "I've got enough conflicting thoughts running through my head without seeing you. I need a peaceful, dream free night."

But it wasn't to be. As he slipped away into the land of dreams he was haunted by disturbing visions of a girl in a long white dress that resembled Serena and Sailor Moon a lot except for a golden crescent moon on her forehead. In his dream he was dressed as Tuxedo Mask as he danced with her. Then they were alone on a balcony where he took her into his arms, whispering words of love to her before kissing her deeply.

Then the dream took an unexpected turn. He found himself dressed in a suit of armor that felt familiar to him instead of foreign. He wielded a sword in his hand as he cut down the people in front of him without a second thought. His heart was pounding in his chest as he fought his way inside a large palace. Once inside he sheathed his sword as he began running. She was in danger, he knew it, he could feel it.

He burst through a set of glass doors and onto the same balcony that he had seen earlier. The same girl stood there, cowering away from a red haired woman that was lunging at her with a sword.

"Serenity!" he yelled, throwing himself in front of her without a second thought. He gasped as he felt the blade enter his back and the warmth of gushing blood as it was jerked out again. He fell forward into the girl's arms.

"Endymion!" she screamed as they both sank to the ground.

He felt wetness on his face and forced his eyes open to meet a pair of crystal blue ones that were swimming with tears. He lifted a shaky hand to her cheek. "I love you, Serenity." And then his eyes shut again as his hand fell beside him.

"Nooo!" he heard her scream. "Please don't leave me, my love. I can't live without you. Please open your eyes Endy. Please! Endymion!"

Darien's eyes flew open to be greeted by bright sunlight streaming in through the windows. He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to erase the last of the dream from his mind. Just what the hell had that all been about?

He had called the girl in the white dress Serenity. Was that really her, or had his revelations from earlier caused his mind to create that image of her? That had to be what it was. It would explain why she looked so much like Serena and Sailor Moon.

And what had all of that fighting been about? Maybe Serenity was trying to tell him something. She had said that her kingdom had been destroyed by Beryl. Perhaps she was showing him what had happened. But it had been strange to see it from that man's point of view. He had felt like he was actually him. Whoever this Endymion was he was obviously important to Serenity and they seemed to be very much in love. He would have to make sure he asked her about him the next time they spoke.

He rolled over and looked at the clock, surprised to see that it was after eight. He rarely ever slept past six even on the weekends. He liked to get up and enjoy an early morning jog before a lot of people were out and about.

"Guess I'll pass on the jog today," he mumbled around a yawn as he rolled from the bed. He padded into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee before jumping into the shower. The water chased away the last of his sleepiness and he also let it wash away the remnants of the dream. He had other things to do besides dwell on a dream that didn't make any sense.

After he showered and dressed he settled down with his books and a cup of coffee. Once he had his work done he was going to track Serena down and make her talk. Maybe once she was open about her nightmares they would go away. She couldn't keep going on the way she was much longer without collapsing, and he'd be damned if he just sat by and watched her waste away. She was far too precious to him.

**A/N **Whew! What a long chapter. I had to put the brakes on myself because I could have just kept going and going. I feel like the Energizer Bunny! Anyway, I've got Serena and Darien talking again and poor Darien is getting confused about which girl he loves. Thank goodness they're all the same person, even if he doesn't know that yet. The other scouts will start making their appearances soon. Mercury may even show up in the next chapter, but it might be the one after that. The winter dance is coming up. Will our two little lovebirds get together, or will it be a disaster? Hmm…we'll see. And Christmas is around the corner. Perhaps they will get a special holiday surprise. After all, this is supposed to be a twist on the season, so that means that some things, like finding out secret identities, will be different from the show and the manga. Oh the possibilities! Don't forget to leave those reviews and tell me what you think. I gotta run! Later! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	6. Rock Bottom

**A/N **Hey everyone! Here's another update for you. This might be slightly shorter than some of my other chapters, but it's still a decent length. I got to the stopping point for this chapter and decided that I wanted to save the upcoming events for the next update. There's no action in this chapter, it's really kind of a filler, at least until the end, but you'll get to that. It's kind of depressing and full of angst, but I just felt like getting it all out in the open so I can move on to more exciting things. Anyway, time for hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

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As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your encouraging words. They mean so much to me. Thanks to you guys I have 123 reviews after only 5 postings! That's amazing! Now on with the show!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 6

Rock Bottom

The arcade was usually pretty slow on Sunday afternoons, but on this particular day it was like a ghost town. That suited the blonde hair boy behind the counter just fine.

He frowned as he looked over his Trig homework. "Hey Dare, what answer did you get for number twenty?"

Darien set his soda down. "Forget it. I already told you that I'm not giving you the answers."

Andrew pouted. "I'm not asking you for the answers brainiac! It's just that I had trouble with this one problem and I wondered if I got it right. This is my last little bit of homework and I would like to get it done so I can actually have a Sunday night free from cramming for once."

Darien slid the paper across the counter. "Fine. Let me see it." He looked over the page carefully. "It all looks good to me."

The door chimed as it opened and his head whipped around. He sighed in disappointment when he saw two middle school girls walk in instead of the one he was looking for.

This didn't escape Andrew's notice and a mischievous light lit up his eyes. "So, I wonder where Serena is keeping herself today. She's usually come in and downed two milkshakes by now."

Darien shrugged. "Who knows with Meatball Head? She probably came across a candy store that going out of business and is busy beating up grade schoolers for the best picks. She's the type that would steal candy from a baby."

"That's it!" Andrew snapped, surprising his dark haired friend. "You can drop the charade right now. I know something happened between you and Serena last night so you can stop with the whole 'Serena is annoying' routine. So spill! What went down between you guys while you were stuck in that bathroom?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Darien replied as he lifted his glass to take a sip. "And don't think I haven't figured things out either. I know you and the girls were behind Serena and I getting locked in that bathroom."

Andrew's face paled. "I…I…" he stammered for a second before turning indignant. "We did it for your own good. The rest of us got tired of watching you and Serena tiptoeing around each other like you expected a bomb to go off any second. Things were getting too weird and we were trying to bring our group back together. You can't say it was a bad idea. It got her talking to you again, didn't it."

Darien held up his hands. "Whoa, Drew! Stop and take a breath. I never said I was mad about it. You're right. Things were getting way weird between Serena and I and it needed to be resolved. I just think you guys went a little overboard."

Andrew looked relieved. "So what did happen? Did you finally tell her how you feel? Are you guys an item now?"

Darien snorted into his drink. "Sometimes you act like such a girl that it makes me question your masculinity. I've told you a thousand times; I don't like Meatball Head like that. I enjoy bickering with her, but that's it. She admitted that she missed our verbal spars too so we agreed to go back to the way we were."

Andrew's face looked crestfallen. "So the war's back on?"

Darien grinned widely. "Yep! I hope you haven't thrown away your betting book and divided up the winnings yet, because things could get interesting."

The door chimed again and Darien turned, grinning when he saw Mina and Lita walk in with Raye and Amy right behind them. He waited for a moment and then disappointment set in when the fifth member of their group didn't appear.

Raye looked around and growled. "Don't tell me she's not here yet. I can't believe that Meatball Head! Are you sure she said she'd meet us here, Mina?"

The blonde shrugged. "That's what she said when I called her. She had already left her house, so I figured she would have beaten us here for sure."

"I bet she stands us up again," the raven-haired girl muttered. "She's getting good at that lately; always saying that she'll meet up with us and then come dragging in late if she shows up at all. If she's got something else she'd rather be doing with her time then she should just tell us instead of stringing us along like puppets. It's rude!"

"Maybe she had a stop to make first." Amy said quietly. "We should give her the benefit of the doubt before we jump to conclusions."

"That's true," Lita agreed thoughtfully. "She was already out and about, so she must have been on some errand. There's no other reason for anyone to be out on such a miserably cold day like this."

"It's not that cold out," Amy protested.

Mina giggled. "You must have ice water for blood, Amy. It's freezing out there. It looks like it could snow any minute."

Lita nodded. "There's definitely something in the air. It smells like rain, but in this weather it would come down as snow and ice."

"Hello ladies!" Andrew called out cheerfully. "Could I interest any of you in some hot cocoa on this fine winter day?"

"Yes, please!" the four girls chorused as they filed up to the counter and took seats on the stools there.

Andrew chuckled. "Should I make it four or five? Didn't I hear you say Serena was coming?"

Mina slapped a hand over Raye's open mouth and beamed a smile at her crush. "Five. Serena should be here any minute. Ahhh! Raye! Did you just try to bite me?"

Raye smirked and bared her teeth. "Maybe that will teach you to keep your hands to yourself. Anyway, as I was about to say, Serena said she would meet us here. But knowing that lazybones she's probably still lying in bed. I think she would sleep twenty four hours a day if she could get away with it, except for the few minutes it would take for her to wake up and shove some food in her mouth."

Darien felt annoyance at her words. Obviously Serena hadn't confided in her friends about her nightmares either. "Lay off of her, Raye! Haven't you seen the difference in her lately? With the way she's been walking around in a daze I think it's safe to say that she's been sleeping very little. So if she is still in bed it's probably because she needs the sleep and not because she's lazy."

All eyes turned to stare at him as if he were an alien from another planet. This annoyed him even further. "What are all of you staring at?"

Mina dug in her ear with her finger. "I think I need to make an appointment with my doctor to get my ears cleaned out, because I know that there's no way I just heard what I think I heard."

Lita nodded vigorously. "I know, right? Maybe the world is ending and this is a sign of the apocalypse. That's all I can come up with."

Darien pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation. "Would someone care to explain what the hell you are babbling about? I'm getting a migraine trying to follow you."

"Uh, hello! Would the real Darien Shields please stand up?" Andrew said sarcastically. "Dude! What did happen in that bathroom last night? I have never, ever heard you stick up for Serena in the almost two and a half years since I introduced you two."

Darien rolled his eyes. "I'm not sticking up for her. I just think she needs to be cut a little slack. She's obviously got some issues going on right now and I don't believe in kicking someone when they're down."

'_Except perhaps Jadeite,' _he thought to himself. He was still pissed off about the general's attack on Sailor Moon the day before. That was one asshole that he would gladly stomp into the ground.

The arcade doors opened again as a blur shot through. All anyone could make out were two long streamers of gold as the person jumped over the counter and crouched down behind it.

Andrew staggered back in surprise. "Serena! What are you…"

"Shhh!" she shushed him harshly. "Whatever happens, none of you saw me, okay?"

The source of her strange behavior was revealed just moments later when a teenage boy walked in and looked around with an expectant look on his face. His name was Jason Hijiro, and he was Azabu High's resident snob. He was vain and pompous and thought that every girl in the school was in love with him.

His condescending gaze landed on the group at the counter and he walked over to them with his nose so high up in the air that they could practically see up his nostrils. Talk about a nauseating sight.

"Have any of you seen Serena?" he asked in brisk, clipped tones.

Mina twirled a straw in her fingers. "Nope. Haven't seen her today."

Raye glared darkly at him. "Why do you want to know?"

His beady little eyes narrowed. "It's none of your business, but I had something that I wanted to ask her. I thought I saw her run in here. Are you sure you haven't seen her?"

Lita cracked her knuckles. "Are you calling us liars?"

He was too much of an idiot to be intimidated. "I was just making sure you had your facts straight. I saw Serena coming out of the pharmacy a few blocks away and called out to her. She turned and looked, so I thought for sure that she'd heard me. But then she ran away. I followed her and lost sight of her when she got here. I know she hangs out in this dump quite a bit, so it seemed logical that she came in."

Darien leaned across the counter to grab Andrew by the arm. His friend looked ready to jump the other boy for the slur that he had carelessly thrown out about his family's business. Andrew was just as experienced in martial arts as he was and would probably beat Hijiro into a bloody mess in less than five seconds, but he knew that Andrew's parents would be furious if their son got into a fight inside the arcade.

"Chill out man! The bastard's not worth it," he cautioned quietly. He glanced down to where Serena was huddled behind the counter. She appeared to be just as angry as Andrew. Furious tears shone in her eyes as she looked up at him. He gave her what he hoped was a supporting smile.

Surprisingly it was Amy that blew her top. She jumped up from her seat to stare icily at the much taller and broader boy. "How dare you come in here with your holier than thou attitude and insult not only us but this arcade as well! You think that you are such hot stuff, but in my eyes you are lower than pond scum. Maybe if you actually had a single working brain cell inside that enormous melon that you call a head you would realize that perhaps Serena was running from you because she didn't want to have anything to do with a worthless, pathetic human being such as yourself!"

Hijiro glared at the blue haired girl. "I'm so sure that she would prefer to spend her time with you lot instead of me." He raked his gaze over all of them. "Let's see what we have here; a geeky bookworm, a washed up actress, a juvenile delinquent, a whacked out psychic, a soda jerk, and the orphaned teacher's pet. What a group of winners."

A scuffling sound came from behind the counter and a few seconds later Serena popped up looking more furious than anybody had ever seen her look before. Blue sparks were practically shooting from her eyes and every muscle in her body seemed to tremble in outrage.

"You disgusting, despicable snake!" she hissed. "Nobody insults my friends the way you just did. If you value your miserable little life at all you will get the hell out of here right now before I drag your sorry ass out back and teach you the hard way what happens to people that hurt the people I care about. If I ever hear of you talking about any of them the way you just did, or even looking at them in a negative way, I will haul you into a dark alley and show you that there is more to me than me than meets the eye."

Hijiro stumbled back toward the door as he heard the malice in the petite blonde's fiercely spoken words. Just before he left he said in a shaking voice, "I was trying to do you a favor by asking you to go to the dance with me. Your reputation is falling into ruins because of the company that you are keeping. But obviously that doesn't mean anything to you."

"Get out!" she grated out harshly, sending him scurrying out the door. Once he was gone she collapsed on the counter sobbing, "That evil, rotten, no good, dirty…"

She heard cheers erupt around her and hands reaching out to pat her gently, but she didn't have the strength to lift her head to look at her friends. She was so tired. She had barely slept at all last night because of her recurring nightmare. In fact, she had hardly managed more than a couple of hour's sleep a night in about a month. What little bit of energy she'd had now fled after her run to the arcade and losing her temper.

She felt her legs give out as she began to slump to the floor. A pair of warm hands grabbed her upper arms and she forced her heavy head up to find a pair of deep blue eyes watching her in concern.

Darien's concern grew even more as he read the sheer exhaustion on her face. She had been running behind this morning and hadn't taken the time to put on any makeup to try and hide the dark purple circles under her eyes. They stood out like ugly bruises against her too pale skin.

"What is wrong with you, Serena?" he asked urgently, hoping that she would be honest with him about her nightmares. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you look like death."

He felt her stiffen beneath his hands before she pulled away with a fake laugh and even faker smile. "Nothing's wrong!" she exclaimed, trying to sound like her usual cheerful self.

Raye was usually the first one to pick on her after Darien, but even she sobered as she got a good look at her friend's face. "Darien's right, Serena. You don't look so hot."

"You look like you haven't slept in days," Amy observed, thinking about the signs of sleeplessness she was hiding on her own face under carefully applied cosmetics.

Lita cracked her knuckles. "Nobody's been giving you a hard time, have they? I'll be more than happy to take care of them for you."

Serena shook her head. "Really guys, it's nothing. You know me. I bought some new manga the other day and sat up most of the night reading. So it's my own fault that I'm stumbling around like a zombie. Ooo, is this cocoa for me?"

At Andrew's nod she grabbed the untouched cup from the counter and took a careful sip of the steaming hot chocolate before moaning, "Mmm, this is so good. It's the perfect thing to have on a cold day like today. Nothing rejuvenates the body and soul like one of Drew's creations."

Andrew laughed, blushing a little. "It's just hot cocoa, Serena."

She grinned at him, sporting a frothy chocolate mustache. "Yeah, but it's the best. My mom always skimps on the chocolate, and she never remembers to buy the little mini marshmallows to put in it."

A deep frown marred Darien's face. In less than a minute Serena had managed to divert everyone's attention away from her obvious exhaustion, but the forced perkiness that she was now acting out didn't fool him for a second. He watched her through narrowed eyes as she herded the girls together and they shuffled off to their favorite booth in the back, chattering away like a bunch of magpies.

"What gives?" Andrew asked when he caught sight of the dark look on his friends face. "You look like you're ready to rip someone's head off. That's understandable I guess. I don't blame you for being jealous. Hijiro had some nerve to try and ask Serena out right in front of you. I thought there was some unwritten code that said that a guy couldn't hit on another guy's girl while they were around."

Darien rolled his eyes. "She's not my girl, Drew. I feel like a broken record when I'm talking to you. There's nothing between Serena and me. She's free to go out with anyone she wants."

Andrew cackled in glee. "Maybe you two aren't official yet, but just give it time. Anybody with eyes can see the spark between you two."

Darien snorted derisively. "Like I said before, you act like a girl. Maybe you should let Mina take you out for a makeover. I hear she's usually up to date on all the latest fashions. You two can get manicures together while you talk about soap operas. Now knock it off or I won't check over any more of your homework."

That shut the blonde up. He moved away to wait on the two middle school girls that had just walked up to the counter while Darien continued to look over his Trig assignment. Several minutes later he deemed that his friend had done them all correctly and handed the paper back to him just as Mina approached the counter.

"Hey Mina, are you girls ready for lunch?" Andrew greeted her.

She smiled brightly. "Yeah, we'll have the usual. But you may want to hold off on Serena's. The poor girl passed out about two minutes after we sat down. Raye tried to wake her, but she's sawing logs like you wouldn't believe. We figured it was best to let her get a nap in. We all thought she looked like she could use a good snooze."

Andrew nodded. "Yeah. It would probably do her some good. She obviously didn't want to talk about it earlier, but she looked like she was ready to drop at any moment."

'_So I wasn't the only one. The others did notice that she changed the subject on purpose. They just decided to let it slide,' _Darien thought to himself.

"So the rest of us will have our usual," Mina continued. "But you may want to have Serena's on standby. She just might come around once food is in the vicinity."

But that didn't happen. An hour later Serena was still dead to the world as Raye waved an onion ring under her nose in an attempt to force some sign of life from the unconscious blonde.

"Man! She's really out of it, isn't she?" Lita marveled in wide-eyed amazement. "Serena's nose is usually more reliable than a bloodhound's when it comes to sniffing out food."

Mina chewed worriedly on her bottom lip. "Are you guys sure she's still alive? Maybe someone should check her pulse."

"Of course she's still alive!" Amy sighed in exasperation. "Can't you see her chest move when she breathes?"

Raye picked up a couple of French fries. "I bet she'll wake up if I stick these up her nose."

"Aw, let the poor girl sleep," Andrew said from the booth across the aisle where he and Darien had taken a seat when he went on his break.

Darien didn't say anything. He just continued to watch Serena covertly from behind the Literature book that he was using as cover. She was slumped sideways with her head resting against the wall. The way her eyes were jumping around behind her lids was a clear indication that she was dreaming, but there were no signs of any nightmares like he had witnessed the night before.

'_Maybe I was wrong and the nightmares aren't the problem,' _Darien thought to himself. After all, Serena had only admitted to having trouble sleeping, just because he had witnessed her having one nightmare didn't mean that was the source of her problem. Perhaps because he had suffered from nightmares quite a bit over the last couple of years he automatically jumped to that conclusion.

At least he had Serenity to confide in about his dreams. It always seemed like when he had a particularly bad nightmare she would show up to comfort him. By morning he would barely remember the dream or what it was about. All he could recall with clarity was Serenity's sweet voice whispering soothing words softly to him.

Until last night that is. After finally dragging himself home from playing Peeping Tom in Serena's bedroom window his adrenaline high had crashed, leaving him feeling more exhausted than he could ever remember being. He had dropped onto his bed and passed out almost before his transformation had a chance to fade, only to be awakened less than two hours later by a nightmare that was still fuzzy in his head.

It had been an extremely disjointed dream; most of it was obscured in fog. Every now and then he would remember a bell like laugh or a flash of golden hair. He could recall the taste of tears as a pair of soft lips covered his in the sweetest of kisses. There was a red haired woman, pain, and blood, lots of blood. And in the end a voice screaming, "Endymion!"

That was all he could remember until he had found himself surrounded by an even denser fog and felt the warmth of Serenity's arms around him as she sobbed into his ear for him to wake up.

His dream princess's reaction to his nightmare had surprised him. Normally she would hold him and comfort him until he was calm. But this time she had been frantic, almost hysterical, as she had begged for him to wake up. At some point he could swear that he had even heard her say that it wasn't time for him to see those events yet.

He had been confused by it all, and after showering he had gone back to bed in hopes of finding Serenity in his dreams. He wanted some answers about what was going on. But instead his sleep had been dreamless for the rest of the night

'_Endymion!' _the scream echoed through his head, bringing him crashing back to the present. His eyes snapped up to look around at the same moment Serena jumped about two feet out of her seat. Her eyes flew open as a strangled screech tore from her throat.

Raye startled, milkshake sloshing from her glass and all over her red sweater. "Holy crap, Meatball Head! Can't you wake up like a normal person?" she yelled.

Serena's head whipped around, her eyes so big that they seemed to take up her entire face. Terror seemed to be the most prominent emotion on her features as she stared around disorientedly. It seemed to take several seconds for her to realize where she was. As she did she slumped back into her seat, tears beginning to trail from her eyes as she gripped the fabric of her shirt right above her heart.

"I'm sorry, Raye," she whispered softly. "I didn't mean to make you spill. I'll pay for it to be dry cleaned, I promise."

"What's up girl? Did you have a bad dream or something?" Lita asked gently, holding out a couple of napkins to her.

'_Finally!' _Darien thought. Maybe now she would come clean and tell them what was bothering her.

But instead Serena waved away the napkins and pasted a bright smile on her face as she pulled a handkerchief from her purse and began dabbing at her tears. It was a ridiculous looking handkerchief with pink embroidery around the edges and two little pink bunnies in one corner, but it suited Serena to a T. If he hadn't been so concerned about her, Darien would have ragged her endlessly about it.

"I'm fine guys, really," she hastened to reassure everyone. "I can't believe I dozed off like that. We didn't someone wake me up?"

"We tried, spaghetti brains!" Raye retorted. "But you were so far checked out that you could have slept through a nuclear holocaust. But stop trying to change the subject. What were you dreaming about?"

Serena's brow wrinkled up in concentration. "I really don't remember."

Lita stared at her in disbelief. "A nightmare has you jumping awake like someone stuck you with a hot poker, screaming and crying, and you don't remember it?"

"Yeah. I don't buy it," Mina seconded. "You must remember something."

"Well I don't!" Serena screamed in a very un-Serena-like way. Silence hung heavy in the air after her outburst.

Andrew was the first one to break it. "So…um…Serena. How about some lunch?"

The look she turned on him was a mixture of relief and sadness. "No thanks, Drew. I'm not really all that hungry. I'd better get home anyway. I promised mom I'd clean my room today."

She began pulling on her coat, only to pause when she felt a hand on her arm. She looked down to find Amy staring up at her with sad blue eyes.

"Serena," Amy whispered softly. "You know you can call me anytime, right. I don't care what time it is. Even if you just need someone to talk to, I'm here."

The first genuine smile of the day appeared on her face. "I know, Ames. Thanks. I'll see you guys later."

"Well that was way weird," Lita commented after Serena had walked through the doors. "I don't think I've ever seen Serena act like that before. What is up with her?"

"Maybe she's hormonal," Andrew replied casually. He looked up to find five pairs of eyes staring at him in confusion when the crickets began chirping in the silence. "What?"

"Hormonal?" Mina shrieked as she and Lita burst into laughter. "Where on earth did you get that idea?"

Andrew's face flamed red. "Well that's what my mom always says is wrong with her when she's in a bad mood. I figured it was a female thing…Hey! Where are you going?" he called out as Darien leapt from his seat and headed for the doors.

"Somebody's gotta watch Meatball Head and make sure she gets home in one piece," Darien shot back over his shoulder as he ran from the arcade.

"He's going after her. That's so sweet!" Mina cheered.

"I wish some good looking guy would come chase after me," Lita moaned.

Raye nodded. "As long as he's not a moron. I can't stand stupid guys."

"I've gotta run too," Amy declared as she got up from the table. "I still have some work for cram school that I need to get done. My new instructor wants everything done on this certain computer program, but I can't get it to work on my laptop so I'm writing everything out by hand. I'll see everyone tomorrow."

"Bye, Future Miss Valedictorian!" the rest of the girls chorused as she left.

* * *

Serena felt like sobbing as she plunged her hands back under the stream of hot water that was pouring from the bathroom faucet and continued scrubbing. The heat of the water burned her delicate skin. The combination of that and the scrub brush she was using had turned her skin from fingertips to elbows a brilliant red. Not quite the effect she was looking for. In fact, it was the exact opposite.

Okay, so she hadn't been completely truthful with the girls earlier when they had asked what her dream was about. She definitely didn't remember all of it, but the ending was stuck in her head, repeating over and over like a bad movie that just wouldn't end.

It really shouldn't bother her all that much anymore after suffering from the same dream night after night. But when she fell asleep at the arcade today something had been different. It was still the same dream, but everything just seemed to be much more vivid and graphic.

She shuddered and turned the water off as she remembered how her dream self had knelt on the stone floor of a balcony, surrounded by a pool of blood that spread out around her and soaked the white gown she was wearing as she wept over the body of a man whose face she couldn't see. A red haired woman had cackled in glee in the background.

In desperation her dream self had scrambled around in the blood, staining her arms up to the elbows with it, until she had gotten her hands on a sword that was lying beside the fallen man. She had murmured, "I'll be with you soon, my love," before plunging the sword into her heart with a last cry of, "Endymion!"

Even now, a couple of hours after she had the dream, she still imagined that she could see the blood on her hands and feel the stickiness of it between her fingers. No matter how much she washed she couldn't make it go away.

"Serena!" Sammy's voice called out as he knocked on the door that adjoined his bedroom to the bathroom. "Aren't you done yet? You've been in there for almost thirty minutes. You didn't fall in the toilet and drown, did you?"

"Back off you ungrateful, leeching little parasite before I find a pack of rabid wolves to feed you to," Serena snarled.

"Well excuse me for living and breathing!" Sammy grumbled. "Just don't forget that the bathroom is half mine too, and I've gotta go! So quit primping or whatever you're doing in there. It's not like it would do any good anyway. No guy in his right mind would ever give you a second look."

Serena sucked in a breath and tears sprang to her eyes at her brother's words. He was probably right. All of her friends were asked out all the time, even Amy had a few guys that would ask her if she wanted to see a movie from time to time. The closest she had come to being asked out had been Hijiro chasing her into the arcade earlier, and that didn't count because he never actually asked her to the dance. Not that she would go out with such a pompous ass, especially after the way he had talked about her friends.

Tuxedo Mask was friendly enough, but that was only because they were fighting together for the same mission. They had talked about a number of things and had gotten to know each other as best they could without blowing their cover, but in reality they didn't really know each other. Besides, he treated her more like a sister than a potential love interest.

She shied away from thoughts of Darien as his face flitted across her mind. She never knew where she stood with him and it probably didn't matter, especially after the way she had treated him earlier.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

She'd hurried from the arcade, desperate to get away from her friends before she broke down completely. She didn't want to worry them with things that they couldn't possibly understand. She didn't really understand any of it herself.

The afternoon air was frigid so she kept up a steady pace as she headed home. She couldn't wait to reach the sanctuary of her room where she could cry in peace. And maybe, just maybe, she might be allowed a couple of hours of sleep without any interruptions.

She reached up to swipe at a tear that had trickled down her cheek, and that was when she stared at her hands in horror, remembering how they had been coated with that man's blood in her dream.

Who had he been? Her dream self certainly seemed to know him if the way she was carrying on was any indication. "Endymion," she whispered, trying the name out. She felt a sudden thrill of something race through her as the name rolled effortlessly off her tongue. It was a warm, comforting feeling.

She had been zoning out and not paying attention to where she was going. She stepped off a curb and there was a loud blare of a horn before a hand grabbed her by the arm and jerked her back. The moment her nose collided with a firm chest, she knew who had just snatched her out of the path of certain death.

"What the hell were you doing, you stupid Meatball Head?" Darien raged. "Weren't you paying attention? The light was red!"

Serena took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. He smelled of chocolate and coffee, but there was something else faintly lingering there as well. It almost smelled like…roses?

"Tuxedo Mask," she barely breathed before she burrowed into his chest further and whispered too softly for him to hear, "No, Endymion." She felt so safe and secure in that moment.

"Damn it, Serena! Are you even listening to me?" Darien's voice shattered her reverie.

"Huh? What?" she mumbled as she reluctantly pulled away from him to look up into his stormy blue eyes.

He gave her a little shake. "I asked you if you had gone completely brain dead, you little idiot! I can't believe that you just stepped out into oncoming traffic like that! If I hadn't been here…" he broke off and pulled her back against him. "Don't you ever do anything like that again!"

She sniffled a little before giggling, "I'm sorry. I guess my brain must have been up in the stratosphere somewhere." Then she began to feel a faint annoyance at all of his chastising. "What are you doing here anyway? Have you turned into a stalker or something? Or did the others pay you to make sure ditzy Serena makes it home okay?"

She almost swooned in pleasure as his cheeks, already ruddy from the cold wind, flushed a deeper red. No matter how irritated she got with the guy, she would never grow tired of looking at his face. He could put the Greek gods to shame.

"Is that the thanks I get for saving you from becoming road kill?" he exploded.

Then her temper really broke loose. "Well thank you very much, Mr. Shields, for saving this obviously pathetic, airhead blonde from becoming intimately acquainted with a car's bumper! Thank you, thank you, from the very bottom of my heart! There! Are you happy now?"

She tried to jerk away, but he held fast to her arm. "No I damn well am not happy now! Me and everybody else have been watching you slowly wither away for the past few weeks. We've all been tiptoeing around you, not wanting to bring up the subject for fear of pushing you away, but you can't keep going on like this, Serena. Now I want to know what's going on, right now! Is it just the nightmares that are bothering you, or is there something else?"

Oh how she wanted to throw herself back into his arms and sob out the story of how chaotic her life had become. But she knew that he would never believe her. If she were to tell him that she was Sailor Moon he would call the men in white coats to come drag her off in a straight jacket. And she wouldn't blame him for it. Who would ever believe that awkward, clumsy Serena Tsukino was actually the new super heroine that had been swooping around the city fighting monsters and saving lives?

"Let me go, Darien," she ground out in a low voice. "I want to go home."

"Hell no!" he roared back. "It looks like I'm the only one with enough guts to confront you about this, and I'm not letting you go until you spill exactly what has been going on to change you into a shadow of your former self."

She didn't know if she had somehow unconsciously called upon her scout power or if she had grown stronger as herself, all she knew was that she put both hands on his chest and pushed as hard as she could. To her surprise he let go and stumbled backward before falling on the sidewalk.

"Just drop it, Darien," she said in a tired, cracked voice. "I do have a couple of issues right now, but they're my problem to deal with. So please, just let it go."

He glared up at her from where he sat. "I'm not giving up on this, Serena. I'm going to find out what it is that you're hiding from everyone. Whatever it is, it's eating you up inside and I'm not going to stand by and watch. You need someone to help you."

"Just leave me alone!" she screamed. "Stop pretending like you care, like you're my friend. I have someone to help me through this, so I don't need you, my worst enemy, making things worse. Last night you agreed that we could be enemies again, so stop trying to be my friend! I don't want or need your help! If that's the way you're going to be then stay the hell away from me!"

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

She'd spun on her heel and stomped away after that, leaving him sitting in a heap on the ground. Her heart had ached more and more with every step that she had taken, but she held firm. By the time she had stumbled in the front door of her house she had felt nauseous and ready to drown herself in a river of tears. Luckily she had been able to sneak past both of her parent's all knowing eyes and Sammy the Snoop had been closeted in his room with his precious video games.

Two hours and one crying jag later, here she was hiding in her bathroom staring at the reflection of the defeated looking girl that looked back at her from the mirror. She felt lower than a piece of gum stuck on the bottom of someone's shoe. She had been neglecting her closest friends and lying to them left and right. It wasn't fair to them.

And Darien, she'd had no right to jump down his throat after he had pulled her out of the path of certain death. He had saved her life, and she repaid him by screaming at him and just being plain nasty.

"I've turned into a real bitch," she whispered to her image in the mirror. Fresh tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill over. Through her blurred vision she could have sworn that her reflection had changed briefly. For a moment she thought she saw herself in a white dress and smiling while a golden crescent moon glowed softly on her forehead. She scrubbed the tears away, but when she looked back she saw herself the way she was.

"I'm really losing it," she muttered, walking over and unlocking the door that led to Sammy's room. "It's all yours, pest!" she called out through the wood before heading back to her room where she threw herself on the bed.

Luna was out somewhere, so the room was quiet. She had no intentions of falling asleep and reliving that nightmare again, but the peacefulness of the setting quickly lulled her to dreamland. She was so deeply asleep that she never saw the three figures outside in the tree or heard the quiet sound as her window slid open to admit two cats and a blonde sailor scout in an orange fuku.

* * *

Mina slammed into her bedroom with the force of a small hurricane, causing the two feline occupants to look up in alarm at the heavily panting, bright-eyed girl.

"Mina! What in the world…" Artemis began.

"I can't keep doing this!" she exclaimed in a choked voice. "I am supposed to be protecting her, and yet she is in pain partly because I continue to withhold my presence from her. She has faded until she is a mere shadow of her former existence, and I cannot continue to watch her go through this hell. I thought having Endymion around would help her cope, but without his memories he's running around just as clueless as she is."

Artemis shook his head. "First Luna, now you. You two women can't give me a moment's peace, can you?"

"Artemis, please!" Luna begged. "There has to be something that we can do. She is suffering so much from these hideous nightmares and visions from the past. How can she be expected to fight against the Dark Kingdom forces when she can't manage more than an hour or two of sleep before she wakes up screaming and crying? If she keeps on the way she is she's going to get herself killed. Then the planet will fall right into Beryl and Metallia's hands because the Silver Crystal is the only thing that can defeat them."

"If only the Golden Crystal hadn't been lost," Artemis growled. "If the prince had his crystal then he could defend his own planet without relying on Serenity. Damn Terrans!"

Mina made an irritated sound. "The point is he doesn't. The Golden Crystal of Earth disappeared when Beryl attacked and wiped out the royal family. Nobody knows where it is or what happened to it. But we are Terrans now too and the Earth is our home, so it's up to us to defend it."

The white cat hung his head. "I know. You're right. But we have to keep Serenity safe and her identity hidden until the Silver Crystal is completed or we don't stand a chance."

They were all thoughtfully silent for a few minutes, trying to come up with a way to ease their princess's suffering while protecting her at the same time.

"I have an idea," Luna began slowly. "I've never tried it before, but it just might work."

"What is it?" Mina asked eagerly, ready to try anything that could possibly restore her princess to her happy, bubbly self.

"The Luna Mind Meld," the black feline stated. "I know it's usually used to restore people's memories about certain events, but it can be reversed to help suppress thoughts too. I can't make her forget the nightmares entirely, but I can soften the blow a bit. It would also make it so that even when she has the nightmare it will be nothing more than a fuzzy afterthought."

"You can do that?" Artemis asked in awe. "I never knew that your power extended that far."

"I can do it, but it might be tricky," Luna said. "The shield blocking the memories of her past is weakening, but it was forged by the Silver Crystal. That is not an easy power to try to go up against. I may need another planetary power to help strengthen it. That's where I'll need your help, Mina."

"Count me in!" Mina agreed swiftly. "If it helps her sleep so that she can function on a normal level I'm all for it. When should we do this?"

Luna glanced at the clock. "No time like the present. Serena should be home from the arcade by now, and with any luck we'll find her asleep."

"Then let's do it!" Mina cried as she held an orange, pen looking device over her head. "Venus Power!" A shower of golden stars surrounded her in light, and when they faded Sailor Venus stood in front of the felines. She picked them up and put one on each shoulder before jumping out the window.

It usually took ten minutes to walk to Serena's house the normal way, but traveling by rooftop cut the time. In less than a minute they landed in the tree outside Serena's bedroom window. They peered in, but saw no sign of her.

"She's definitely been here. The bed's all rumpled," Luna whispered.

"Maybe she went downstairs for a snack," Venus replied. "She didn't eat anything when she was at the arcade earlier. She just had a few sips of hot chocolate, so she's probably hungry."

"Wait a minute!" Luna exclaimed in a whisper. "Are we talking about the same girl? I've never known Serena to turn down food whenever it was around."

Venus nodded. "I know. That's when I knew things had gone too far. I just hope we can help her. Ooo, where is she?"

As if in response to that question, the bathroom door opened and Serena stumbled into the room. Her face was red and her cheeks were wet with tears. She looked so miserable that it took all of Venus and Luna's will power to keep from charging into the room and comforting her. They watched as she threw her down on the bed and fell asleep within minutes.

When light snores began to reach them outside, Venus inched forward on the branch and slowly slid the window up. Luna and Artemis hopped inside and she followed a moment later, landing quietly on the plush carpet. She tiptoed over to the side of the bed and looked down sadly at her friend and princess.

Even in sleep, Serena's face was lined with stress and worry. Already she was tossing her head back and forth and mumbling incoherently under her breath.

Venus felt heartbroken. "What do I do, Luna?"

Luna had jumped to the bed beside her mistress. "Just channel your energy around her like a cocoon. I will use it to boost my own power and see if we can lessen her torment."

Venus nodded and turned her full attention back to Serena. In moments a soft orange glow surrounded the sleeping girl.

"Here goes nothing," Luna muttered as a beam of light shot from the crescent moon on her forehead to hit Serena in the same spot. A mirroring crescent began to glow on the girl's brow. All was quiet for several minutes as the feline worked her magic.

"There!" Luna finally said as she sat back on her haunches. "That should take care of it. I didn't wipe the nightmare completely from her mind, and she will continue to have the dream, but it should be much more manageable than before."

Artemis shook his head. "I can't believe that this is the way that Queen Serenity intended for the princess to remember the events of the past. She would never have wanted her to go through that sort of torture. So why the vicious nightmares?"

"It's a repercussion from being so close to Darien," Venus stated. "Ever since they have turned into Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask the souls of their past selves have awoken as well. Serenity's aura grows brighter around Serena everyday while Endymion's does around Darien. There has been a spike in the energy around Amy and Raye also, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the two of them joining the party soon."

"That will be a blessing," Luna commented gratefully. "What about Lita, is she showing any signs?"

Venus shrugged. "It's hard to tell. Jupiter always had such a commanding presence, and Lita is no different. It makes it difficult to see if she's close to awakening or not."

"Well here's hoping that it won't be long," Luna replied. "It will be so comforting to have everyone together once again."

Serena, who had been resting comfortably against her pillows, suddenly rolled over and mumbled, "Luna, is that you? Who are you talking to?"

Venus bit back a shriek and grabbed Artemis by the scruff of the neck before leaping through the open window. She made it just in time. If she been just a second later she would have been busted as Serena's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh Serena!" Luna squeaked. "I thought you were asleep. I didn't wake you up with my thinking out loud, did I?"

Serena sat up and rubbed her eyes before patting the cat on the head. "No, Luna, you didn't wake me up. I was dreaming about something, but I don't remember what it was now. I guess it must not have been important. At least it didn't feel like a nightmare this time. I would like to get some normal sleep for once."

"I'm sure you would," Luna commiserated. "You should probably try to nap some more. You still have a couple of hours before your mother calls you for dinner."

Serena shivered as a cold wind blew through her window and she got up to close it. "Maybe I will in a minute, Luna. I am still pretty tired. I couldn't have been asleep more than thirty minutes…" She stopped talking and her fingers turned white knuckled as she gripped the windowsill. An ominous feeling washed over her.

"Luna," she said in a strangled voice. "I sense a youma nearby."

The feline was skeptical. "Are you sure? I'm positive the main computer would have alerted me if there was any youma activity in the area."

"I'm telling you what I feel!" Serena snapped. "I don't care what the computer says. The youma is here." She dug in her pocket for her broach. "Moon Prism Power!"

The ribbons and light of her transformation burst forth in a hurry. Before they had even had a chance to fade, Sailor Moon had jumped from the window and was speeding across rooftops.

"Please be careful, princess," Luna whispered as she watched her go.

* * *

"Damn!" Darien cursed as he slammed his Economics book shut with a growl of frustration. He had returned home after his little encounter with Serena earlier and had tried to immerse himself in his studies, but he couldn't concentrate. The sight of her miserable face kept popping up in his mind.

"_Just leave me alone!"_ she had screamed at him when he had tried to force her to tell him what was wrong. _"Stop pretending like you care, like you're my friend. I have someone to help me through this, so I don't need you, my worst enemy, making things worse. Last night you agreed that we could be enemies again, so stop trying to be my friend! I don't want or need your help! If that's the way you're going to be then stay the hell away from me!"_

Those angry words kept playing through his head like a broken record. He knew that he had been rough on her, trying to get her to come clean about her problems, but he had been scared out of his mind when that car had nearly mowed her down. That fear had coalesced into anger, and that resulted in him being much more harsh than what he had intended. Now he would be lucky if she ever even looked at him again, much less talked to him.

He had followed her home at a discreet distance just to make sure she made it there all right. He had almost worked up enough nerve to go up and knock on her door to apologize, but the sight of her father's car sitting in the driveway had been intimidating enough to turn him away. And he couldn't exactly transform into Tuxedo Mask and leap up to her window. That would probably freak her out.

Then jealousy burned through him. She had spoken of having someone else to help her through whatever problems she was facing. She could have been speaking of a family member or friend, but he couldn't help but think that she was talking about a guy. The way her face had lit up for just a moment when she said that just screamed that it was a guy.

"Damn it! She told me that she wasn't seeing anyone!" he muttered darkly. "She swore that she didn't have a secret boyfriend hidden away. Was she lying to me?"

He picked up his coffee cup to take a gulp and grimaced when he discovered that the brew inside had turned cold. Then he looked around to see that all of his normally organized books and papers were strewn around in a chaotic mess.

"That girl is going to drive me crazy!" he groaned as he let his head fall to the coffee table with a loud thump. It was a good thing that he was ahead in his work for all of his classes, because it didn't look like he was getting anything done today.

His head snapped up as he felt what was starting to become a familiar feeling wash over him. Sailor Moon was transforming. He could tell by the emotions that were traveling to him from her that she wasn't just going out for a quick look around the city. Adrenaline and anxiety pumped through him.

He jumped up and reached for the pocket where he kept his transformation rose only to remember a second later that he wasn't wearing his jacket. He scrambled for the coat closet, tripping over his books and sliding on papers. After falling twice he reached his destination and plunged his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket. He sighed in relief as his fingers brushed silky petals and closed around the rigid stem. He transformed quickly and ran to the balcony where he leapt from the railing to the roof of a neighboring building. He took off in the direction that the magnetic pull he felt told him to go.

A few minutes later he landed on top of an office building that was next to a grocery store. The store's parking lot was filled with flashing lights and sirens as police and paramedics rushed around. Several people were unconscious and on stretchers that were being loaded into ambulances. They appeared to be victims of a youma attack.

But where was Sailor Moon? They normally took off before the authorities arrived, but his senses told him that she was still here. Had she perhaps turned back into her civilian form and joined the spectators that were below?

No. He told himself. If she had let go of her transformation he would have felt it. She was still close by; he just had to find her.

A sound and movement off to his left side has him spinning around, expecting to be confronted by a youma, or better yet, that bastard Jadeite. What he didn't expect was to find a blonde haired heroine sitting in the shadows with her face buried in her pulled up knees as she sobbed.

Concern that she had been hurt had him flying to her side and wrapping an arm around her. "Moonie, what happened?"

She raised her head to look at him with wet, red, and swollen eyes. "I don't know. I suddenly sensed a youma so I hurried over here. But by the time I got here the attack was already over and the cops had arrived. It's almost like it was over before I ever knew it was happening."

He hugged her close. "You're not all knowing, so don't blame yourself. They must have hit quick, got the energy they wanted, and then got out before you showed up. That just shows how scared of you they are if they are wanting to avoid you so badly."

She sniffled softly. "But how can I protect people if I don't have a chance to catch them? I overheard the police talking. There are some people in really serious condition, and it's all because I wasn't here to stop the youma."

"Stop it!" he snapped at her, giving her a little shake. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu. This was almost exactly the same situation he'd found himself in with Serena earlier. He forced his temper to simmer down and his voice to be calm. "Look, you can't save everybody no matter how much you want to. I know this superhero business has been thrust upon you, but you have to remember that you are just an ordinary girl inside. Nobody expects you to perform miracles."

"But…" she began to protest before an ambulance siren went off below them and caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.

Tuxedo Mask growled in frustration. "Let's get out of here and find a quieter place to talk." He didn't give her a chance to argue with him. He swooped her up into his arms and took off over the rooftops.

Sailor Moon shrieked and buried her face into his shoulder while her fingers clenched the lapels of his tuxedo jacket.

"Relax," he said smoothly into her ear. "I would never let you fall."

She loosened up some at the sound of his soothing voice. By the time he came to a stop a few minutes later she felt like a mass of gooey melted chocolate. She practically slid from his arms to sit on the ground.

After she steadied herself with a few deep breaths she looked around in surprise. "The Crown Arcade?"

He grinned as he sat next to her on the roof. "We both admitted that we knew this place, so I figured it was best to take you somewhere you were familiar with. If I whisked you away to some unknown location you might start thinking I'm some kind of weirdo psycho pervert or something."

She actually giggled a little as she thought about Asanuma and Kobyashi and the way they could make even the most innocent of words sound dirty. Mina and Lita were almost as bad as they were with their daydreaming about guys. She had walked around with a permanent blush on her face for the whole first month she knew the two boy crazy girls. And let's not even get on the subject of Raye and the romance manga she had hidden under her bed that she swore didn't belong to her. Even Andrew could take a walk on the perverted side every now and then. Sometimes she thought that she, Amy, and Darien were the only normal ones in their group.

Tuxedo Mask bumped her shoulder with his as he saw the smile on her face. "Now that's what I like to see. Don't beat yourself up over the Dark Kingdom getting away with some energy tonight, we'll get them next time."

Her smile faded and she gave a tight nod. "Yeah. I'll just have to be super alert for any more attacks. Somehow they managed to slip under my radar this time. I can't let that happen again."

He studied her drawn face for a moment before asking, "Is there something else bothering you besides this youma attack? You seem so blue."

She waved a dismissive hand. "Oh it's nothing that you want to hear about, just some personal issues."

A black brow arched above his mask. "If you're having problems then I would like to hear about them. Trust me, I know that it's never good to bottle things up inside. So what's up?"

She sighed and leaned against him. "I feel like I don't even know who I am anymore. Everything around me is changing so much. I feel distanced from my family and friends because of this big secret I have to keep and we all used to be so close. I guess I'm just scared of having everyone I care about slipping away from me. My relationships are suffering. My grades are going down. I have so much on my mind that it's hard for me to sleep at night and that's making me cranky. I was very rude to one of my friends earlier when he was just trying to help me and now I feel like the lowest creature on the planet for the way I acted." Fresh tears sparkled in her eyes.

"Hey! No tears!" Tuxedo Mask demanded. "This isn't a time for you to feel sorry for yourself. I agree that this Dark Kingdom business has thrown a wrench into both of our lives, but if your family and friends are important to you you'll just have to put forth a little extra effort to maintain your relationships with them. You may be Sailor Moon, but you're still the same person you were before on the inside. If the people around you love and care about you, they'll stand by your side."

She lifted her head to smile gently at him. "Thanks for the pep talk. You're absolutely right. I just have to try harder to keep my normal life together. This is just another battle I'll have to fight against the Dark Kingdom. I won't let them rip my friends and family away from me."

He gave her an approving nod. "Now that's the fighting spirit I've come to expect from you. And try not to lose any sleep over this crap either. You need your rest if you're going to be able to function."

She nodded. Somehow their heads had moved so close together that her bangs tangled with his when she moved. She stared into the blue eyes behind the mask and felt as if she was about to be sucked right in to them. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he replied back just as softly. She was so close to him, lips only inches from his. It would be so easy to close that gap and kiss her. Her citrus and sunshine scent wrapped around him like an intoxicating blanket, reminding him of Serena. He may have a case of lust for Sailor Moon, but he would never dishonor the love he felt for Serena by kissing another girl.

Sailor Moon was experiencing the same internal debate. A small part of her wished that he would just kiss her and put an end to this intense, emotionally charged moment. But the rest of her knew that Darien was the only one she wanted to kiss her. She slowly pulled away from him and she couldn't help but notice the relief that lit up his eyes. So it seemed her masked hero was just as conflicted as she was. She wondered if he also had someone in his everyday life that he cared about.

A light beeping sound caught her attention and she jumped to her feet and began patting herself down. She had discovered that if she concentrated hard enough, she could access the pockets of whatever clothes she had been wearing before her transformation. That came in handy for carrying her cell phone, communicator, and other items around with her as Sailor Moon.

After a moment she felt her hand slip into the phantom pocket of her jeans and she pulled out her communicator. She pressed a button and Luna's face immediately appeared on the tiny screen. "Hey, Luna."

"Hey yourself!" the cat quipped back. "I have been sitting here driving myself crazy wondering what was going on. Why haven't you called me?"

Sailor Moon cringed. "Sorry. Tuxedo Mask and I were just discussing things. I'll fill you in later, okay."

Luna sighed. "Fine. But if you're done you better get home double quick. Your mother will be calling you down for dinner soon, and she'll flip if you're not here."

"Gotcha," Sailor Moon replied. "I'll be there in just a minute."

She disconnected the call and turned to Tuxedo Mask, who had stood and was watching her in amusement. "I guess I better get going."

"So I heard," he chuckled. "I guess I'll see you later. Call me if you need me."

She beamed a smile at him. "I will! And thanks again for listening to all my bellyaching. I swear I'm not usually such a gloomy, depressing drama queen."

One side of his mouth kicked up in a crooked grin. "Not a problem. Now get before you get in trouble. Who's going to help me fight the Dark Kingdom if you get grounded?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Okay, okay, I'm going. See ya!"

She jumped away over the rooftops and he stood there watching her until she was out of sight. He was about to head home himself when something white lying on the ground caught his eye. He was certain that it hadn't been there a few minutes before. It must have fallen out of Sailor Moon's pocket when she reached for her communicator.

He bent over and picked it up. It appeared to be a handkerchief. He figured that he would hold onto it and return it to her the next time he saw her. He was about to stuff it into his pocket when he took a good look at it. His breath froze in his lungs and his heart stuttered and almost stopped.

The handkerchief was white with pink embroidery around the edges. Dread pumped through him as he opened it up and checked the corners. Sure enough in one corner was a pair of pink bunnies stitched into the cloth.

"No way! It can't be!" he hissed between clenched teeth, his brain desperately trying to refute the crazy idea that had popped into his mind.

He thought over the many similarities that he had noticed between Serena and Sailor Moon. They were both petite with long blonde pigtails and big blue eyes. They both had bubbly personalities, but Sailor Moon had a serious side to her while Serena always seemed like a kid at heart.

That's where his thoughts crashed into a brick wall. Serena used to be bouncy and happy go lucky all the time, but she had changed drastically. He counted back in his mind and figured that her changes started right about the time Sailor Moon made her appearance. And now he held in his hand a handkerchief that was identical, if not the exact same one he had seen Serena with earlier that day. It couldn't just be a coincidence.

"Please tell me I'm wrong," he whispered brokenly. "Serena can't be Sailor Moon."

It would explain a lot of things if she were. If she was Sailor Moon then that could be the reason for her sudden change in behavior, why she had started pulling away from her friends and not spending time with them. He had thought it odd when he heard that she had begun skipping some afternoons at the arcade when she had never done so before. Was that because she had been meeting secretly with him to train? And no wonder she was having nightmares! A girl as sensitive and as caring as Serena was bound to be haunted by dreams of the monsters she'd had to face.

Then another thought hit him. If Serena and Sailor Moon were truly one and the same, then would explain the attraction he felt toward the young super heroine. That would mean that he wasn't in love with two different women. Okay, three if you counted Serenity, but she was only in his dreams and he wasn't even sure she existed for real.

But under this euphoria his heart pounded in fear. While part of him rejoiced at the thought of Serena being Sailor Moon, another part of him detested it. This fight with the Dark Kingdom was dangerous and was escalating almost daily. He didn't want Serena involved in this mess. If something were to happen to her, if he wasn't in time to save her, he would never forgive himself.

"I need to sit down and think," he told himself as he headed for home. He wasn't the kind of guy to base conclusions on circumstantial evidence. He had to come up with a plan to gather more information before he could say for certain that Serena was indeed Sailor Moon.

Behind his mask his eyes twinkled mischievously. This just might be fun.

**A/N **So there you have it! Darien's got suspicions now that Serena is Sailor Moon. What will he do to try to find out if she is? You'll just have to wait and see. I think Serena's done being mopey for now and will start acting more like herself again. More Sere / Dare and Moon / Tux moments coming up in the next chapter and Mercury and possibly Mars come onto the scene. Things are about to go from crazy to insanity. And also the winter dance has arrived. This could be interesting. Pandemonium is about to break loose! Like I said before, this was kind of a filler chapter to lead up to what's coming next, but that doesn't mean that I don't want reviews. So please take a moment and tell me what you think. See ya next time! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	7. Answers and Icicles

**A/N **Hey everybody! Here I am with another update for all of you wonderful readers. I've actually had some spare time this week and my muse has been running in overdrive, so I've been able to get quite a bit accomplished on both of my stories. So I have this chappie for you today, and hopefully the next installment of GT will be ready to go up sometime this weekend as well. I also had a reader remind me of another story that I started way back months ago and for some reason forgot about. It's sort of a prequel to Lunar Princess and takes place after Galaxia and Chaos. It tells the story of the generals being revived by the Golden Crystal and how they reunited with scouts. There are also some Sere/Dare moments as they deal with the fact that Darien's leaving again to try once more to attend college in America. I've dusted off what I already have written and hope to post it soon.

Okay, enough of that. I feel like Mina with all of this babbling. (No offense Mina-chan. You know I love you!) I tend to get goofy when I get excited, and I'm all happy and stuff because tomorrow's my birthday! Yay! Good ole 9-11. May my birthday wish of a peaceful day come true. So since this is my birthday weekend, these hugs are extra special. BIG SPECIAL HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**xo Usako ox**

**Shinobi of life**

**GoldenDragon326**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Chibi Kitt**

**Quelqu'un dans la nuit**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**mandii-xo**

**afallenblackrose**

**Aldi82**

**anime-lover10**

**jade2nightwing**

**LGCoffeeAddict**

**tiny2008**

**amaramichelle**

**Fedski**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

**BostonBill**

**chimichurri**

**S dot Serenity**

**KatanaPrincess**

**samsox**

**samxe**

**SlackerDee**

I sure hope I didn't forget anybody, and if I did I apologize sincerely. I feel that this is my only way to show my gratitude to all of you that leave me such wonderfully inspiring reviews since I just honestly don't have the time to sit down and respond to each of you personally. Thank you very much! Now let's move on!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 7

Answers and Icicles

To Do List:

1. Remember to buy a new alarm clock to replace the one I broke this morning when I threw it against the wall.

2. Hope and pray that none of my teachers decide to drop a pop quiz in any of my classes today. I don't think my brain can handle it.

3. SOMEHOW FIND OUT IF SERENA IS SAILOR MOON!

That list kept replaying over and over in his head as he pounded down the sidewalk on the way to school, trying to knot his tie as he ran. Yes, the always punctual and perfectly groomed Darien Shields was running late. He found it a little hard to believe himself.

He had made his way home the evening before after his talk with Sailor Moon in a daze and clutching what could prove to be a vital piece of information about her identity in his hand. He had detransformed and sat on his couch, staring at the handkerchief he was holding as if the inanimate object would suddenly start speaking to him and tell him the answers to all of his questions.

Serena…Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon…Serena, the thoughts had whirled around in one giant jumble in his head until he was ready to pull his hair out in frustration. He just couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the idea that the girl that he cared for so deeply might possibly be the same super heroine that he had been fighting side by side with for the last several weeks.

Okay, so he had noted the physical similarities between them from the first time he had come across Sailor Moon when she had been holed up in that jewelry store and was about to be trampled by that horde of zombie people, but that wasn't proof enough. Sure, blonde hair wasn't extremely common in Japan, but it wasn't unheard of either. Not counting Serena, four of his best friends were blonde. Andrew, Asanuma, Kobyashi, and Mina were all blonde, and Asanuma and Mina both also had blue eyes like Serena and Sailor Moon.

And while Serena's hairstyle was pretty unique, it wasn't impossible for another girl to wear her hair that way. He had seen several girls wearing their hair in styles that were similar to Serena's buns and pigtails. Tokyo was a very big city after all, so there was a chance that there was another blonde girl that favored that hairstyle. People always said that everyone had a double out there somewhere. Maybe Sailor Moon's was Serena's.

So it was a long shot, especially with the hard evidence of the handkerchief in his possession, but he needed a little bit more to go on. As alike as Serena and Sailor Moon were physically, there were a few differences between them that were just enough to cast a slight shadow of doubt on the situation.

Serena, bless her heart, was a walking disaster. She couldn't manage to walk across a flat, level surface without tripping over absolutely nothing. While Sailor Moon wasn't exactly the most graceful of heroines, she did manage to run around in those high-heeled boots with only a few stumbles here and there, and he had seen her turn double somersaults in midair to avoid charging youma. That was something that was clearly out of Serena's league.

Or was it? As Tuxedo Mask he had gained abilities that he'd never had before. His strength and agility increased whenever he became his alter ego, allowing him to run faster than ever before and be able to jump the long distances between buildings. Conjuring roses wasn't a new gift, he had been able to create just about any kind of plant life as far back as he could remember. The roses were his favorite for some reason, but once he had become Tuxedo Mask he had been able to turn those seemingly innocent flowers into deadly weapons.

So who was to say that Serena hadn't gone through some physical changes as well if she were truly Sailor Moon? And there was one other little matter that tipped the scales in favor of Serena being the mini-skirted heroine. Serena's shoulder had been busted up pretty badly the night before last when they had been at the party, he wondered now if that injury had come from Jadeite. She had cried out in pain when he had merely touched her where the giant bruise was. But yesterday when he had saved her from being run over by that car and she had infuriated him with her refusal to tell him what was going on, he remembered grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her roughly. Given the severity of her injury, she should have shown some sign of pain, but there had been no reaction. It was if her shoulder wasn't bothering her at all.

He shook all of these confusing thoughts from his head as he heard the first school bell ring a block away. He still had five minutes to get to homeroom before he would be considered late, not an impossible feat if he quit daydreaming and paid attention to what he was doing, but his brain was just refusing to cooperate this morning. It was probably what he deserved for staying up most of the night.

After he had finally roused himself from his musing about that damn handkerchief, he had discovered that it had gotten extremely late. He had felt uncharacteristically antsy, so he had transformed and taken off into the night, telling himself that he was going out to patrol for Dark Kingdom goons. But instead of combing the city, he found himself sitting once again on a tree branch outside a teenage girl's bedroom window watching her sleep.

She had been resting peacefully with no sign of the nightmares that had disturbed her the last two times that he had observed her sleeping. The small lamp burning on her bedside table was shining just enough light to illuminate her sleeping face as she lay spread out on her stomach on the bed, an open manga lying next to her where she must have been reading as she fell asleep.

The closed window and the small black ball of fur curled up at the foot of her bed indicated that her cat was in for the evening as well. It seemed that he was the only one crazy enough to be out on such a frigid night. He had sat there fore a long time, just watching her sleep, until he caught himself dozing off on his branch and forced himself to go home.

He had gone straight to bed, thinking that he would talk to Serenity about his suspicions. After all, Sailor Moon was the leader of her scouts. If anyone knew her real identity, it would be her princess. But Serenity had never shown, and he'd had a dreamless sleep until he woke to the sound of his blaring alarm clock that he had thrown at the wall in a temper when he discovered he had severely overslept.

"I can't believe I slept through my alarm! Why didn't mom wake me up? I'm going to be laaate!" a familiar voice suddenly wailed behind him.

Without breaking stride he turned his head, only to be whapped in the face by a long streamer of golden hair as Serena tore past him, running as if the devil himself was chasing her down to take her soul. The girl could move for such a short little thing. Her legs were pumping so fast that they appeared to be a blur.

Darien grinned. Now was just as good a time as any to start his little investigation. "Hey Meatball Head! You should really be more considerate of other people. You don't own the sidewalk, you know."

The blonde shrieked at the sound of his voice, tried to turn around while she was still running, tripped over her own two feet, and promptly smashed into a no parking sign. "Shields!" she screamed as Darien blew by her, grinning like a cat that had a whole bowl of cream in front of him.

"You better hurry up!" he called over his shoulder. "You don't want to get stuck in detention, do you?"

"Nooo!" she shrieked, hurriedly righting herself and tearing off after him. In seconds she was beside him, matching his pace. He noted that her cheeks were flushed from exertion, but she was barely winded.

He smirked. "Running behind this morning, are we?"

"Shut up!" she snapped back in annoyance. "You're one to talk. Don't you usually show up like a half hour before school starts?"

She had him there. "Yes. But even super cool geniuses like me can have an off morning once in a while."

She snorted. "Super cool! You wish! My brother's cooler than you, and he's pretty low on my list of cool people."

His grin grew. "Somebody seems to be in a better mood today than they were yesterday. At least you're not telling me to get lost like you were before."

She screeched to a halt and stumbled. She would have fallen to the ground with a crash if his heightened senses hadn't kicked in, alerting him to her missed step. He spun smoothly, catching her as she plummeted toward her destiny with the concrete.

She crashed face first into his chest, gripping the lapels of his uniform blazer like it was a lifeline. Slowly her head rose to reveal eyes that were suddenly full of remorse. She gulped and drew in a deep breath. "I want to apologize for what I said yesterday. It was very rude of me to act the way I did after you helped me. That car would have made a pancake out of me if you hadn't been there. I feel really bad about the way I acted."

'_I was very rude to one of my friends earlier when he was just trying to help me and now I feel like the lowest creature on the planet for the way I acted.' _Sailor Moon's words from the night before echoed in his head. Had he been the friend that she had been talking about? His heart leapt a little at the thought of her calling him a friend.

"Don't sweat it," he replied nonchalantly. "I wasn't that big a deal. After all, what else are enemies for?"

Her expression turned angry, but she didn't pull away from him. "It is so a big deal! You saved my life and I repaid you by yelling at you. I'm a horrible person!"

He panicked for a second when her eyes began to tear up. The last thing he needed was a sobbing, hysterical Serena on his hands. "You're not a horrible person. You were just having a bad day. I promise I'm not going to hold it against you."

She sniffled and looked up at him hopefully. "Really? You mean you forgive me for the nasty things I said?"

He almost sighed in relief. "Of course I do, Meatball Head. Like I said, what else are enemies for?"

She gave a shriek of delight, but it turned into a wail of despair a second later when the final school bell rang a half a block away. "Oh nooo! Now I'll have detention this afternoon! This is not good!"

"What's the matter? Did you have something to do after school?" Darien bit back a grin. He knew that Sailor Moon had plans to meet with Tuxedo Mask this afternoon to train. Was that what had her worried?

She grimaced. "Well I did have something going on. I guess I'll just have to cancel it. There's no way that Miss H. is going to let me slide on this one. I knew I should have just stayed in bed this morning, but mom wouldn't let me."

An idea popped into Darien's head. "Come on!" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her reluctantly behind him toward the school building.

"Aww, do I have to?" she whined. "I was thinking of going to get some breakfast since I didn't have time to eat anything. I'm already late anyway, so what difference does it make?"

"Just be quiet and follow me," he said as they reached the doors and went inside. Their footsteps barely made a sound on the worn out linoleum as he led her down the hall where the junior's lockers were located.

"Wow! You're a real neat freak, aren't you?" Serena whispered when he opened his locker to reveal it to be clutter free with not even one loose paper out of place. His books were lined up carefully next to clearly labeled binders. Post it notes with reminders of test dates were stuck to the door.

"I like to know where my things are when I need them," he answered simply as he swapped a few things from his bag to his locker and got what he needed for class.

Serena blushed in embarrassment a few minutes later when she opened her locker only to have several papers fall out from the disorganized chaos inside. Everything was shoved inside every which way, and she felt a little silly at the pictures of Inuyasha, Seto Kaiba, and Ichigo, along with many other of her favorite anime and manga characters that she had taped to the door.

Darien longed to say something to her about the deplorable state of her school things and her preteen habits, but he knew that picking an argument with her now would only make it that much harder to get the answers he was after. So he bit down hard on his tongue and buried the urge.

Serena stuffed the fallen papers back inside and grabbed what she needed before trying to slam the door shut. It took her four tries before it would close properly. Darien choked on a laugh and she glared at him as if daring him to say anything.

"What now, Mr. Hotshot?" she snapped in a low voice. "Even you can't change the fact that we are late unless you have a time machine stashed away somewhere to magically transport us to the past or something."

He began herding her toward her homeroom. "Just play along with me and watch the master at work. If there's one thing I know it's teachers and how their minds work."

Intrigued she watched as he knocked on the door to Miss Haruna's room and stepped inside when she bade him to enter. He took her by the arm and pulled her inside with him.

"Darien!" the auburn haired teacher gushed when she saw one of her favorite pupils. Then her eyes landed on Serena. "I see you found my wayward student. You're tardy, Serena! Now go take your seat! That's a detention for you this afternoon!"

Dejected, Serena began to walk away, but Darien refused to let go of her arm. "Actually Miss Haruna, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, Serena asked me to help with her English assignment. We were in the library this morning and were so wrapped up that we didn't hear the bell when it rang. I knew that you would be angry when she showed up late, so I thought I would come and explain."

Miss Haruna's mouth dropped open in shock. "O…oh. Well in that case I guess I can overlook Serena's tardiness this time. But we can't have you getting punished for being late, Darien. I'll write you a pass to excuse you with your homeroom teacher."

"How slick!" Serena hissed between her teeth as the teacher hurried to her desk to get the pass. "You practically made the woman catatonic!"

He grinned devilishly at her. "What can I say, I'm good. Just please tell me that you actually did your homework for this class."

She nodded. She had finished her English homework Saturday night when she couldn't sleep. But Algebra, Biology, and History, they were a different story.

"There we are," Miss Haruna said as she returned and handed Darien a piece of paper. "That should clear you with Mr. Yamazaki."

"Thank you," Darien said before walking to the door and calling back over his shoulder, "I guess I'll see you at lunch, Meatball Head."

"Oooo," the class intoned, making Serena's face blush beet red.

"Way to go, jerk!" she muttered before stomping over and slamming her bag down on her desk. She plopped down in her seat and promptly buried her face in her folded arms. She could already hear the rumor mill starting to turn. Half the school would probably have her and Darien engaged by lunch because of a few casually spoken words.

Darien just grinned as he left and made his way to his own homeroom. Yep, unraveling this mystery was going to be fun.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Jadeite asked the youma that was disguised as a schoolteacher.

"Yes, Master Jadeite," the youma replied smoothly. "Just leave it all too me. When those stupid human children come in here this afternoon and put those computer disks in I will take all of their energy at once. It will be quick and easy."

"Let's hope so," the blonde general stated. His campaign the night before at the crowded grocery store had been a rousing success, resulting in a large amount of energy. Beryl had been pleased with his progress and had actually praised him for it. He had high hopes for this mission to go as smoothly. As one of the highest level youma, he possessed strong mental powers. On top of that, when he had been given the body of the Earth general as his own he had also received the general's ability to manipulate the space around him with just a thought. As long as he concentrated he would be able to mask their presence here, leaving Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask in the dark until it was too late.

"I'll leave everything to you then," he told his minion. "Report to me when you have completed your task."

"As you wish," the youma said with a bow.

Jadeite teleported away from the cram school. He reappeared on one of the city's many crowded streets dressed in modern civilian clothing. He stared around gloatingly as the people rushed by him, unaware of the danger that lurked among them. The humans were so naïve.

He began walking down the congested sidewalk, reveling in the feeling of superiority that was flowing through him. He envisioned the way the Earth would appear once his queen and the Great Ruler came to power. The world would be covered in eternal darkness, and those humans that survived would become their slaves, lower than the most worthless youma. He waited restlessly in anticipation of that time.

A cocky grin spread across his face as he spotted a familiar figure standing outside a local high school. He sauntered over and drawled, "Is it the young girls that have caught your fancy, Nephrite, or is it the young boys that have you so enraptured?"

The chestnut haired general turned his cold, slate blue eyes on him. "Only someone of a perverted nature would assume such a depraved thing. I was merely checking this place out as a possible location for gathering energy. This school is bursting at the seams from the energy of all of these exuberant teenagers."

"I know what you mean," Jadeite muttered as he read the sign on the gate. "Juuban High School. Well I'm sure some of these kids must attend the cram school that I have set up as my latest strike. I'll be happy to relieve them of some of their excess energy."

"Just make sure you don't screw it up," Nephrite cautioned him. "You got lucky last night, so don't let it go to your head. Zoicite is just waiting for an opportunity to goad Queen Beryl into killing you. Surely you've realized by now that Kunzite and Zoicite have an ulterior motive.

Jadeite snorted. "I'm not worried about them. Zoicite's always off in never, never land while Kunzite keeps trying to get closer to the queen in hopes that she will abandon her idea of tracking down Endymion and choose him to rule at her side instead. Neither one of them are actually doing anything helpful to our mission, so I don't believe either one holds any sway with her majesty."

"Watch your ass anyway," Nephrite told him. "Kunzite may not stoop low enough to dirty his hands with trying to get rid of us, but that conniving weasel, Zoicite, is a different story. He and Kunzite are as thick as thieves, and I can guarantee you that they have something up their sleeves. If we don't watch it we'll both be dead."

Jadeite waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever! I'm off for a little fun before the afternoon excitement." He teleported away.

"Idiot!" Nephrite grumbled. "Oh well, he's not my problem. Let the bastard get himself killed. I have my own life to think about."

He turned his attention back to the school as the bell rang and students began pouring out the doors. They were all laughing and talking, clearly excited to have reached the end of another school day. He could practically see the energy shimmering off of them in waves.

A bright speck of energy caught his eye and looked to find that this unusually high concentration of pure energy originated from one girl in particular. She had shoulder length coppery red hair and cornflower blue eyes. A warm smile graced her face as she walked alongside a brown haired boy wearing round glasses.

Nephrite smiled in satisfaction. Yes, this school would be a prime location to collect energy. That one girl's essence alone was worth twenty of the other's. Metallia would surely benefit from absorbing a life force so strong.

He strolled onto the campus and headed toward the office. It was time to put the next step of his plan into action.

* * *

"At last!" Serena groaned as the final bell for the day rang and she was free from the torturous ordeal of dealing with teachers and listening to them babbling on monotonously, at least until tomorrow. And was she ever glad that it was over. It had been a very strange day.

Of course, now that she thought about it, most of the day's weirdness had been centered around Darien. It had started with his charitable act of getting her out of detention this morning, and then at lunch he had been uncharacteristically chatty.

It seemed that her part time super hero occupation had been mentioned in the news a few times, and she almost passed out when Darien brought up the subject of Sailor Moon and asked what everybody thought of her.

She had managed to laugh it off, saying that she'd barely heard anything about her, claiming that she had better things to do with her time than to listen to the news.

Mina had been the only one that had fully agreed with her. The others had been full of opinions. Andrew, Asanuma, and Kobyashi were entranced with the idea of a girl in a short skirt running around the city fighting monsters. They all said that a girl like that had to be hot and that they hoped to get attacked so that they might have a chance to meet her.

Serena's cheeks had blazed hotly at their words, and when she looked away to find something else to occupy her mind, she found herself locked in Darien's ocean blue eyes as he gazed at her with a little smirk like he knew something she didn't.

And then somehow in gym, and she still wasn't exactly sure how it had happened, she had found herself paired up with Darien during class. The coach told everyone that since this was the last week before school let out for the holidays that he didn't want to start on anything new. But instead of giving them a free period, he brought out a box full of sports equipment and told them to split into pairs and be active.

Before she could blink Darien had grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the far end of the gym while the rest of the class had whispered and giggled behind their backs. She had been ready to sink through the floor in embarrassment and almost had her head taken off for her inattention when Darien had unexpectedly tossed a freesbie her way.

Reacting purely on instinct her hand had shot up and caught the spinning disc in her fingers before it slammed into her face. "What the hell, Shields?" she had yelled at him.

He just gave her another one of those annoying smirks. "Nothing. I'm just trying to keep us busy so that coach doesn't make us run laps."

"Well a little warning would have been nice!" she retorted back.

His grin had widened. "Stop bellyaching and get to throwing, Meatball Head!"

Incensed at his words, she had pulled back her arm and had sent the disc speeding through the air right at him, imagining that he was a youma and that the freesbie was her tiara. Sadly he caught it before it smashed into his gut. She had thrown that thing as hard as she could, and she knew his hand had to be stinging from the impact, but he stood there as smug and cool as always.

"I guess that wasn't a bad throw for a girl," he had said in a laughing tone as he sent the disc sailing back to her with an almost lazy flick of his wrist.

So the rest of the class had passed like that, with her trying her best to inflict some kind of damage on him with the freesbie and him overshadowing what athletic ability she had by making everything look easy. On top of that he had seriously creeped her out by smiling the entire time.

'At least now I can go spend time with a guy that seems to be at least halfway normal,' she thought as she trudged to her locker to put her things away. She jumped a moment later when her cell phone began vibrating in her skirt pocket.

She pulled out the phone and smiled when she saw the name 'Tux" on the display screen. She flipped it open and answered cheerfully. "Hey!"

"Well hello," his smooth voice replied back. "How was your day?"

"It was fine. I'm glad it's over," she told him as she absently unlocked her locker to put her things inside. "If you're calling to see if I'm still on for this afternoon, I am. I was about to head to the park as soon as I get out of here."

"Uh, yeah, about that," he said hesitantly. "Do you mind if I take a rain check on training today? Something kinda came up."

It took her a second to recover. "Oh! Of course I don't mind. After all, things happen, and we still have our lives to live. I hope you have fun with her."

"Who said it was a her?" he spluttered in shock.

Serena giggled. "Come on, Capeboy! You might not be standing in front of me, but I can still read the signs. All you guys are the same. The tone of your voice told me right away that you were going girl chasing."

He tried to sound offended. "I don't chase girls, they chase me. I'm a mysterious super hero, remember."

"And I'm sure you haven't made that public knowledge among the teenage female population of Tokyo," she said superiorly. "I actually see you as being more of the quiet, brooding, and studious type."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Why would you think that? Maybe I'm the outgoing, all-star quarterback with a fan club of giggling cheerleaders that follow me wherever I go."

Serena smiled as she once again compared Tuxedo Mask to Darien in her head. "No. That doesn't sound like you at all. Now go have fun. But you owe me one for skipping out on my important training like this."

"I'll make it up to you," he promised silkily. "Let's plan on meeting tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good," she agreed. "I'll talk to you later."

She flipped her phone closed and leaned against her locker as she broke into a fit of giggles. She knew that underneath the tuxedo, cape, and mask was a regular teenage boy, but the thought of Tokyo's dashing masked super hero doing something as normal as having a crush on a girl struck her as being funny.

Down the hall from her, a pair of dark blue eyes watched her intently as he slipped his own phone into the pocket of his slacks. If he'd had any doubts before, they had just been laid to rest. He had spotted her coming out of her last class, and on a whim he had pulled out his phone and dialed Sailor Moon's number. He had been rewarded just a few seconds later when Serena answered her phone.

It couldn't just be a coincidence. He hadn't been close enough to hear what she was saying for fear of blowing his cover, but he could plainly see her lips moving every time Sailor Moon's voice came over the line and she had hung up at the same time his phone call ended.

"I've got you now," he whispered. "Now I've got to figure out what to do next."

Now that he knew Sailor Moon's civilian identity for sure he had a decision to make about whether or not to reveal his own identity. He felt it was only fair since he knew who she was, but once he confessed to Serena who he was and told her that he knew who she was he knew that everything would change between them, and there was no guarantee that it would be for the better.

As Serena and Darien they could barely make it through a day without one of them getting mad at the other. As Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask they were comfortable and friendly and worked together quite well. Was there a way to blend the two worlds together without having everything blow up?

* * *

Mina leaned over and whispered in Lita's ear. "He's staring at her again. Do you think Serena put a spell on him or something?"

Lita grinned and shrugged as she glanced up to where Darien was sitting on a stool at the counter with his eyes glued on Serena as she chattered away excited with Raye about a new manga that was coming out. "You got me. But if that look of his gets any hotter Serena's going to spontaneously combust. I can feel the temperature rising every second."

Mina nodded in agreement and burst into a fit of giggles, making Serena turn her attention to her.

"What's so funny?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, um…" Mina stammered looking for a good excuse for her laughter. She knew that Serena wouldn't find it amusing that she and Lita had been gossiping about her and Darien.

"Mina was just telling me this story about how Artemis fell in the toilet last night," Lita inserted smoothly.

Mina bobbed her head vigorously. "That's right! He slipped off the edge of the sink and fell right into the toilet. He let out a horrible screech and made a big splash. Poor kitty looked like a drowned rat by the time he climbed out of there."

Serena laughed. "Too bad you didn't catch that on video. You could have sent it in to one of those funny video shows and maybe won some money."

"I know, right," Mina gushed. "I told Artemis that he could be the new star of the house now that I'm trying to give show business a rest." She cringed as she said this, praying that this story never got back to her advisor. Artemis was a pretty laid back guy, but he did have his pride. She made a mental note to herself to stop by the store and buy him a can of solid white albacore and some cream for his dinner. That would help ease her conscience.

Amy slipped the book she was reading into her bag and got up. "I hate to eat, chat, and run, but I've got cram school today. I'll talk to you guys later."

"Bye Amy!" the four girls chorused as their blue headed friend waved and left the arcade.

"Move over, Meatball Head!" Raye growled, elbowing Serena in the side. "Now that Amy's gone you don't have to keep crushing me with that gigantic butt of yours."

"I don't have a big butt!" Serena screeched.

Raye's look turned evil. "You know that song, 'Baby Got Back'? I think that should be your theme song every time you walk into a room. J Lo don't have nothing on you, girlfriend."

"That's cold, Raye!" Serena wailed, sniffing back imaginary tears. She knew that her friend didn't really mean what she was saying, but it was fun to play the game between them. She stood up and stomped toward the counter. "I need another milkshake."

"Yeah! You wouldn't want to go losing anything off your biggest ASSet, would ya!" Raye laughingly called after her.

Serena spun around and stuck her tongue out at her as she twirled. Predictably she lost her balance and stumbled…right into a pair of arms.

Darien chuckled. "How many times am I going to have to save you from disaster today, Meatball Head?"

Serena glared up at him. "Is there something funny about me today? You have done nothing but smirk and laugh at me all day long. It's starting to seriously creep me out buddy!"

His smile grew. "What can I say? I find you amusing."

Serena groaned. "Ugh! Weirdo! Drew, you better do something about your friend before he scares away all of the paying customers. I think he's mentally unbalanced."

Darien leaned down and breathed in her ear. "If I'm such a mentally unbalanced weirdo that creeps you out, then why are you still standing here in my arms?"

She shrieked and jerked away from him, her face turning red as she realized that he was right. It had just felt so natural to stand there and let him hold her that she hadn't even noticed it.

"Yuck! Geek germs!" she pretended to pout as she dusted herself down. "I hope you don't have anything contagious."

There was that smirk again. "What's the matter, are you scared that some of my genius may rub off on you and you might actually learn something?"

She wrinkled her nose. "As if! Now I'll have to go home and fumigate myself to rid of the nerd smell." She plucked at her sleeve and held it up to her nose, inhaling deeply.

That unique scent that she had noticed the day before when he held her after pulling her out of the street filled her nose and made her head spin. Coffee and chocolate swirled together with that sweet smell that reminded her of roses.

She fixed a disgusted look on her face. "What kind of cologne do you wear anyway?"

He arched a brow. "I don't wear any."

She almost felt like swooning. So that deliciously decadent scent was all him. She kept her expression cool. "Maybe you should invest in some. It could go a long way in making you appear to be a human being."

He took a step closer to her, his eyes boring into hers. "Are you saying I smell bad?"

She had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. Her eyes were slightly out of focus and her cheeks tinted pink. Her breath puffed unevenly between her lips as she fought to keep from being sucked into his ocean blue depths.

"Well?" he prompted, taking another step closer, enjoying the sight of her flustered face and the way her eyes flared wide with awareness as his sleeve brushed hers.

She gulped. "I…I…I guess you don't smell too bad if you don't mind walking around smelling like a coffee shop on Valentine's Day."

"A coffee shop on Valentine's Day?" he asked in confusion.

She took a step back and waved her hands around to help make her point. "Yeah, you smell like coffee and chocolate and…now don't take this as a blow to your manly ego or anything…but you smell like flowers."

"Flowers," he deadpanned.

She nodded rapidly. "Roses to be more precise."

"Really," he drawled. "Do you spend a lot of time around roses, Meatball Head?"

'_If he only knew' _she thought sarcastically. "I'm a girl, aren't I? And girls love roses. There's just something about them that is romantic and special and sets them apart from every other flower in the world." Her face had taken on a dreamlike quality. "It's almost as if they have souls. They can be your best friend and keep all of your secrets for you…"

Darien caught her by the arms as she swayed on her feet. "Okay, that's enough la la land for you. Drew, I think we need another milkshake down here."

Serena shook her head of the fog that had seemed to come over her. Hazy visions of a rose garden and a tall man in black faded away. "Don't bother with the shake, Drew. I told my mom I'd try to be home at a decent time today."

She pulled away from Darien and hurried back to the table where Mina, Lita, and Raye were watching her with knowing smiles.

"So what was that all about?" Mina asked slyly.

"Yeah, that looked like a pretty intense moment," Lita agreed.

Raye snorted. "Intense! Hell, I thought you were about to jump Darien and have your way with him right on the counter."

Instead of snapping back as usual, Serena grabbed her coat and shoved her arms into it, grumbling, "Shut up, Raye! I've got to go. See ya later."

She bent over to pick up her bag and spotted something on the floor next to it. She gasped when she realized what it was. "Oh no! This is Amy's computer disk that she has to have for cram school. It must have fallen out of her bag while she was here. I better run it by there on my way home. She may need it."

Mina suddenly appeared tense. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Serena waved her off. "Nah! I pass by there on my way home anyway. I'll see you tomorrow."

She slung her bag over her shoulder and hurried out into the cold afternoon trying to get her mind off of Darien and that moment between them in the arcade. The reason why Raye's remark had gotten under her skin so much was because she had been really close to the truth. There for a moment Serena came close to throwing herself into Darien's arms and kissing him with everything she had. Luckily he had spoken and broken the spell that had come over her.

"This has been just too weird of a day," she mumbled to herself. "I'm going to drop this disk off with Amy and then I'm going home."

She marched purposefully down the sidewalk, never realizing that she was being followed.

Darien had made an excuse about needing to go to library and made his escape from the arcade less than a minute after Serena had left, ignoring the knowing looks shot in his direction by Andrew and the girls. He knew they knew that he was going after Serena, but he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of acknowledging it.

He had caught up quickly with the petite blonde and was currently trailing her at a discreet distance, hoping to catch her after she dropped off Amy's disk and perhaps persuade her to take a quick detour through the park with him. It was time for him to come clean with her about what he knew and his secret identity.

He ducked around the side of a building and peered around the corner at her as she stopped outside of the cram school. There was no one else around, but she appeared to be talking to someone. He looked closer, but the only thing he saw was a black cat that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. His jaw dropped when Serena bent and picked up the cat, nodding her head as she spoke to it like she was actually carrying on a conversation with it.

When she disappeared inside the building he felt a deep sense of foreboding. Something around here wasn't right. In fact, it felt dangerous. He had learned to trust his instincts over the years, so he decided to follow.

* * *

Amy dug through her bag for the fourth time looking for that stupid computer disk. When she had arrived for her afternoon session she had informed her instructor about the problems she'd had getting the disk to work on her computer and how she had done all of it by hand.

The woman had seemed highly irritated by this, and told her to use one of the school's computers to transfer the information to the disk because she would not accept any handwritten work. But when Amy went to get her disk out of her bag it was nowhere to be found.

A tremble of uneasiness surged through her. When she had asked her mother to let her attend public high school instead of the horribly snobby private school she had been in her whole life, Dr. Mizuno had agreed. But she had insisted that her daughter attend cram school three afternoons a week to make up for missing out on the advanced curriculum offered by the private school.

Amy had readily agreed and things had been going fine until now. This new instructor had shown up last week and she seemed to be a tough, no nonsense kind of person. If she started bringing home bad reports her mother might force her to return to her old school. That would mean leaving her friends behind, and that was the last thing she wanted.

She was almost in tears as she searched desperately once more for the disk. She had to find it. Her future happiness depended on it. She froze when a shadow fell over her.

"Is there a problem, Miss Mizuno?" the instructor asked in a cold tone.

Amy swallowed hard and looked up at the severe looking woman. "I…I'm afraid that I've misplaced my disk."

The instructor let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sigh before producing another disk and shoving it into Amy's hand. "Here's a replacement. But don't go losing this one. They are very valuable."

"Yes ma'am," Amy replied meekly, although she was burning inside. There was something about this woman that just struck a wrong chord with her. She wasn't sure what it was, but it made her angry.

She pushed all the negativity aside and popped the disk into the computer in front of her as she busied herself with her stack of papers, trying to decide the best place to start.

The first indication she had that something was wrong was when she suddenly noticed the absence of noise. The room was completely silent instead of being filled with the constant clicking of fingers on the keyboards.

She raised her head to look around, and then jumped up from her seat in alarm. "What in the world?"

All of her classmates were passed out, slumped over in their seats as what looked like sparkly smoke drifted up from them in tendrils and were sucked into the computer monitors in front of them.

A hand gripped her arm tightly and she was spun around to face her furious looking instructor. "You little brat! How come you're not unconscious like the rest of them? I have been instructed to steal the energy from all of you stupid humans, and I will have yours as well!"

Amy tried to scream as the woman transformed into a monster right in front of her eyes, but her voice refused to cooperate. Bile rose up in her throat as the woman's skin turned to the color of blood and her eyes blazed a sickly yellow. The brunette bob turned black and stuck out in all directions.

The demon lady shoved Amy face first against the computer screen, which the blue haired girl could now see was blinking in strange hypnotic patterns like a strobe light. She screwed her eyes closed so she couldn't see it.

The pressure on the back of her head increased. "Stop fighting it and give up your energy. It's pointless to fight against the Dark Kingdom of the Negaverse!"

Amy felt something inside her snap. It was if a dam had been holding back some unknown force inside her and now it burst free. Chills raced over every inch of her body, making her blood feel like it was freezing in her veins. A fine layer of frost shimmered over her skin.

"What is happening?" the youma snarled. "What are you?"

There was a knock at the door before it was pushed open slightly and a blonde head appeared. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Amy Mizuno. She dropped her disk earlier and I knew she needed it for class, so I thought I'd bring it to her."

The youma chuckled in Amy's ear. "Ah! Fresh meat!"

Adrenaline pumped through Amy. "Serena, run!" she screamed, not wanting to see her friend hurt. A blue haze covered her vision and a spot on the center of her forehead began to burn. Through the haze she saw Serena, but she looked different than usual. Her hair was longer and she was wearing a long flowing white gown. A golden crescent glowed on her brow.

She blinked hard to clear her sight and Serena turned back to normal. She stood frozen in the doorway as she gaped at the sight of her friend locked in the clutches of a youma.

"Amy!" Serena squeaked in shock.

"Run, Serena!" Amy repeated.

But Serena shook her head. "You're going down, Negascum! Moon Prism Power!"

It was Amy's turn to gape as she watched her friend be surrounded by ribbons and a burst of light. When it faded Serena had been magically transformed into Sailor Moon.

The youma snarled and threw Amy aside. "So, you think you can take me, sailor brat! Give it your best shot." She picked up a stack of papers and threw them at the moon scout, each one stiffening until it was rigid and as sharp as a razor.

Sailor Moon shrieked and ducked, dodging the flying projectiles. Her hand went to her tiara and she pulled it off screaming, "Moon Tiara Magic!" as she flung it at the youma.

The youma sidestepped it easily, cackling evily. "You'll have to do better than that to take me out moon brat!"

Amy lay on the floor, too shocked to do anything more than stare stupidly at the scene in front of her. First her teacher transforms into a monster and attacks her and now her best friend turns out to be a super hero? She had to be dreaming.

"Amy," an anxious voice called out to her. She looked down to see the stray cat that Serena had taken in a few weeks ago staring at her with a human like expression on its face.

"I must be hearing things," she muttered as she sat up.

The cat jumped into her lap and reared up to put her paws on her shoulders. It shoved its face close to hers. And then the craziest thing of all happened. It spoke to her.

"Snap out of it, Amy!" Luna demanded. "Sailor Moon needs your help! It's time for you to embrace your destiny. Wake up, Sailor Mercury!"

Amy's head snapped up as those words unlocked a floodgate of memories inside her head. She was Sailor Mercury, protector of Princess Serenity. She remembered being on the moon with her princess and her sister scouts. She remembered Queen Serenity and the final battle that had destroyed the moon kingdom, and she remembered…him.

Her eyes swung back to Sailor Moon and she jumped to her feet. "Luna! Why is Serenity…"

"Shhh!" the feline shushed her. "She doesn't know, Mercury. We'll talk later. Right now Sailor Moon needs your help to defeat the youma." She jumped high into the air and a blue, pen like device appeared and dropped into Amy's hand.

The blue haired girl didn't even think twice before thrusting the hand holding the henshin rod into the air. "Mercury Power!"

She sighed in relief as the cold rivulets of water and bubbles surrounded her and filled her with power. This was what she had been craving for the last few weeks since she had started experiencing the nightmares and all of the other strange occurrences. This is who she was. She was still Amy Mizuno, but she was also Sailor Mercury.

Her blue boots had barely touched the floor before she sprinted to Sailor Moon's side. She held her hands in front of her and felt the power building. "Mercury Bubbles Blast!" Misty bubbles shot from her hands and incased the room in a fog.

She put her hands on Sailor Moon's shoulders and turned her in the right direction. "Aim straight ahead and you should hit it, Sailor Moon," she whispered to her friend.

Sailor Moon gave her a smile and a nod as she took her tiara in her hand once again and focused her attention in the direction Sailor Mercury had indicated. She charged it up and then flung it with a cry of "Moon Tiara Magic!" There was a burst glittery dust as it made impact with the youma and it crumbled away.

"Yes!" Sailor Moon shouted in triumph, jumping up and down with glee at the success before turning to the new scout and squealing as she threw her arms around her. "Oh Amy! I didn't want you brought into this mess, but I can't say that I'm not happy that you were here to help me out. That thing would have given me a massive paper cut if you hadn't stepped in."

Mercury grinned at her. "Glad to be of service. Now we better get out of here before my bubbles fade and these people begin to wake up." She quickly detransformed and grabbed her belongings.

Sailor Moon let go of her transformation as well before stooping to pick up Luna and then grabbing Amy's hand to pull her from the room. The two of them rushed from the building, neither of them saying a word as they left to go find a private place where they could talk.

Amy eyed Luna, who was watching her with a guarded expression. That was who she wanted to sit down and have a nice long chat with. She had a lot of questions running through her mind and she needed answers. The ones first and foremost in her mind were why in the world her princess was running around posing as a sailor scout and why she seemed to have no memory of their past.

Oh yeah. That cat had some explaining to do when she had a chance to get her alone.

* * *

Darien peeked out from his hiding spot as the two girls walked away from him. Well he'd wanted solid, concrete proof that Serena was Sailor Moon, and now he had it. He had witnessed her transforming right in front of his eyes as he had watched the events going on inside that classroom.

He still felt a little in awe about all he had seen. As if seeing the girl he was in love with turning into a super hero wasn't enough, he had also been treated to the shock of hearing a cat talk and finding out that shy Amy Mizuno was Sailor Mercury.

He started to run after them since he was still determined to talk to Serena and tell her that he was Tuxedo Mask, but Serenity's words of caution about how the other scouts might not be as accepting of his presence as Sailor Moon was made him pause. It was probably best to wait until he could catch Serena on her own before he talked to her.

Deep down though, he was a little resentful of Mercury coming to Sailor Moon's aid. He had been about to transform so he could swoop in and whisk her away from danger like always when the new scout had acted first and helped Sailor Moon take care of the youma.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. He had known that Sailor Moon was looking for the other scouts to help in this battle against the Dark Kingdom, but he had never thought about what that might mean for his relationship with her or his role in this fight.

With the other scouts around she may not want or need his help anymore. From what he had seen of Moon, and now Mercury as well, the scouts seemed to possess powers that went beyond his. Sure he was fast and pretty strong, but all he had were his wimpy roses while they had actual powers.

There was only one way to find out whether his participation was still welcome. Tuxedo Mask was going to call Sailor Moon and ask her to meet with him. And once they were alone he was going to tell her everything. He knew that as Darien, Serena resented him being around, but he hoped that Sailor Moon needed Tuxedo Mask enough to let him stick around.

* * *

Jadeite howled in fury as the orb of energy that had been collecting in front of him shattered and disappeared. He'd had enough faith in the youma that he had put in charge of this operation to believe that he didn't need to stand over her as she worked. Obviously he had been mistaken.

Wondering what could have happened to foil his plan, he summoned an image of the classroom. A snarl ripped its way from his throat as he saw Sailor Moon and a second blue suited scout. Damn that interfering wench! How had she found out about his plans? He had hidden the youma's presence securely. And now it seemed as if another scout had awakened as well.

'_Jadeite! Report to me at once!' _he cringed at the anger in Beryl's voice as she summoned him. There was no way to get out of this one. The queen would be livid about the loss of the youma and the failure to collect the energy they needed. The most he could hope for was that she was in a decent enough mood to keep from killing him on the spot.

If all else failed he had his trump card. He had a second youma posing as a city bus driver and it had managed to gather a sufficient amount of energy from the two busloads of people that it had abducted into a parallel plane so far. He figured he could squeeze one more run in before it became too risky.

The energy from these people should appease Beryl for a while for it was a strong energy filled with what humans called hope. He had come up with the idea while out one day searching for possible locations.

He had happened upon a small shrine located at the top of a hill and had been drawn in by the intense energy he had felt there. After scoping it out for a while he had been impressed by the number of people that had come there to pray and buy charms. As they left their energy was significantly higher than what it had been when they arrived. He took note of the busiest time and also the fact that most of the patrons took the bus back down the hill to the center of town. It was too perfect of an opportunity to pass up

And then there was the girl. Young, with long raven hair and large violet eyes, she had caught his eye from the beginning. The amount of spiritual energy around her made her worth fifty of those other pathetic mortals. He would strip her of her energy personally and present it as a special treat to Beryl.

He licked his lips in anticipation of draining the priestess. He could almost feel her body in his arms shuddering and then falling limp as her life force flowed out of her. He hoped she put up a little bit of a fight beforehand. That always spiced things up a bit. And perhaps he would have the chance to taste her blood. He knew just by looking at her that it would be intoxicating.

But first he must go and sweet talk his queen. He gathered up the orb that held the energy of the abducted bus passengers before teleporting away to deal with her.

* * *

Mina walked out of her bathroom in her pajamas and rubbing a towel over her long blonde hair. "Hey Artemis, have you picked up anything else about those two busses that disappeared from Cherry Hill? I'm pretty sure the Dark Kingdom is behind it, but it makes me nervous. It's so close to Hikawa Shrine and Raye hasn't woken up as Sailor Mars yet. I hate to think of her getting caught up in the crossfire before she's ready."

"Too bad you didn't know about the youma that was masquerading as a cram school instructor, Venus, or you might have been able to put off my awakening for a while longer as well," a cool voice replied.

The towel dropped to the floor as Mina turned to find a blue suited sailor scout sitting on the edge of her bed, Artemis in one arm and Luna in the other. Tears filled her eyes as she rushed over to her. "Mercury! You're back!"

The scout of ice surveyed her leader critically. "I am. But I am very confused. I tried getting answers out of Luna, but she insisted that we come see you before we had any in-depth conversation."

"I'm sure you are confused, but I'm so happy to see you!" Mina gushed. "I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be the only scout to awaken in this time."

"Which brings me to my first question," Mercury said, her voice practically crackling with ice and tension. "Why in the hell is Princess Serenity running around as Sailor Moon? Are you trying to get her killed?"

"Of course not!" Mina exclaimed. "There are a lot of things that happened at the end of the moon kingdom, after we…died, that you don't know about. It's a long story. Maybe we should go down and get some tea or cocoa. This could take a while."

Mercury sat the cats down and then transformed back into Amy. She stood there for a moment, staring at her friend before pulling her into a tight hug. "I've missed you too, Venus. In reality we've been together for a while now, but now we just know more about each other than we did before."

They broke apart and went downstairs where they curled up in the living room with steaming mugs. Between Mina, Artemis, and Luna they were able to tell Amy the whole story of the fall of the moon kingdom. It was a horrific tale of love and loss, and of a queen's dying wish.

When it was over Amy's face was soaked in tears. "So you're telling me after we were betrayed and…murdered by those heartless bastards, Beryl managed to get into the palace and attacked the princess."

Mina nodded sadly, fighting to keep her own tears in check. "I was barely alive, but I wasn't dead yet. I saw the whole thing. Beryl had Serenity trapped on the balcony outside her room. She was moving in for the kill when Endymion came from out of nowhere and shielded Serenity. He took the killing blow for her. The sound of Serenity screaming his name still haunts my sleep at night. Right before death claimed me I saw her pick up Endymion's sword and thrust it into her heart."

"Queen Serenity showed up right after that," Artemis explained. "She was gravely injured and knew that she was going to die, so she used the last of her strength to seal the dark forces away and send all of you to the future to be reincarnated."

"Okay. I get all of that. But why is Serenity, I mean Serena, a sailor scout now? Why did Queen Serenity make her be reborn like that? She's not trained to fight like the rest of us," Amy wondered.

"Because it's the only way to reclaim the Silver Crystal's power," Luna answered. "The Silver Crystal is inside Serena, but it is powerless right now. When Queen Serenity used it against the Dark Kingdom she sealed away Metallia's seven shadow warriors inside it and split its power into seven rainbow crystals that were sent to this time and sealed away inside select people. She knew that the princess would be the only one that would be able to cleanse these crystals of the evil shadows and reunite them to make the Silver Crystal whole again, so she granted her scout power to help her. She's doing better than I thought she would at it, especially since Tuxedo Mask has taken her under his wing."

Amy made a derisive sound. "Tuxedo Mask! You mean Endymion, or actually Darien Shields. I can't believe that the two of them are up to their eyeballs in this mess and don't remember a thing about the past. They better snap to it soon or they are going to find themselves dead."

"Their memories won't return until the Silver Crystal is whole again," Artemis stated. "The most they may get until then are a few hazy visions here and there or confusing dreams."

"Dreams," Amy muttered, thinking about the nightmares she had suffered from recently. Then she straightened in her seat. "Nightmares! Is that what was wrong with Serena yesterday when she fell asleep at the arcade?"

"Yeesss," Mina replied hesitantly. "But we don't have to worry about that now. We did a little something to take the edge of so she won't be as tired and stressed anymore."

Amy's eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"

The three guilty parties fidgeted under her icy glare. "We didn't hurt her. We just made it so her dreams would be easier to bear," Mina insisted.

"You monkeyed around with her head, you mean!" Amy snapped. "I don't pity the three of you if she finds out what you did after she gets her memories back. She's liable to rake you over the coals."

Mina shrugged. "It's worth it if it makes this mission easier on her. You saw the shape she was in. The poor girl was about to have a nervous breakdown."

Amy decided to drop the subject. "So what's the deal with Darien? How did he go from being the mighty prince of Earth to being a rose wielding, tuxedo wearing hero."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Mina told her. "All we know is that the Earth's Golden Crystal disappeared about the same time Beryl destroyed the Earth kingdom. Nobody knows what happened to it. So while Darien still retains his planet powers over nature and such, he doesn't have the power of the crystal to back him up."

"That stinks! A little extra help would have come in handy. But I guess we can at least depend on him to keep an eye on Serena and keep her out of trouble as much as possible," Amy said. "I'm just glad that he ended up being decent when compared to those generals of his. I guess my death was what I deserved for being sucked in by a pair of green eyes and a soft voice. At least we don't have to deal with them this time."

"Don't be so sure," Mina whispered brokenly. "I've seen Jadeite."

"What!" Amy squeaked. "Are you saying that they are here too?"

Mina shook her head. "I don't know. I've only seen the one. But I think we need to prepare ourselves in case the others are with him."

Her words broke Amy's icy resolve. Fresh tears trailed down her cheeks as she moaned, "No, Zoicite!"

* * *

Sailor Moon paced the clearing that she and Tuxedo Mask used for training restlessly. She was doing this to calm her nerves as much as she was doing it to keep herself awake. She had been on the verge of falling asleep when Tuxedo Mask had called her and begged to meet with her. The quiet desperateness in his voice had convinced her to put off her after dinner nap and see what he wanted.

Part of her wondered after their earlier conversation that afternoon if he was having girl trouble and needed the advice of another girl, but the calm, cool Tuxedo Mask she knew wouldn't drag her out on such a cold night for something like that.

Something white fluttered by her face, and she gasped when she realized that it was a snowflake. She tilted her head back to look up at the darkening sky where she could see thousands of the icy dots drifting lazily toward the ground.

She squealed in delight and spun around happily. She wasn't a huge fan of cold weather, but she loved the snow. She liked the way it covered everything like a pristine blanket and looked so fresh

A chuckle brought her out of her reverie and she looked up to find Tuxedo Mask leaning up against a tree trunk watching her in amusement.

She blushed at being caught acting so childishly. He probably thought she was an airhead now.

But instead of laughing at her or teasing her, he turned his face toward the sky as well. "Looks like were finally going to get some of that snow that's been threatening to fall for the last few days."

She nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Now if only all of the snowplows would break down so the streets couldn't be cleared. Then vacation would start early."

He did laugh at that. "I take it you're ready for a break."

"Absolutely!" she groaned. "It will be nice to have everyday life slow down for a little while. Don't get me wrong, the holidays can get pretty hectic between my family and friends, but it's a lot easier without having to juggle school too."

She turned to find him staring intently at her, his dark blue eyes clearly visible behind his mask. She shivered a little under his scrutiny. His eyes were boring into hers so deeply that she felt that he could see straight down to her very soul.

She ripped her gaze from his and began babbling to hide her nervousness. "So what did you want to see me for? I can't imagine that you asked me to come here to talk about the weather or school or the holidays. I've been on pins and needles for the last half hour thinking about why…"

Her voice trailed off as he stepped forward and put one white-gloved finger against her lips to quiet her. She almost gasped aloud at the contact and looked up at him questioningly.

A crooked grin lifted his lips. "I have a few things I wanted to discuss actually." He felt her fidgeting and looked down to see her twirling something restlessly in her fingers. "What is that?"

She looked down. "Oh! It's the Moon Crescent Wand. Luna gave it to me earlier. She said something about it coming in useful in the upcoming fights. I forgot I was even holding it."

His throat was suddenly dry. "Can I see it for a moment?"

"Sure," she said with a shrug and handed it to him.

The moment he touched it a vision flashed briefly in his mind. He saw a tall, slender woman with long silver hair in buns and pigtails. She had kind, lavender eyes and she held the same wand in her hands. The only difference was that there was a small, round jewel nestled inside the golden crescent at the top.

A hand waved in front of his face. "Hey, Capeboy! Are you still with me?"

He shook his head and handed the wand back to her. "Sorry. I guess I spaced out for a second."

She giggled. "That's usually my job. So what's on your mind?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I was curious about your new sidekick."

"Oh that's right! I forgot that I hadn't told you about Sailor Mercury yet!" she squealed. "I guess I've gotten so used to you being at all of the fights that it didn't click to me that you were out of the loop on this one." Then she paused. "Wait a minute! If you weren't there, then how did you find out about Mercury?"

He smirked. "I was there, but my help didn't seem to be needed. You and Sailor Mercury seemed to have everything under control."

Sailor Moon swallowed hard. How soon had he gotten to the battle? Had he seen Amy transform into Sailor Mercury? Was he going to blackmail her with that information?

"Don't look so worried," he said smoothly. "I'm glad that you have another ally to help you out just in case I can't be there."

"O..oh!" she stammered. "Yeah, it's great that she showed up. Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

It was his turn to look nervous as he began pacing. He took off his hat and dragged his fingers through his tousled black hair in a gesture that seemed somewhat familiar to her.

She couldn't help but giggle. "Good grief! You're as jumpy as a long tailed cat in a roomful of rockers. What gives?"

He turned suddenly and took her shoulders in a gentle grip. "We're friends, right?"

She nodded. "Of course we are. Why would you even ask me that?"

He overlooked her question. "You trust me, don't you?"

She was getting very confused by his actions. "I trust you with my life. You should know that by now. I'm not afraid to fall because I know that you'll always be there to catch me. Where would Sailor Moon be without her masked protector?"

He heaved a sigh that sounded as if it came from his very core. "Please keep that in mind for the next few minutes, okay. There's something that I have to tell you."

She tried to pull away. "Okay, now you're starting to scare me. You're not about to tell me that you're really working for the Dark Kingdom or that you're some psychotic serial killer that likes to hunt teenage girls, are you?"

He looked offended. "Of course not! I…I just…"

He was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She whispered a few mild curses as she rooted around in her pocket for her phone. Her face paled when she saw who was calling.

"Excuse me a moment," she said as she took a few steps away and answered it. "Hello."

Another advantage of being Tuxedo Mask was having excellent hearing, so he was able to hear the voice on the other end with perfect clarity.

"Serena Usagi Tsukino! How dare you leave this house without telling me, young lady! Do you know how much I panicked when I couldn't find you anywhere? You just better count your lucky stars that your father is working late tonight. Where are you?" Ilene Tsukino demanded.

Sailor Moon shot him a nervous glance and walked farther away, dropping her voice low, hoping he wouldn't hear her, but of course he did. "Amy promised that she would go over some Algebra with me, mom, so I ran over to her place. I called out to you when I left. But you had the water running in the kitchen so you might not have heard me."

"Well you should have made sure that I heard you before you left," Ilene scolded. "You have ten minutes to march yourself back into this house, missy, before I ground you for your entire holiday break. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," she answered weakly before hanging up. She turned back to Tuxedo Mask with an apologetic look. "Hey, I have to run. My mom found out I left and she's having a coronary. Why don't I call you later and we can talk."

He gave her an understanding smile. "That's okay. Let's just wait until tomorrow. What I have to say is best said in person. Can we meet after school?"

She shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not. You don't mind waiting, do you? You seemed like you had something pretty important to tell me."

He shook his head. "No, I don't mind. I'd rather wait until we have some time where we won't be interrupted."

She sighed in relief, "Great! So I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then. Bye!" She leapt into the trees and was gone in seconds.

"You'll be seeing me much sooner than that, Serena. You just don't know it yet," he whispered with a grin.

* * *

Fire blazed all around her, burning hotter than the deepest pits of hell. The tendrils of flame licked at her skin and clothes as she clutched at the searing pain in her side where her lifeblood flowed out of her in a constant, steady stream.

Tears burned in her eyes as she glared at the man in front of her. His blonde curls glinted in the firelight as his cold, blue eyes bored into hers.

"It's over, Mars. You've lost!" he sneered at her.

She knew he was right. There was no way that they could win. She had felt her comrade's pain as they fell one by one. Mercury and Jupiter were already dead and Venus's life force was barely registering with her senses. She could feel the dark specter of death closing in around her queen as well. And only a minute ago she'd heard her princess scream her beloved's name and then felt a tearing in her heart as her kind, benevolent princess's soul had departed this world.

If only the man in front of her hadn't betrayed her love, she might have been able to go on. But he had killed the burning passion she felt for him the moment that he had attacked the kingdom she fought so hard to protect and shoved his sword through her abdomen.

She spat out a mouthful of the blood that was rising in her throat. Death wasn't far away. She could feel it creeping up behind her, ready to steal her away from this plane of existence. She fought to keep her vision clear as she turned condemning eyes on her killer.

"If I go down, then I'm taking you with me!" she growled as she launched herself at him. She locked her arms tightly around his body as she used the last of her strength to call upon her element of fire.

A column of flames engulfed the two of them and he screamed as he fought against her and the fire that was beginning to char his flesh. Normally he would have had some control over the fire as well, but these were the ceremonial flames of Mars, and they would obey only her.

A few tears slipped free from her eyes as his body went limp in her arms and they both fell to the ground. She normally would feel a soul escape from a body at the moment of its death, but she felt nothing. That confirmed what she had suspected. The man that she had loved was already dead.

"I'm sorry, my princess," she whispered as a black veil fell over her. "Wait for me, Jadeite…"

Violet eyes snapped open and she gasped for breath. Raye stared blankly at the ceiling above her as she waited for her mind to become fully awake and aware of her surroundings.

This wasn't the first time that she'd had this particular dream, but it had been more vivid on this night than ever before. Feeling restless, she got up and exchanged her pajamas for her priestess robes.

She made her way silently to the room that held the sacred fire, feeling a need to seek out its comforting heat. She knelt in front of it and tried to clear her mind of all of her troubles, not an easy thing to do when you considered the recent events.

Two busloads of people had disappeared after leaving the shrine, bringing down a horde of reporters and gossipmongers on her home. Just this afternoon she had been accosted by a woman whose daughter had disappeared after she had visited the shrine to buy a charm.

The woman had heard the rumors about Raye's strange psychic abilities and had sought her out to help her find her daughter. When Raye told her that she had no idea what had happened to any of the people that had vanished, the mother had turned vicious, accusing her of killing the people in bizarre, satanic rituals.

Luckily Chad had been nearby, and he had escorted the hysterical woman off the grounds, but the accusations still rang loudly in her head. She didn't blame the woman; it was normal human behavior to be scared of forces that they didn't understand. She herself didn't know where her abilities came from, but she had accepted them and developed them over the years.

Her grandfather claimed that she had inherited her gifts from her mother, who had died when she was just a young girl. Her father was a well-known senator, and rather than be bothered by his unusual daughter, he had sent her to live with her mother's father.

In Raye's opinion, that was the best decision her father had ever made. She'd had a happy upbringing living here at the shrine. Her grandfather loved her dearly and doted on her constantly, at least when he wasn't busy being distracted by members of the female population. He was a kind, caring man, but he had a roaming, lecherous eye and drove her to distraction by hitting on her friends whenever they visited.

She smiled when she thought of her friends. She had never had any until she had decided that she no longer wanted to attend the Catholic, all girls school that her father had insisted on. She had been labeled an outcast from the moment that she had arrived there and suffered through years of ridicule as a result.

So halfway through her freshman year she had decided that she needed a change. With her grandfather backing her decision, she informed her father that she was leaving that hell of a school to attend public school. On her first day at Azabu High she met Serena, thus starting the wheels turning until she now found herself with a large group of friends.

It was these friends that she feared for. Something evil was taking place in Tokyo, she could feel it. The attacks by monsters that were being reported only confirmed her suspicions. As she gazed into the hypnotic flames of the sacred fire, she prayed for a sign to show her who was behind these awful events.

She meditated for several minutes before she was rewarded with a hazy vision. She saw a woman with bright red hair and dead, emotionless eyes. A shadowy demonic entity swirled around her. Four other figures appeared at her side, but one captured Raye's attention in particular.

It was the same man from her dreams, the one with the curly blonde hair and calculating blue eyes. An evil smile graced his lips as he leapt toward her. "You're mine!" he snarled.

Raye jerked herself out of the vision. The sacred fire blazed higher, signaling a disturbance on the spiritual plane. Whoever this man was, he seemed to possess abilities similar to hers and had attempted to infiltrate her mind. Thankfully the fire had sensed the danger and protected her.

Filled with even more questions than before, she wandered outside where a light snow had begun to fall, dusting everything with a powdery whiteness. For some reason her eyes were drawn to the moon, and she felt calmer as she took a moment to bask in its silvery light.

She felt that something big was heading her way, something that would change her life forever. She had no idea when or where this event or would happen, or even what it was, but she prayed for the strength to be able accept it when it arrived.

* * *

Jadeite smiled as he felt the girl's aura retreat behind the safety of her sacred flames. He had known that something was special about her the first time that he saw her, but never would he have thought that it was because she was the sailor scout that had caused his demise a thousand years before.

"Sailor Mars," he whispered, rolling the name across his tongue like a fine wine. Of course the frail mortal girl was nothing compared to the fiery warrior that he had once faced, but she still possessed a passion and a spirit that thrilled him like no other.

He would enjoy taking his time and savoring her, draining her first of her energy and then her life. He would exact his revenge for his defeat in the past as her dying cries filled his ears.

He was also sure that Beryl would be pleased to be presented with the energy of a sailor scout. Even though Mars wasn't awake in this time, the girl still exuded a powerful aura. Her energy would go a long way in reviving the great leader, Metallia.

His grin grew at the thought of her hot skin growing cold under his touch. "You better watch out, Mars. I'm coming for you. And this time I will be the victor."

**A/N **Yay! Mercury's joined the party and Mars isn't far behind. I thought that I would get to the dance in this chapter, but obviously I didn't because I had too many other things going on. So maybe it will be in the next one. Just a quick FYI, I have decided that the winter dance will be taking the place of the D-Land ball in this story. It is supposed to be a twist of the original story after all, so why not. So there's bound to be some drama coming up. And perhaps our favorite couple will end up in a little liplock, hmm? And I know that I've made Jadeite appear to be pretty sick and evil, but that's because it's not really him, it's just his body that Beryl reanimated. The same goes for the other generals as well. Those of you that have already read What If know the fate of our guys, and I think everyone would agree that Jake is nothing like this blasphemous version of Jadeite. Raye better watch out though, cause this guy has a pretty big grudge against her. Looks like the next chapter will be pretty hot. (Bad pun, I know!) Catch you guys later! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	8. Burning Up

**A/N **Okey dokey! Update time! I don't really have a whole lot to say this time and I don't want to waste your time with a long, meaningless author's note here. I'll wait and save my rambling for the end of the chapter…LOL! I'll just say that there's a lot going on and leave it at that. But I can't begin any chapter without acknowledging all of you wonderful reviewers out there that keep me inspired. SO BIG HUGS GO TO:

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**GoldenDragon326**

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**Quelqu'un dans la nuit**

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**LBricker88**

Thanks as always, you guys. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. If it doesn't I sincerely apologize now in advance. Okay! Moving on!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 8

Burning Up

Darien's hand reached out automatically to grab the basketball as it bounced off the rim of the goal. He stood there, holding the ball between his palms as he stared off into space with a blank look in his eyes.

"SHEILDS!" a booming voice bellowed across the gym, snapping him out of his stupor. He looked up to see his coach stomping angrily toward him. Oh boy! He was in for it now.

"What is the matter with you?" raged the balding, middle-aged man that was beginning to pooch around the waist. "You rarely ever miss a shot, but today I can count on one hand the number of goals that you've actually made. We are only weeks away from the play offs, so this isn't they time for you to begin screwing up!"

Darien looked down and mumbled. "Sorry, Coach."

The man's tomato red face somehow turned impossibly redder. "Sorry don't cut it! Now what's your damage? And please don't tell me it's some angst-ridden, teenage drama bullcrap. I'd believe it out of most of these yahoos, but not you."

Darien clenched his jaw tight. "It's nothing, Coach. I just lost my focus for a bit."

Comprehension lit the coach's eyes. "Ah! It's a woman, isn't it?"

"No!" Darien exclaimed defensively.

The coach patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. Just take a word of advice. Women are fickle creatures. Sometimes I believe that they exist on this earth for no other reason than to drive us men insane. They are masters of manipulation and will twist you around until you don't know which way is up. The best thing you can do is overlook them for the most part and let them do their own thing. That way you keep your sanity and they feel like they're getting their way."

Ouch! It sounded like the coach had been burned a few times. Darien had heard the rumors that the man was on his third marriage and that the couple barely even lived in the same house together. From what he had just heard, the rumors might be true.

Darien shook his head. "Thanks coach, but it's nothing like that."

"If you say so," Coach trailed off uncertainly. Then he hollered, "Furuhata! Get over here and help your boy get his head back into the game before he blows this season for all of us."

Darien breathed a sigh of relief as the coach stalked away and began yelling at the other members of the team.

Andrew grinned as he trotted over. "So what was that about? I don't think I've ever seen coach act so genuinely concerned about how a player is feeling. He even patted you on the shoulder."

"Piss off!" Darien growled, but in a good-natured way. "Let's play ball!"

They spent the next half hour in a heated game of one on one. By the time that the whistle sounded to signal the end of practice they were both breathing harshly and drenched in sweat.

"That's what I like to see, boys! Good job!" Coach called after them as they headed for the locker room.

Andrew grabbed a towel and sat on a bench as he wiped the perspiration from his face. "So what was wrong with you earlier? You looked like you were a million miles away."

Darien snatched up a towel as well. "Nothing! I just had a little problem that was bugging me, that's all."

"Ah, I see," Andrew drawled. "The little problem being a 5'2" bombshell with big blue eyes and golden hair that goes to her knees."

"Yeah…" Darien sighed without thinking, and then quickly tried to cover the slip. "I mean no! I've said it again and again. I do not like Meatball Head! What are you grinning about?"

Andrew burst into laughter. "Dude, you are so busted! If I had said that two months ago the first thing you would have done was bawl me out for using the word bombshell to describe Serena, but I notice that part doesn't seem to bother you at all."

Darien turned to his locker as he felt his face grow hotter than it already was. "You're delusional! You haven't started doing drugs have you? That shit will kill you."

"I'm insulted!" Andrew gasped in mock horror. "Is this how you treat your best friend when he's only trying to help you out? I think my heart just broke. Tell me you didn't mean it, Dare!"

"Can it, you fruit!" Darien growled as he saw some of their teammates glance curiously in their direction. "You are such a drama queen!"

"But I'm a pretty drama queen, right?" Andrew cooed as he batted his eyelashes.

"Argh!" Darien practically screamed as he grabbed his toiletry bag from his locker and slammed the door before stomping off toward the showers. He couldn't stop a small grin from quirking his lips as he heard Andrew fall off the bench in a fit of hysterics. That was one reason why he valued Andrew as a friend, he could always make him laugh no matter how bad a mood he was in.

'_Not that I'm in a bad mood, I'm just frustrated!' _he thought as he found an empty shower cubicle and stripped down before stepping under the warm water. The last forty-eight hours had been a nerve racking experience, and it showed no signs of getting better.

Ever since he had made his discovery of Sailor Moon's real identity on Monday, he had been trying his damnedest to get Serena off somewhere alone so that he could talk to her privately. The only problem was that there was no privacy. It seemed that there was someone with her constantly.

Since Sailor Mercury had made her appearance, Amy seemed unwilling to move from Serena's side except to go to class, and even then she seemed reluctant. She shadowed Serena constantly and had even glared coldly at him just the day before when he had tried to approach the blonde girl. The look had cut through him like a knife and made him freeze as he once again recalled Serenity's warning that not all of the scouts would be happy with his presence. It made him wonder if somehow Amy knew the truth about his identity.

Serena, posing as Sailor Moon of course, had called him and regretfully cancelled all of their training meetings for the rest of the week. He took comfort in the fact that at least she hadn't lied to him. She'd told him that a close friend needed her help, and that was exactly what she was doing.

After snacks at the arcade, she, Amy, Mina, and Lita all went to the Hikawa Shrine with Raye to help out and be there for moral support. Reporters and busybodies were still crawling all over the place looking for the scoop on the buses that had gone missing after leaving there, and the stress was starting to take a toll on the fiery priestess.

He leaned against the cool tile wall and smiled as he recalled the story that had been told at lunch today. It seemed that some snotty little reporter had decided to try her luck yesterday afternoon and had marched right onto the grounds of the shrine and started questioning Raye. Raye had basically told the woman to get lost, but she had been relentless and had pursued her prey. The raven-haired girl had then ignored her until the woman had blatantly asked her if she was a devil worshipper and had killed all of those innocent people as a sacrifice.

According to Mina, Lita, and Amy, the question had hit Raye hard and had actually brought tears to her eyes. Just as they had been about to intervene on their friend's behalf, Serena had come barreling out of a storeroom where she had been putting something away. They said that Serena had been as ferocious as a tiger and had gotten right up in that woman's face as she told her that Raye was one of the most decent people in the world and if she dared say or print one negative thing about her friend that she would personally hunt her down and rip her limb from limb.

Darien chuckled at the thought. That sounded just like something she would do. What Serena lacked in size she more than made up for in love and loyalty. A regular pint sized powerhouse, it was never a good idea to make her mad, which of course he knew from experience. And the quickest way to make the normally cheerful blonde lose her temper was to hurt someone that she cared about.

The sudden realization that the water pouring down on him was beginning to cool off was a clear indication that he had been lost in his thoughts for quite some time. He quickly finished cleaning up and shut off the water.

When he emerged back into the locker room he found that he was only person still there. Realizing that it must be later than he thought, he hurriedly dressed in a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. He put his school uniform into a plastic bag so that he could drop it off at the dry cleaners on the way to the arcade and shoved his dirty practice clothes into his gym bag to take home and wash.

He balled his towel up and launched it toward the laundry hamper, grinning when it hit its target. He put on his sneakers and varsity jacket before grabbing all his stuff and practically running out the door. He glanced at the clock in the gym as he rushed through it and cursed under his breath. He would have to hurry if he wanted to see Serena before she left the arcade.

Snow crunched under his feet as he stepped out into the cold, late afternoon gloom. The snowfall from the night before hadn't accumulated much, only a couple of inches, but it had been enough to dust everything so that the city had woken up to a winter wonderland that morning. Of course now the perfection of it was ruined after a day of trampling footsteps and the streets were littered by dirty slush. But the steel gray sky overhead promised more to come.

He ducked into the dry cleaners that was a couple of blocks from the arcade and left his uniform. A few minutes later he was flying around the corner next to the arcade, hoping that Serena was still there.

His prayers were semi answered when he spotted the blonde in question coming through the sliding doors of the arcade.

"Bye, Drew! I'll see you tomorrow!" she called over her shoulder with a wave as she left the building.

Darien almost whooped with glee when he saw that she was alone for the first time in days. This was his chance to talk to her.

"Hey, Meatball Head!" he called out as he ran after her.

She turned to look at him, trying to appear annoyed at his use of the hated nickname, but she couldn't hide the way her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Hello, Jerkface," she replied in an even tone. "I was starting to think that a car must have run over you since you didn't come in with Andrew after practice like you usually do. So much for wishful thinking."

A few weeks ago he would have fired back with a taunting comment of his own, but with their new understanding between them he knew that it was all in good fun. "Sorry to disappoint you, Meatball Head, but I'm still kicking. Where are you hurrying off to? Did Drew's shake machine break down and send you running in search of another place to get your fix?"

She scrunched her face up and stuck her tongue out at him. "Very funny! No, Mr. Genius, I'm on my way up to the shrine to visit with Raye for a while. Dr. Mizuno wanted Amy to come by the hospital this afternoon, Mina's mom is in town for visit, and Lita had cooking class. I'm not leaving Raye all alone to deal with those vultures hanging around the shrine."

"Ah," Darien said as he fell into step beside her as she walked away. "So you're going to play bodyguard again in case another reporter tries to get to her."

A very un-Serena-like growl came from her throat. "That woman had it coming. The nerve of her to accuse an innocent girl of doing such horrible things just because she's a little different from other people! Raye didn't ask to be psychic, but it's part of who she is. Being different doesn't make someone a bad person."

Darien had a feeling that she wasn't just talking about Raye anymore. "I agree. Sometimes being different can be a good thing."

Serena jerked her head in a hard nod. "Right! I don't see why…" she broke off as she realized they had reached the bottom of Cherry Hill. She stopped walking and looked at him curiously. "Darien, why are you following me? Weren't you headed to the arcade?"

He felt his face grow warm. "Oh, uh, well, we got to talking, so I just thought I'd walk along with you. We haven't really had a chance to talk the last few days. I mean, we are best enemies aren't we?"

His heart stuttered a little when her cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink and she gave him a shy smile.

"Yeah," she said softly, "best enemies."

Their eyes met and held, blue on blue. He took a step toward her, bringing their bodies close together. He looked down at her pixie face and figured now was just as good a time as any to tell her the truth. Heaven only knew when he'd get her alone again.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Hey, Serena. I've got something I want to tell you."

She licked her suddenly dry lips. "Okay," she barely breathed.

He took a deep breath. "I…"

A beeping sound interrupted him and Serena closed her eyes with a sigh and let out a string of curses that he didn't even know she knew. He guessed it really wasn't that surprising considering the company she kept. Lita, Raye, and even Mina at times could have some foul mouths on them when they got mad. And the guys, including himself, weren't any better. But he had met Ilene and Ken Tsukino on several occasions, and he had no doubt that the woman would wash Serena's mouth out with the strongest soap she could find and her father would fall down dead from a heart attack if they heard what had just come out of their daughter's mouth.

She scrabbled for her pocket, babbling a hundred miles an hour. "I'm sorry, Darien, but I've got something that I really have to go do right this second. I promise that we will talk later. You don't mind, do you? Of course you don't! Okay. See ya later! Bye!"

She was gone so fast that he swore he almost heard a sonic boom. There was a flash of golden hair, and by the time he blinked she was already almost halfway up Cherry Hill while he was left staring stupidly after her.

"But…" he muttered lamely.

"Well, are you going to go after her, or are you just going to stand there looking like a kicked puppy?" a harsh female voice demanded.

Darien whipped around, searching for the source of the voice. "Who's there?" He looked up into the branches of a sakura tree and saw the shadowy outline of girl there. He couldn't make out any of her features other than she had long hair that flowed to her hips and was dressed in a sailor scout fuku.

"Who I am is unimportant right now," she snapped. "What's important, Tuxedo Mask, is that Sailor Moon is headed into trouble and she needs you. You need to hurry after her instead of just standing there staring after her like a lost little boy."

Well that hit him like a sucker punch to the gut. "Who the hell are you, and how do you know who Sailor Moon and I are? Are you from the Dark Kingdom? You better stay away from Sailor Moon if you are, because I'll be damned let you touch her!"

The mysterious scout's voice turned amused. "That's exactly the kind of reaction I would expect from you. Rest assured, dark knight, I am not working for the Dark Kingdom. And I would give up my own life before I let any harm befall Sailor Moon."

He read the sincerity in her voice. "Are you one of her scouts? If you are, why are you hiding from her? She's looking for all of you."

"It's not time for me to reveal myself yet," she replied sadly. "Soon all the scouts will be reunited, but Sailor Moon is the most important one. She holds the key to finding Princess Serenity and the Silver Crystal. You must help keep her safe. Because if anything were to happen to her, the entire planet would be lost."

Darien gasped as he felt the familiar heat burst forth in his chest that told him that Sailor Moon was transforming. He could almost taste her raw panic as it burst across his tongue. "Shit! Hold on Serena. I'm coming."

He spared one more glance up at the tree, but the scout was gone. He pushed her and her words from his mind as he tore off up Cherry Hill, praying that Serena was okay. He only stopped for an instant to duck behind a tree where he quickly transformed.

Once he had the speed and strength of his alter ego, he quickly covered the rest of the distance to the shrine. He stumbled and almost fell when he reached the long staircase that led up to the shrine and discovered a large swirling portal in the middle of the road. A portal that he saw Sailor Moon disappearing into.

"Sailor Moon!" he heard a voice shriek, and he looked around until he saw Serena's black cat standing on the sidewalk with a terrified look on her face. A crescent moon blazed brightly on her forehead.

In an instant, he knew that this was Luna, the advisor that Sailor Moon had told him about. It may have seemed ludicrous to some people to think that a cat could talk, but somehow he knew that she could.

"Luna!" he yelled at her. "What happened?"

She turned shocked, cinnamon colored eyes on him. She blinked rapidly, but didn't answer.

In less than a second he had plucked the cat up from the ground and held her at arm's length. "Don't play dumb with me, kitty! I know you can talk. Now tell me what happened. Why did Serena just jump into that portal?"

Luna sputtered for a second. "You know? You know that Serena is Sailor Moon? But Darien, how did you figure that out?"

His eyes narrowed behind his mask. "I could ask you the same thing. How did you know that I was Darien?"

"Because it's my job to know!" the feline fired back. "Does Serena know the truth about you?" Her hackles rose up. Serena hadn't said anything to her about discovering Tuxedo Mask's true identity.

He shook his head. "I've been trying to tell her for days. But either someone interrupts us or there's always someone around. But that's beside the point. What the hell is going on?"

"Jadeite's the one that's been behind the bus disappearances," Luna said in a rush. "He just took another one and he grabbed Raye before he jumped through the portal."

Something just didn't sit right with Tuxedo Mask. "Why would he take Raye when he had a whole busload of people. What interest would he have in her?"

Luna braced herself as he shook her. "Because Raye is Sailor Mars!"

Tuxedo Mask felt a little relief. "Well at least Serena has help."

Luna shook her head wildly. "No she doesn't! Mars hasn't woken up yet and Mercury isn't here. Sailor Moon is facing Jadeite alone."

"Not for long!" Tuxedo Mask ground out as he sat Luna back down and hurried toward the portal. He jumped in it just as it began wavering, and it disappeared completely just seconds after he passed through.

"Luna!" a panicked voice cried as Amy came running to join her. "Did I just see Tuxedo Mask go through that portal? Don't tell me that Serena is in there."

The feline nodded. "I'm afraid so. It appears that Jadeite had a youma posing as a bus driver and they're the ones that have been making the buses vanish. That backstabbing general just took another one and he took Raye too. Serena showed up just as it happened. She transformed and jumped in after them. Then Darien showed up and went in after her."

Amy pulled out the Mercury computer that Luna had returned to its rightful owner now that she had awakened and began scanning the area. "And what about Raye? Has Sailor Mars finally made an appearance?"

Luna sighed. "Not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen any minute. I planted her henshin rod for her to find, so she has that. I'm hoping that seeing Jadeite may force her memories to come back."

"Here's hoping," Amy agreed as she read the results of her scan. "I can't believe I didn't pick up on the signs before. This whole area is covered in negative energy. Jadeite must have found a way to keep it hidden because it didn't show up before."

"Don't forget that Jadeite possesses spiritual powers that are similar to Raye's," Luna told her. "It wouldn't be entirely impossible for him to be able to mask a youma's presence if he concentrated hard enough. That's probably how he was able to attack that grocery store a few nights ago and snuck that youma into your cram school without Serena or I noticing."

Amy still looked worried, but she couldn't help but smirk. "Well he may have some decent powers, but I hope he brought a fire extinguisher with him. If Mars wakes up and he's anywhere around she'll charbroil him."

* * *

"Oof!" Sailor Moon exhaled harshly as she crash-landed onto what was surprisingly hard ground considering it had a cloudlike appearance to it. She sat up carefully, evaluating her now sore body and wondering how many new bumps and bruises she would be adding to her growing list of injuries this time.

She stood up, grumbling under her breath as she resisted the urge to rub her now aching backside. She looked around in amazement at what appeared to be some twisted alternate dimension. Brightly colored orbs of light floated lazily around in the hazy air. And not too far away from her sat the three missing buses, and Raye lying unconscious on the ground.

"Raye!" she screamed as she hurried to her friend's side and sank down beside her. She put the priestess's head in her lap as she brushed the long strands of raven hair from her face. "Raye, can you hear me? Please be okay."

Violet eyes blinked open. "Serena? What's going on?"

The blonde heroine felt tears spring to her eyes at the sound of her friend's confused voice. She was about to throw herself into her arms and begin wailing when a thought struck her. She was transformed. Raye shouldn't be able to tell who she was.

Luna had explained to her that a magical glamour hid her true features when she was Sailor Moon. The only people that could look at her and see her for who she really was were people that were meant to know. Amy had told her that she looked exactly the same as she always did to her when she was Sailor Moon, and Amy appeared exactly the same to her when she became Sailor Mercury. But why could Raye see the truth?

"Ummm…it's kind of a long story, Raye," she hedged. "But I'll tell you all about it when we get out of here. Now I want you to go back through that portal while I take care of things here."

Raye didn't know why, but a fierce protectiveness for her friend roared to life. "Yeah right! Like I'm going to leave you here. Especially when we don't even know where here is. And why are you dressed like a skank?"

"I am not dressed like a skank!" Sailor Moon screeched. "I am Sailor Moon, and I'm trying to save you in case you haven't noticed. Why do you always have to be so mean? You're as bad as Darien sometimes!"

Mentioning her dark haired nemesis's name made her pause for a moment. What had Darien been about to tell her before her communicator had beeped and interrupted him? He had seemed so serious, and yet nervous, all at the same time. She wondered what could have rattled the normally calm, cool, and collected Darien Shields so much.

"So much for a happy reunion," a voice sneered.

Sailor Moon whirled and gasped as she saw Jadeite and the youma that had been posing as the bus driver step out from behind one of the buses.

The blonde haired general smirked. "I thought the two of you were friends, but the way you are bickering with each other is making me rethink that idea."

"Like you would know anything about friends, loser!" Sailor Moon fired back as she moved in front of Raye. She really didn't like the way Jadeite's eyes were roaming hotly over her friend. She glanced over her shoulder quickly. "Raye, please, I'm begging you. Please run! I don't want you to get hurt."

"Nobody's going anywhere!" Jadeite snarled, and the portal began disappearing.

Just as it was about to vanish completely, Sailor Moon saw a flash of black and red. She could have screamed in relief when she saw Tuxedo Mask fall through the portal to land in a silent crouch, but she kept her face impassive. Since Jadeite had his back to the vortex he had no idea that more company had arrived.

Tuxedo Mask signaled to Sailor Moon that he would go after Jadeite while she should concentrate on the youma. She didn't like the idea of him tangling with the general, but if he could him occupied for a few minutes so she could take out the youma, then they would both be able to focus on Jadeite.

She told her masked hero with her eyes that she was ready, and her hand shot to her tiara at the same time Tuxedo Mask shot a barrage of roses at Jadeite. She charged the spinning disc as quickly as she could and flung it at the youma.

Her aim was perfect. The glowing tiara was bearing down on the youma with the speed of a runaway freight train, and then the unthinkable happened. The youma reached out and plucked the tiara from the air like it was nothing and stood there holding it as it grinned at Sailor Moon.

"Nice try, moon brat! But you'll have to do better than that if you want to defeat me," it chuckled evilly.

Sailor Moon let out a wail. "Oh no! Now what do I do? That was my only attack."

"Quit whining, Meatball Head! That's not going to solve anything," Raye screeched from behind her. "I thought you were supposed to be some kind of a super hero."

Sailor Moon blew a raspberry at her. "I am! Just give me a second, okay! I'll think of something." Then a thought occurred to her, Luna had told her that when her tiara attacked it was transformed into pure energy that was able to bend and stretch. That could be useful.

"Uh, tiara, tie up that weirdo," she commanded, shrieking with glee when the tiara did just that and wrapped around the youma, pinning its arms to its sides.

"Smooth move. Now what?" Raye asked her.

Sailor Moon wrinkled her brow in concentration. "I'm working on it, okay! I'm sorta making this up as I go."

"Well that's comforting to know," Raye muttered sarcastically. "Let me know when your meatball brains has figured something out."

"I'm open to suggestions!" Sailor Moon shot back. "This isn't exactly easy, you know! You ought to give it a try sometime."

The raven-haired girl fumed. "Maybe I will! I bet I could be a better sailor scout than you any day of the week!"

Sailor Moon's mouth popped open to deliver another retort, but a burst of dark energy caught the corner of her eye and she turned just in time to see Tuxedo Mask skidding across the ground.

"Oh no! Tuxedo Mask!" she cried, forgetting her argument with Raye and hurrying over to him. "Are you okay?" she asked anxiously as she crouched down next to him.

"I'm fine," he gritted out from between clenched teeth. In reality it felt like every bone in his body had been smashed beyond repair and every muscle had been torn from their ligaments.

"I told you that you were no match for me," Jadeite claimed superiorly as he began to stalk toward them.

Sailor Moon was on her feet in an instant. She held her fists clenched at her sides as she glared contemptuously at the general. "You leave him alone, Jadeite."

Jadeite laughed mockingly. "And what are you going to do, Sailor Moon? Your only weapon is currently tied up with my youma. You don't stand a chance!"

She knew he was right, but she also knew that Tuxedo Mask was hurt worse than he was letting on. He had been such a good friend to her over the past weeks and had taught her so much. There was no way she was just going to stand aside and watch this negascum walk all over him.

She put herself between the two men and assumed the fighting stance that Tuxedo Mask had taught her. Her feet were firmly planted several inches apart and her fists were held up at face level defensively.

Jadeite's cold blue eyes narrowed into slits. "You've got to be kidding me. Do you honestly think that you can stand up to me? You are a fool!"

She swallowed hard and forced down her fear. She even managed a smirk as she stared him down. "I always stand up for my friends, you jackass! I may not be able to beat you, but I'm not giving up without a fight."

"So be it!" he sneered as he shot a blast of negative energy at her.

She froze in place, knowing that she didn't have time to move out of the way. And even if she could move, she wouldn't. Tuxedo Mask was behind her, and she wouldn't leave him open to attack like that. She clenched her eyes shut and waited for the pain.

It never came. She waited a few seconds until Jadeite's curse had her hesitantly opening her eyes. All she could see in front of her was a wall of black.

Tuxedo Mask stood in front of her, gripping the cane that he had used to deflect the attack tightly in his hand. "I don't go down that easily!" he snarled at the general.

Several yards away Raye was watching all of this in fascination. She had so many things running through her brain that she hardly knew where to start trying to sort it all out. The one thing that she was sure of was that her best friend was Sailor Moon, and she would almost be willing to bet her favorite manga that the tuxedo wearing guy was Darien. She wasn't sure how she knew this, but she was almost completely certain.

Then something strange happened. As she looked at Tuxedo Mask standing protectively in front of Sailor Moon, they both began to shimmer. For a moment she saw him in black and silver armor while Serena's fuku changed into a long white gown. She shook her head and they both turned back to normal, but she suddenly felt very hot. The strange thing was that it wasn't an uncomfortable heat.

"Raye!" she heard Sailor Moon scream, and she felt arms close around her. Somehow the blonde guy that had dragged her here in the first place had appeared behind her and now held her tightly against him.

"Well, well, Lady Mars," he whispered in her ear. "I must confess that I'm disappointed. I would have thought that you would have joined in the fight by now. I know how you always enjoy a good challenge."

She squirmed in his grip and panted, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't even know you, you freak!"

He chuckled, his breath hot against his neck. "But you do know me, Mars. I know you've had dreams about it. You and I, locked in a battle to the death in a battlefield of flames. I thought I had you beat, but you proved yourself to be a worthy opponent."

She stopped struggling as his words triggered something in her brain. Memories from a long distant past came flooding in, and she realized that she did indeed know this disgusting excuse of a man.

"Jadeite, you bastard!" she snarled. A spot in the center of her forehead began to burn.

"Mars!" Sailor Moon gasped as the symbol for Mars began glowing on her friend's brow. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. First Amy ends up being Sailor Mercury, and now Raye was Sailor Mars. What were the chances of that?

Raye managed to slide her hand in the pocket of her robe and closed her fingers around the metal stick that she had found on the ground earlier. Now she knew why she had felt a connection to it when she picked it up, and she knew what she had to do.

She pulled it out and cried, "Mars Power!"

Jadeite cursed and released her as swirling flames surrounded her. When they faded a sailor scout in a bright red fuku and lethal looking stiletto heels stood in the place of the priestess. His lip curled up. "So nice of you to join us Sailor Mars."

"Oh, shut up!" she snapped. "Still running around following Beryl's orders I see."

He inclined his head to her mockingly. "Of course! I exist merely to serve my queen. But enough about me, how about you? Do you have any idea where I might be able to find Princess Serenity? Queen Beryl is most anxious to relieve the moon princess of the Silver Crystal."

Mars kept her face impassive and fought the urge to look over her shoulder at Sailor Moon. "I don't have a clue. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, you traitor!"

"Ah, just as fiery as ever I see," Jadeite replied in an almost wistful sounding voice. "I would love to stay and chat some more, but I'm afraid that I must cut our visit short today. I have to take the energy from these bus passengers to her majesty. You understand, right Mars?"

Fire began crackling at her fingertips. "You're not going anywhere, Jadeite! Mars Fire Ignite!"

Jadeite teleported away before the flames could touch him, but his voice lingered. "You and I will meet again, Mars. But in the meantime, I'll leave my youma to give you a workout. Enjoy!"

"Aw, crap!" Sailor Moon shrieked as the youma managed to break the hold her tiara had on it and sent it spinning back into her waiting hand. "Now what?"

"Let me take care of it!" Mars yelled, once again calling forth her fire and sending it straight at the youma.

It howled in fury and misery as the flames engulfed her, and in seconds nothing remained but a pile of ashes.

Sailor Mars turned to Sailor Moon with furiously snapping violet eyes. "You…What were you…What the hell is going on!"

Before Sailor Moon could form a reply, the portal opened back up and Sailor Mercury appeared. The blue haired scout took in the scene before her for a second before hurrying to Mars's side.

"You haven't said anything to them, have you?" she murmured into her sister scout's ear.

"Not yet!" Mars hissed back. "But I'm about to give the two of them a piece of my mind. How could Endymion allow Serenity to come into a battle like this? He'll be lucky if I don't roast his ass on a spit!

"Shh," Mercury cautioned her. "Just keep your mouth shut for a while and for the love of Selene, keep that temper of yours under control. Venus, Luna, Artemis, and I will explain everything later."

Mars crossed her arms across her chest. "Fine! But I expect a full report."

"Uh, you guys," Sailor Moon said as she walked over. "What do we do now? How are we going to get all of these people back home? They all need medical attention."

Mercury pulled out her computer. "That should be easy enough." With just the press of a few buttons she was able to remotely access all three buses and drive them back through the vortex. She turned to her fellow scouts with a grin. "Well that's taken care of. I guess we should get back as well."

"Sounds good to me!" Sailor Moon agreed with a grin. She turned to where Tuxedo Mask had been standing behind her, only to find him gone. "Oh no! Where did he go? I can't believe he just took off like that! I was wanting to talk to him!"

* * *

"I can't believe you, Jadeite!" Beryl screeched furiously. "Because of your inability to leave that girl alone we now have three sailor scouts to deal with! Do you have some kind of a suicide wish? That wretched girl already managed to kill you once. It was only through my powers that you were resurrected to begin with."

Jadeite bowed his head to hide his look of annoyance. "My apologies, my queen. I only sought to bring you the energy of a sailor scout. I failed to foresee that Mars was so close to awakening."

"Your sniveling apologies mean nothing to me!" Beryl's voice cracked like a whip. "The only reason why I'm not pulling your worthless flesh from your bones is because you actually did something useful and brought me a decent amount of energy."

She held the swirling orb up in front of her. "This may just be enough energy to awaken the great Metallia's consciousness so that she may guide us to the next phase of our mission. Leave me, Jadeite!"

"As you wish, your majesty," he said as he gave a bow and backed from the room. He pulled up short in the hall as an amused chuckle reached his ears.

"So it's true," Zoicite said as he stepped from the shadows. "You were actually stupid enough to goad your host body's girlfriend into awakening her powers? Queen Beryl was right, you must have a death wish."

"Eavesdropping, Zoicite? That's pretty pathetic!" Jadeite sneered. "I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. You've always been a slimy little weasel. And you don't have a whole lot of room to talk, I know for a fact that you've been spying on Mercury since her awakening."

Zoicite flipped his hair over his shoulder. "Strictly from a professional point of view. She has a brilliant mind, and if anyone were to be able to uncover clues about the crystal and the princess's whereabouts, it would be her. So I have observed her strictly in the interest of furthering our mission."

"And I am doing the same," Jadeite replied smoothly. "Mars was closer to the princess than any of the other scouts, except for perhaps Venus. Now that she has awakened there is nothing that will stop her from hunting down Serenity. And with any luck I'll be right there to snatch up that lunarian bitch just as soon as she's found."

"Well, good luck with that," Zoicite tossed over his shoulder as he strode away down the corridor in search of Kunzite. The head general would be most interested in the latest turn of events."

Back inside Beryl's chambers, the self-proclaimed queen had descended down the stairs into Metallia's domain. She offered up the collected energy and waited with baited breath for the results. She was rewarded by the rapid growth of the swirling black mass inside the orange liquid filled orb.

And then a demonic sounding voice spoke. "Beryl, my most trusted servant, you have finally succeeded in awakening me."

Beryl fell to her knees and bowed before the entity. "Oh, Great Metallia, I am here to serve you. What is your bidding?"

The black mass swirled faster. "My enemies have been reborn. They must be made to pay for the atrocities they committed against me. I will take the moon queen's Silver Crystal and I will kill her daughter and her guards. Then the Earth will belong to us."

"Yes, my liege," Beryl hissed. "And what of Endymion? What is his fate?"

"The Earth Prince is of no use to me," Metallia growled. "But since he seems to amuse you, you may have him. All I ask is that you bring me the seven rainbow crystals."

Beryl's head rose. "The seven rainbow crystals?"

"The rainbow crystals are the key to unlocking the Silver Crystal," Metallia told her. "When Queen Serenity locked away my seven shadow warriors inside the crystal, she split its power into seven pieces. Each one formed a crystal of its own that was hidden inside the body of a carrier. We must retrieve these crystals. When they are brought together they will call forth the Silver Crystal. But if the princess were to find them first she would have the power to cleanse the crystals and banish my shadows forever."

"Then we will make finding the rainbow crystals our top priority," Beryl agreed. "We can't let those crystals fall into the hands of Serenity or her scouts."

A small, dark crystal appeared in midair and floated down to land in Beryl's open palm.

"This crystal will allow you to track the crystal carriers and find them," Metallia said. "Hunt them down. Once you remove the crystals from their bodies the shadow warriors will appear. That should keep those abominable sailor scouts busy."

Beryl's eyes gleamed. "I understand, my queen."

* * *

Raye slammed her fists down on the table and glared at the blonde across from her. "What do you mean we can't tell her? How can we not tell her who she really is? This isn't right! She deserves to know!"

Mina studied her friend with serious blue eyes. "I agree that she has a right to know, but we have to look at this from a logical point of view. Push Sailor Mars's memories of Serenity out of your mind and think about Serena the way she is now. How do you think she would react if we up and told her that she was the moon princess?"

Raye slumped back down onto her cushion looking dejected. "She'd think we were crazy and probably call the psych ward on us."

"Exactly!" Mina concurred. "That's why we have to handle this as delicately as we can. We will stand by her side like always and keep an eye on her, but the truth is that we need her in this fight. With Queen Serenity gone she's the only one that will be able to purify the rainbow crystals and combine them once more so that the Silver Crystal will be completed. Luna, did you give her the crescent moon wand?"

The black feline nodded. "Yes I did. With it she should be able to purify the shadow warriors. It should also work as something of a tracking device to help us locate the crystals. Now we just have to hope that we find them before the Dark Kingdom finds out about them."

"That's what worries me," Amy spoke up. "Jadeite has been able to get away with a massive amount of energy lately. What he has collected just might be enough to revive Metallia. If that happens we could be in big trouble. Metallia would know about the rainbow crystals and would tell Beryl. And like I said before, Jadeite may be the only general we've seen so far, but we can't dismiss the possibility that the others are working for her as well. This could get ugly if she sends them after the crystals."

Raye chewed on her thumbnail. "Has anyone thought about telling Darien the truth? I mean, they were his generals at one time. He may know something about them that we don't."

"That wouldn't help much," Artemis disagreed. "I admit that Mina and I thought about coming clean with him in hopes that he would provide another wall of defense for Serena, but he's already doing that on his own. And without Endymion's memories there is nothing that he would be able to tell us about the generals that we don't already know. Not to mention the fact that he is so cynical. He's even less likely to believe us than Serena would be."

"We don't need his help anyway!" Amy spat uncharacteristically. "We are perfectly capable of protecting our princess and finding those crystals without his help."

Raye's face turned thoughtful. "I thought I'd seen you glaring at Darien a lot the last couple of days. Now it all makes sense. But why are you mad at him? He's was Serenity's fiancé, and he fought on our side."

"I know," the blue haired girl mumbled. "But I can't help but think that if he had kept his distance from Serenity like he was supposed to that none of this would have happened. There was a reason why the people from the moon and Earth weren't allowed to associate with each other."

Mina giggled. "Well you can't blame him entirely. Serenity instigated a lot of it, and Queen Serenity had even given them her blessing. So it might be a good idea if you quit trying to freeze the poor guy in place every time he even glances in Serena's direction. Their fates are intertwined, and there's nothing we can do to stop it."

Amy huffed. "Hmph! That's okay; just wait until Jupiter wakes up. Lita's already like a pit bull when it comes to looking out for Serena. She'll punt him all the way across the Pacific if she thinks for one second that allowing him around her could be dangerous. I'll just leave it all to her."

"The main point is Serena's safety," Luna interrupted their squabble. "We have to make sure she remains safe and preferably unknown to the Dark Kingdom."

"That's why Mina will continue try to draw the Dark Kingdom's eye toward her," Artemis explained. "After that fiasco in London with that guy that ended up being one of Beryl's foot soldiers, it's probably safe to bet that they highly suspect her to be the princess. If she can keep them focused on her, then perhaps the rest of you will have time to find the rainbow crystals before they do."

Raye looked solemnly at her friend. "Is that why you've started doing appearances as Minako DeLune and Sailor V again, to be a decoy for Serena?"

Mina nodded slowly. "We can't take the risk of Beryl finding out who she is until her memories and the crystal have been restored to her. Then all we can do is hope that she has the strength to defeat them and keep history from repeating itself."

Raye moaned and laid her head on the table. "You mean we have to trust our future to Meatball Head Serena? We're so screwed!"

* * *

Darien tossed and turned in his bed. He was so tired, but sleep was proving to be elusive tonight. He didn't even try to pretend like he didn't know why that was. He needed to talk to Serena and get this weight off his chest. Then maybe he could relax.

He had been so close earlier. If only that damn Jadeite had waited a couple of more minutes before attacking that bus he would have had the chance to spill it all and gotten it over with. Instead here he was lying in bed with a worn out body but with a mind that was as wired as if he had chugged an entire two liter of Mountain Dew.

He would have stayed after the battle, but the look that Sailor Mars had turned on him had nearly scorched him, and he figured that Sailor Moon would be tied up for a while with her newest scout. So he had retreated for the time being.

Frustrated, threw back the covers and stomped into his kitchen. He didn't even bother to turn on the light as he stalked to the refrigerator and flung it open. He pulled out a cold bottle of water and downed half the contents in just a few gulps.

"Damn it!" he growled, slamming the bottle down on the counter. "I've had enough of playing this cat and mouse game. I'm going over to Serena's right now and we're going to get all of this out in the open. I don't care if she hates me or not when this is over, I just can't stand keeping these secrets anymore."

In two seconds he had crossed to his balcony door and slammed it open. In another second he had transformed. And a second after that he jumped up onto the railing and leapt for the neighboring building, on his way to the white, two-story house he could find in his sleep.

In just a few minutes he landed in the branches of a now familiar tree and peered through a window into the pink and white bedroom that could only belong to one person, and his jaw hit the ground.

The room was completely dark and there was no defining lump under the covers to signify that the girl that he was looking for had retired for the night. In fact, the entire house had a dark, deserted look to it.

He panicked for a second. Had the Dark Kingdom somehow discovered her identity and come for her and her family? Looking around he didn't see any signs that a battle or struggle had taken place, but that did little to calm his nerves. He hadn't felt her transform into Sailor Moon, but if a youma or Jadeite had surprised her she may not have had the time.

Despite the late hour he pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed her number. He was shocked a moment later when a recorded message informed him that the person he was trying to reach was unavailable at that time.

His panic mounted even more. Where the hell was she? It was after midnight on a school night. She obviously wasn't out fighting an enemy. So where could she be?

Then another thought struck him. Maybe something had come up and her parents had to leave out for the evening. So where would Serena be in that case? At one of her friend's, of course.

He stopped and thought about it for a second before he realized that other than Raye, he had no idea where any of the girls lived. He knew that Mina's house was somewhere nearby, that Amy lived in a penthouse with her mother near the hospital, and that Lita had an apartment not too far from his own, but that was it.

He took off for the shrine. After what had happened today that seemed to be the logical place for her to be. But he was disappointed yet again when he investigated the shrine under the cover of darkness and found only Raye fast asleep when he dared to peek through her window.

Thoroughly disgruntled, he had no choice but to return home. He fell into bed and finally managed to squeeze in a couple of hours sleep before dressing robotically and heading for school. As he entered the school grounds his eyes started sweeping back and forth, searching for that familiar blonde, meatball hairdo.

He even went as far as to break one of his personal rules and walked down the hall where the sophomore lockers were located. He never came this way except when he had chemistry, and even now he felt curious eyes staring at him, but he was on a mission.

He still didn't see Serena anywhere, but he did spot the other girls and headed for them. Unluckily the first bell rang and they scurried off to their classes before he could reach them. Cursing, he resigned himself to having to wait for lunchtime.

By the time lunch rolled around he was in a foul mood from stress and lack of sleep. He stopped by the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face before hurrying to cafeteria. The whole gang was there except for Serena.

"So have you heard from her?" he heard Raye asking Mina.

The blonde shook her head. "Not since last night when she called. But she warned me that cell reception was pretty crappy there, so I guess she'll call when she gets a chance."

"Rotten timing though, wasn't it?" Andrew said as he tore into a bag of chips. "I mean right here before the holidays and all."

Amy looked up from her geometry book. "Well it's not like it was planned. Accidents do happen."

Lita rolled her eyes. "Duh! But what are we going to do if Serena isn't back by Saturday? It wouldn't feel right going to the dance without her. She's the life of the party."

Darien grinned. Finally he'd be able to get some information on Serena's whereabouts. He fixed his face into its usual nonchalant façade and took his seat. He feigned a look of disbelief as he glanced at the seat to his right. "Where's the Meatball Head? She's usually the first one here. She didn't choke from shoveling down her food and have to be carted away, did she?"

He watched in interest as both Amy and Raye's gazes narrowed suspiciously on him. He had figured that the freaky talking cat would have spilled the beans to them about his identity and the fact that he knew that Serena was Sailor Moon, and their reactions didn't disappoint him. He also caught a look of what appeared to be disapproval from Mina while Lita tensed up like she always did when she was preparing to stick up for her petite friend.

Andrew beat the girls to the punch. "Man are you way out of the loop! Serena's grandmother had a nasty fall yesterday and was rushed to the hospital so Serena and her family had to leave town last night. Her grandmother lives way out in the country, so cell phones don't get the best signal and we're worried that she might not make it back in time for the dance."

"Oh," was all Darien could muster. Part of him was discouraged that Serena was so far away and he had no idea when she would be coming back, but at the same time he was relieved to know that she was safe and not being held prisoner by the Dark Kingdom. He calmly opened his lunch and began eating methodically.

A few minutes later the sound of a cell phone rang out and Mina jumped in her seat before pulling out a bright orange cell phone covered in sparkly stick on jewels. She squealed when she read the screen and snapped the phone open with an excited, "Serena!"

She was quiet for a few moments, and then said, "Yeah, everyone's here. Hold on, I'm going to put you on speaker." She pressed a button and then set the phone on the table. "You're on, girlfriend!"

"Hey guys!" Serena's voice crackled over the line. "I finally managed to find the one spot in this godforsaken place that I could find any kind of a signal, but it may not last. So if you lose me I promise it's not me hanging up on you."

"Enough of that! How are you doing?" Raye quickly asked.

A sigh. "Absolutely bored to tears. There's nothing to do around here. And to make matters worse I can't even get a decent milkshake. I went to one place earlier and it was the most horrible thing I've ever tasted. I think I'd rather sit through one of Miss Haruna's lectures rather than go through that again."

"I promise I'll make you a big fat one on the house when you get back," Andrew promised her.

Even the bad connection couldn't diminish her excited squeal. "You're the best, Drew! I can't wait. I can taste it already."

"So when are you coming back?" Lita asked impatiently.

Serena giggled. "Well that's the good news. Luckily Gran wasn't hurt too badly. She didn't break anything, but she hit her head so the doctors are running all kinds of tests to make sure she's okay. If everything checks out I'll be home on Saturday just in time to go to the dance."

Just then the connection became really full of static. "Hey guys, I'm afraid I'm about to lose you. Everyone take care and I'll see you soon. I love you all…" Serena's voice faded away and the line went dead.

The girls began chattering excitedly about the dance, pulling Andrew, Asanuma, and Kobyashi into the conversation. None of them really paid any attention when Darien got up from his seat and walked over to a table where a couple of cheerleaders sat, but by the end of classes that day the whole school was buzzing with the news.

Darien Shields, the guy that never attended any school functions, except for basketball games because he was on the team, had bought a ticket to the winter dance.

* * *

"Stupid zipper…why won't you zip up?" Serena moaned as she tugged on the zipper of her new dress that she had bought for the dance. She stopped when she heard a sound that suspiciously sounded like a couple of threads breaking. It was time to call in back up. "Mooommm! Heeellpp!"

Ilene bustled into her daughter's room so quickly that it seemed that she had been standing right outside the door waiting for the distress call. "Oh, Serena! Let me see. Turn around. It's no big deal; you just got a piece of fabric stuck in the zipper, that's all. There! All fixed!"

"Thanks, mom," Serena sighed in relief as she turned toward the full-length mirror hanging on her closet door. "Well how do I look?"

Ilene beamed. "Absolutely beautiful! Just be glad that your dad's not here to see you like this. He would probably go into hysterics at seeing his little girl looking so grown up. That dress looks so sophisticated on you and your hair and make up are very elegant."

Serena smoothed down the skirt of her dress hesitantly. She had been so sure that this was the dress she wanted when she tried it on at the store and her friends had such a fit. But now that the time had arrived she wasn't so sure.

She wasn't one to normally wear dark colors. In fact, she usually stuck with pastels when she wasn't in her school uniform. But she had wanted to try something different for a change. She was still too nervous to go with a dress that was completely dark, but this was a nice compromise.

The top part of the dress was an off the shoulder design in a light, silvery white. The color began subtly changing right under her bust line and hints of blue began showing. The color kept deepening all the way down the skirt, and by the time it reached the bottom that fell to just below her knees it was a brilliant sapphire blue that reminded her of Darien's eyes.

She had lucked out and found a pair of silver shoes that had enough of a heel to give her a little boost, but that were low enough that hopefully she should be able to navigate in without any mishaps. A simple silver bangle bracelet and a silver snowflake necklace and matching earrings her parents had given to her the Christmas before were her only accessories.

She tilted her head as she studied her hair and make up closely. She was running short on time, and since Luna wasn't around she had taken advantage of the Luna Pen to help her get ready. The cosmetics were a little heavier than what she normally applied, but since this was a special occasion she didn't mind. The smoky eye shadow and mascara made her eyes pop and the deep pink lipstick defined her lips. Her hair was basically the same as always, but there were silver ribbons tied around each of her buns and the long streamers of silver had then been braided into her pigtails that had then been looped up and the ends tucked out of sight.

Ilene giggled. "Well when you get tired of primping come downstairs. I have a surprise for you."

Serena sighed as her mother left the room. Her family had been later than expected getting back from her grandmother's, which had totally thrown her behind. She had been able to call her friends to let them know that she would be running late and they had all said that they would wait for her, but she had insisted that they all head on to the dance without her and that she would catch up. They had protested of course, but she had threatened them all with slow, painful deaths if they didn't.

This now meant that she had to rely on her mother to drive her to the school. It was pretty embarrassing since she was already showing up without a date, but it was better than not going at all. She collected her silver wrist bag and double checked to make sure that her transformation broach, communicator, and her wallet were still tucked inside before leaving her room.

She somehow managed to negotiate the stairs without falling flat on her face, that in itself was a miracle. She heard voices coming from the living room and turned toward it curiously. She knew for a fact that she, her mother, and her brother were the only people in the house, and since Sammy was currently upstairs blasting zombies on his Xbox, she wondered who her mother could be talking to.

She stepped into the living room and almost fell out in shock at the sight of the two people there. "Molly…Melvin?"

"Surprise!" Molly cheered, her russet curls bouncing around her shoulders. "Bet you didn't expect to see us here, did you?"

"Never in a million years! What on earth are you guys doing here?" Serena squealed as she rushed to give her two childhood friends hugs.

Melvin pushed his glasses back up his nose from where they had slipped at Serena's enthusiasm. "Funny thing. A water pipe burst in one of the locker rooms and flooded Juuban's gym. We were supposed to have our winter dance tonight as well and thought we were going to have to cancel. But Azabu's principal called ours and said that your school had plenty of room and invited us to join your dance."

"Isn't it just too perfect?" Molly gushed. "I called here and your mom said that you were going to the dance, so Melvin and I thought that we would swing by and give you a ride. It'll be just like old times."

"Yeah…old times," Serena answered wistfully, thinking back to her junior high days when she and Molly had often made an appearance at dances and other school functions one on each side of Melvin. A lot of the other boys had been jealous, wondering why two cute girls like Serena and Molly had given the studious bookworm the time of day. In everyone else's eyes he was a geek.

The girls could have cared less what other people thought. The Tsukino's, Osaka's, Gurio's, and Furuhata's had been friends for years, and Serena, Molly, Melvin, and Andrew were as close as siblings. It didn't matter how different they all were.

Serena was the loving and caring one while Molly was the exuberant and vivacious member of their little band. Melvin was their quiet genius while Andrew was dashing and outgoing. They had all played on each other's strengths and weaknesses, and that brought them all closer together. When they were little they had even said that when they grew up that Serena and Andrew would marry and Molly and Melvin would tie the knot. Then they would buy houses next door to each other and live happily ever after.

Serena shook her head a little at the memories. How times had changed. Now they attended different schools and didn't spend nearly as much with each other as they used to. Studying her friends closely just brought home the reality about how much had really changed.

Molly had blossomed into a young lady. Slim and willowy, she stood at least four inches taller than Serena. Her simple black dress set off her pale skin, warm hair, and pale blue eyes perfectly.

Melvin had changed as well. He had finally hit a growth spurt and was pushing close to six feet tall. His shoulders had broadened and his waist had tapered down. He had finally traded in his thick, coke bottle glasses for a pair of stylish wire rims, but his shaggy brown hair still fell into his eyes. He made quite an impressive figure in his black tux.

"Wow! You guys look great!" Serena exclaimed. "I feel almost frumpy next to you."

Melvin cleared his throat nervously. "Don't be silly, Serena. You look as stunning as always. You could go to the dance in a garbage bag and still steal the show."

Serena kissed his reddened cheek. "That's my Melvin, always a sweet talker. Well are we ready to make our appearance?"

Melvin offered an arm to each of the girls. "Shall we, ladies?"

"Lead on, gallant sir," Molly declared loftily as she and Serena both took an arm and dissolved into giggles.

* * *

"He looks tense," Asanuma muttered to no one in particular as he observed Darien leaning against a wall about twenty feet away, glaring at the entrance with a scowl that grew darker every time some came through it.

"Tense my ass!" Kobyashi grumbled. "He looks like he could rip the head off a lion without even blinking. What's his deal?"

The two boys turned to look at Andrew who blinked at them in confusion. "What?"

Asanuma rolled his eyes. "We were just discussing our dark, brooding friend over there and speculating as to why he looks like someone pissed in his punch instead of spiking it. What are your views, Dr. Drew?"

"I think the answer is pretty obvious," Andrew replied in a bored tone. "He's waiting for Serena."

Asanuma barked a laugh. "No way! We all know he's hot for her, but Darien would never be so blatant about it. He's way too calm and collected for that."

A smirk appeared on Andrew's lips. "You think so, my friends? I think you're about to throw everything you ever thought you knew about Darien Shields right out the window."

They turned to look back at their friend and saw that Darien had indeed pushed away from the wall and was staring intently at the door. His face was no longer scowling; instead he looked as if he had seen an angel.

Asanuma and Kobyashi gasped as they saw what had enraptured him so much. Serena was gliding in like she was on a cloud, latched onto the arm of her childhood friend, Melvin. She gave both Melvin and Molly a hug before waving them toward the dancing. Then she stood there glancing around expectantly looking for her friends.

"Wow!" Kobyashi sighed. "I always knew Serena was cute, but damn!"

"No doubt," Asanuma agreed. "If I didn't know that she and Darien were hung up on each other I think I would make a play for her."

Andrew chuckled as he saw Darien begin weaving his way through the people toward her. "It's showtime!"

* * *

Serena looked around in amazement. The decorating committee had done wonders with the gym. Granted you could still tell that you were in a high school gym, but that thought took a backseat when confronted with the streamers, balloons, and strands of icicle lights.

The place was packed to the gills since both Azabu and Juuban's students were in attendance. It was going to be hard to find anybody in this crowd.

She tossed that thought aside a moment later when she heard an excited voice squeal her name and she was about knocked off her feet as she was caught up in an enthusiastic hug.

"Take it easy, Mina," she pleaded. "I'm doing good to walk in these shoes as it is. I don't need you or anything else throwing my balance off."

"Like that would make a difference. You could trip while walking barefooted on a flat surface," Raye grouched, but Serena noticed that it was in a much lighter tone than usual.

She beamed a smile at the raven-haired priestess. "I assume that's your way of saying you missed me, huh Pyro?"

Raye looked as if she were about to cry for a moment. "Oh! Come here, you!" She embraced Serena every bit as fiercely as Mina had.

"Have things been quiet while I was gone?" Serena whispered to her.

"Not a peep," Raye confirmed. "Amy's been running constant scans, but she hasn't picked up anything. I haven't sensed any disturbances either."

Serena sighed. "I don't know if that's good for us or bad."

"Okay! My turn!" Lita interrupted them. "Quit hogging Serena, Raye, and share the wealth." She almost lifted the petite blonde off the floor as she hugged her. "Gosh, we missed you around here."

Serena laughed. "I was only gone two days, Lita."

"Two days too long," the amazon quipped. "You're looking good, girlfriend!"

Serena spun around carefully. "Do you think so? I feel a little out of my element in this dress."

"Nonsense, Serena," Amy told her as she came forward to deliver a gentle hug to her friend. "You look beautiful in that dress."

Serena shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to take your word for it. Now why were all of you stalking the door instead of tearing up the dance floor?"

Mina tossed her hair over her shoulder. "We were waiting on you, of course! What kind of friends would we be if we started having the real fun without you?"

Serena's eyes sparkled with humor. "Then I guess we should get this party started. The night's not getting any younger."

"Excuse me ladies," a smooth voice cut in. "Do you mind if I steal Serena away for just a moment?"

Serena paused for a second as the sound of that husky tenor washed over her. Then she turned her head slowly to look behind her and went weak in the knees at the sight of Darien.

He had not opted to rent a tux like some of the other guys, but he was no less dashing in a black suit that looked as if it had been tailor made to fit his body perfectly. Paired with a black button down shirt and a black silk tie, he looked more the part of an international spy than he did a high school student going to a dance.

"Darien! I thought you weren't coming tonight," Serena managed to croak out.

He shrugged. "I changed my mind. I am allowed to do that, right? Anyway, I was wondering if I could speak to you for a minute."

Suddenly Amy and Raye were in front of her, blocking her way.

"And what exactly did you want to speak to her about?" Amy asked in a frosty tone.

Darien leveled his own chilling gaze on her. "That is between Serena and I. What are you, her warden?"

"Hey!" Mina cried, herding both girls aside. "It's Serena's decision whether or not she wants to talk to him."

Raye glared at him hotly. "You better not make her cry!"

Lita cracked her knuckles. "If he does I'll take him out back and sweep the asphalt with him."

"You guys!" Serena cried indignantly. "What has gotten into you? You're acting like Darien is singling me out just to pick a fight. I know we don't always get along, but even he's not cruel enough to seek me out here just to start an argument. Let's go, Darien!"

She grabbed his arm and steered him away from her shell-shocked friends as she fumed. She appreciated her friend's protectiveness, but honestly!

"I'm sorry about that," she apologized to him. "They can go a little overboard sometimes."

He grinned at her. "It's no big deal. Just promise me that you'll keep Lita away from me. She's scary!"

Serena giggled. "She is a little intimidating. Now what did you want to talk about?"

He shook his head. "Wait just a minute. I want to get us someplace quieter." He led her through a door and into a dark hallway. They both blushed furiously as they ran the gauntlet of couples making out in the shadows as they hurried down the corridor. Darien breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the chemistry lab. He had rigged the door earlier so that it wouldn't lock so that he and Serena would have a private place for this conversation.

He ushered her inside and then closed the door behind. He stood with his back to her for a moment before turning and facing her warily.

Serena shuffled her feet nervously. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she had agreed to talk to Darien. She didn't believe for a second that he had any dishonorable intentions, but this setting was kind of awkward.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked him. "It must be serious if you dragged me all the way in here."

His face remained wary. "It is serious. I've tried to tell you this twice, but we keep getting interrupted. I wanted to make sure there are no distractions this time."

Serena sat on a stool. "Okay, you've got my curiosity piqued. Is this what you were trying to tell me the other day at Cherry Hill?"

He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "Yes. I also tried to talk to you a couple of days before that, but then you had to leave."

Serena racked her brain, trying to come up with another encounter with Darien that had been interrupted, but she came up empty handed. "Okay, so what's so important? You look like something's really bothering you. Go ahead and get it off your chest."

Inside she was a jumping bundle of nerves. Part of her was wondering if he was about to confess that he had feelings for her. While one part of her was hoping that he was, the other part was screaming that she hoped it was something else. She really couldn't get tied up in a relationship right now with the whole Dark Kingdom thing going on.

Darien began walking toward her slowly, just like a graceful predator. Her heart missed a beat and then began thumping wildly against her ribs as his dark, intense eyes locked with hers.

"I'll tell you, Serena, but there's something I want to do first," he said in a low voice.

"What's that?" she managed to squeak.

His arms were suddenly around her waist as he pulled her up from her seat and against him. "This," he said simply, and then he pressed his lips to hers.

Serena stiffened in shock at the unexpected kiss. Common sense was telling her to pull away. But his lips felt so right against hers, firm, yet soft, and oh so warm. She melted into him.

Darien's head swam as he felt her relax against him and her lips began moving under his. Nothing in the world had ever felt as right as this. He wanted to take it a step forward and deepen the kiss into something more, but he had business to take care of first. He reluctantly pulled away from her.

Serena blinked up at him with hazy blue eyes. "What was that about?" she breathed.

His eyes looked down at her, pleading with her to understand. "I've wanted to do that for a long time, but I fear I may not get another chance once I tell you what I have to tell you."

Serena was struck by the anguish in his eyes. She laid a palm against his cheek. "Darien, what is it?"

It was crunch time. "I know you're Sailor Moon, Serena. And I…I'm Tuxedo Mask."

Complete stillness and silence filled the room as he waited for her reaction. He watched as a myriad of emotions played across her face.

Serena went numb inside. It was like every part of her body had just decided to shut down at the same time. Then the shock came trickling in, followed closely behind by disbelief and astonishment. Then denial set in.

There was no way in the world that moody, cranky Darien Shields, the guy that made her life pure torture on a daily basis was her sweet, caring and trusting Tuxedo Mask. It just wasn't possible.

She pulled away from him with a sharp laugh. "Nice try, Darien, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Who in the world is Tuxedo Mask? I've never heard of the guy."

Annoyance flickered in his eyes. "Don't try to play me for a fool, Serena! I know that you are Sailor Moon, Amy is Mercury, and Raye is Mars. I know that your cat's name is Luna and that she can talk. You're currently fighting against the Dark Kingdom while looking for the moon princess and the Silver Crystal. I know all of this because I've been there every step of the way with you."

She backed away from him, shaking her head, her eyes wide and dilated. "This can't be happening! It can't be true! Please tell me that this is some kind of a sick joke."

Darien sighed wearily. He had been afraid that she would take this badly. "Look, Serena, I know this is a lot to take in," he took a step toward her.

She jumped back like she had been burned. "A lot to take in? Oh no, Darien, this far surpasses that. I would have been less shocked if you had whipped out a baseball bat and whapped me upside the head."

She started feeling nauseous and short of breath. "I've got to get out of here!"

"Wait!" he cried, grabbing her arm. He cursed when he felt her muscles trembling under his hand.

She looked at him with tear bright eyes. "Please, Darien. I need to be alone right now. I have a lot to think about."

He couldn't deny her that request. He let her go and watched dispassionately as she escaped through the door. He sat down on the stool she had been sitting on and let his head fall onto the metal table with a thud.

"Stupid…stupid…stupid!" he growled to himself, punctuating each word by banging his head against the table. "Way to go, Shields! You've probably run her off for good. What did you expect her to do, be all smiles and throw herself into your arms?"

Stupidly, part of him had hoped that. He knew that the chances were slim and that she would probably freak out at his news, but he had held onto that small amount of hope that she would accept this.

'_She still might be okay with this turn of events,' _his brain argued. _'She didn't scream or curse you, and she didn't say that she never wanted to see you again. She only said that she had to do some thinking. That doesn't mean anything bad. She could get over this.'_

That thought helped cheer him up a little. If she needed time he would give her all she needed without any pressure from him. He knew that if the roles had been reversed and she had found out his identity first and had confessed to him that he would feel the same way.

The sound of loud booms and screams coming from the gym had him jumping from his seat. A few seconds later a searing heat burst through his chest a he felt Serena transform. Without a second thought pulled out his rose and let his transformation take over.

Serena may be upset with Darien right now and not want him around, but there was no way that Tuxedo Mask was going to abandon Sailor Moon during a battle. He had vowed to keep her safe, and he always stood by his promises."

"I'm on my way, Serena," he whispered as he ran from the room.

**A/N **So now Serena knows! At last! And before any of you go saying that she's being a fool for running from Darien like that, just relax, she's just got to get her head on straight. That was a pretty big bombshell that he dropped on her. Okay, so the dance seems to have hit a little snag. Coming up in the next chapter, things might get a little shocking. That's right, Jupiter is next in line. And I'm trying to attempt to rewrite one of my favorite scenes from the manga with my own little twist, the scene where Serena wakes up in Darien's apartment after passing out from using too much energy and he carries her off. We'll see how that works out. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Don't forget to drop me a line and tell me what you think. I don't be shy with any suggestions you have. I'm always interested in any ideas about what you might like to see happen in the story. After all, you readers are what keep me going. Later gators! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	9. A Shocking Reunion

**A/N **Yay! Update time. I wasn't sure if I was going to have time to proof read and post this today because I've had family in town visiting for the last week and a half (and they're still here) and it's seriously been cutting into my writing time. I have come to the conclusion that I absolutely hate living in a city that has so many tourist attractions. I have literally worn out my favorite pair of tennis shoes with all the walking I've done recently and I've probably gained ten pounds from eating out at restaurants so much. But I have managed to squeeze in a few minutes here and there to put the finishing touches on this chapter. Okay, time for me to give out my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**xo Usako ox**

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**Quelqu'un dans la nuit**

**mandii-xo**

**KatanaPrincess**

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Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful reviews. I treasure each and every one. It's hard to believe, but thanks to all of you this story has hit 200 reviews in only eight chapters. You've definitely blown me away with your response. That being said, I'm going to shut up and let you get on with the story. I know you're all anxious to see what happens now that truths are coming out. So on with the show!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 9

A Shocking Reunion

Serena walked out of the chemistry lab and closed the door behind her, wishing that she could close the door on everything that had just happened in there as easily. Her head still spun dizzily and her knees were weak and shaking, so she leaned up against the wall.

In less than five minutes her already sideways life had flipped completely upside down. It had been a big enough shock to find out that two of her closest friends were sailor scouts as well, but to discover that Darien was Tuxedo Mask…well, it was almost too much to take in.

She licked her suddenly dry lips; almost moaning out loud as she remembered the way Darien's lips had fit against hers so perfectly. It hadn't been an extremely romantic kiss, hardly more than a mere pressing together of lips for a few seconds, but it had felt so right.

She heard a shuffling of noise from inside the room and pushed herself away from the wall, kicking off those infernal high heels so that she could hopefully manage to walk without falling flat on her face. Darien was going to come out of the lab sooner or later, and she didn't want to be caught sulking outside it. She wasn't ready to face him yet.

She pushed her way into a nearby restroom, counting her lucky stars when she found it empty. She needed to get herself composed and under control. Then she would go back into the gym to find her friends and tell them that she wasn't feeling good and that she was going to go home. They would be okay with it if they thought she was sick, but if they knew that she was upset over Darien they would hunt him down and drag him into the nearest dark place they could find. He would be lucky to be able to crawl, much less walk, after they were through with him. It didn't matter if he was a super hero, Amy and Raye were too. Lita was already so strong that grown men had been known to run from her, and Mina had gone through extensive training to make her role as Sailor V as believable as possible. Even Tuxedo Mask wouldn't stand a chance against all four of them.

And she really didn't want to see him hurt. Sure, she was upset right now, but she still had feelings for him. In fact she felt a small amount of relief knowing that her secret crush and her dashing partner in crime were one and the same. She had been walking around for weeks feeling a little sluttish for crushing on Tuxedo Mask when she had strong feelings for Darien.

She walked over to the row of sinks below the long mirror and placed her hands on each side of one of the cold porcelain basins before looking up at her reflection. The paleness of her face made the make up she was wearing stand out garishly against her skin and her eyes were so wide that they looked like they were about to pop out of her head. She looked like one of the walking corpses in that late night horror flick that she and the girls had sat up and watched a few weeks ago.

She rummaged around in her wrist bag until she found the Luna Pen and used it to remove the spell that she had cast on herself earlier in the evening. The cosmetics disappeared, leaving her face stark white but squeaky clean. Too late, she remembered that her hair had been down when she had used the pen, and it fell in a shimmering sheet of pure gold down her back to hit a few inches below her knees. Oh well, at least she looked halfway normal again.

"I'm going to go home, soak in a hot bath until I turn wrinkly, and then curl up with a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a stack of manga. That's what I should have done in the first place instead of coming to this stupid dance," she told herself firmly. "I'm not going to think any more about this whole Darien and Tuxedo Mask thing tonight. Maybe I'll feel like dealing with it tomorrow."

She nodded her head, feeling somewhat better now that she had given herself a pep talk. Some relaxation and a good night's sleep was exactly what she needed to get her head back on straight. Everything would look brighter in the morning. God help the Dark Kingdom if they decided to attack tonight, she just might go postal on their ass if they did.

No sooner than the thought had gone through her head there was a loud boom and the floor rumbled under her bare feet. Her reflection quivered as the mirror shook. Screams erupted in the distance.

She closed her eyes for a moment in agitation and drew in a deep breath. Perfect, this was just what she needed right now.

"Somebody somewhere must really hate me," she muttered, reaching into her bag for her broach. Okay, so first she would kick some Dark Kingdom butt, and then she would go home to the peace and tranquility of her pink and white bedroom.

Her communicator beeped and she pulled it out. Amy's worried face filled the screen. "Serena, we have a situation here."

"Tell Meatball Brains to pull her head out of Darien's ass and get out here!" Raye snapped somewhere close by.

"I'm on my way," Serena said wearily, cutting the connection. She held her broach up and called, "Moon Prism Power!" By the time the light show faded, Sailor Moon was already running out the door.

* * *

Nephrite grinned as he looked out over the sea of wildly dancing teenagers. The energy that was flowing around them was just begging to be taken and he was looking forward to relieving them of it. The evening looked even more promising than he originally thought it would be since he now had twice as many victims than he had planned. That burst water pipe that had flooded Juuban's gym had been a blessing.

He had spent the past week acting as a substitute teacher at Juuban High, filling in for a science teacher that had felt a sudden urge to take a vacation thanks to a little hypnosis on his part. With his mind manipulation he had cleared a path for himself and nobody questioned his presence. He had planned in the beginning to siphon a small amount of energy from each of his classes on a daily basis, but when he had discovered that there was a dance being held he had bided his time patiently. Such a large gathering of people was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

His eyes found and focused on the one bright spot of energy that had intrigued him more than the others from the very beginning. Molly, as he had discovered her name was, seemed to possess a very pure, untainted energy. It called to him like a siren. Queen Beryl would undoubtedly be pleased when he presented her with such a gift. Molly's energy would go a long way in bringing Metallia back up to full strength once again. Then they could focus on finding the Silver Crystal and take over the world.

He turned his head as another glimmer of energy caught his eye. This one was as bright as Molly's, but it glowed a deep jade green. His eyes widened as he took in the form of the tall, slender girl that was standing alone against the wall looking wistfully at the dance floor as the music slowed down and couples gravitated toward one another.

So Sailor Jupiter's reincarnation was here, was she? He wasn't too concerned about her since she hadn't awakened yet, but usually wherever one scout was the others weren't far away. He studied the crowd closer, and sure enough he picked up on Mercury's blue and Mars's red auras quickly.

He reached out farther, but didn't sense any sign of the one they called Sailor Moon, so perhaps this mission could still be a success. Mercury and Mars were the only ones that he needed to worry about, and they wouldn't be able to risk transforming into their fighting forms in the middle of this crowd. They would be sitting ducks.

The grin returned to his face. Yes, this could be a most productive evening. Not only could he get Molly's energy, but that of three sailor scouts as well. This getting better and better.

He glanced over at Jupiter's reincarnation once more and felt a pull of something deep inside him. That was the problem with inhabiting the body of one of Endymion's generals; although the soul was locked away, latent emotions had a way of breaking through from time to time. He sure didn't want to repeat Jadeite's mistake and risk waking up Jupiter, but there was something about the girl that made him want to get closer. Surely it wouldn't hurt to talk to her for a minute. That wouldn't backfire on him, would it?

* * *

"So where do you think they went?" Raye whispered to Amy. "I don't see them anywhere."

The blue haired girl shrugged and glared off in the direction that Serena and Darien had disappeared a few minutes before. She knew that Darien wouldn't intentionally hurt Serena, but she couldn't help feeling a little anxious about him. Some of her memories from the past may be a muddled mess, but she did remember that Endymion had always been the one that could elicit the most emotions from Serenity. He better deliver her back to them in the same condition that he found her, or there was going to be hell to pay.

"Chill out," Mina cautioned both of them quietly. "We've got to give them some space. They are just starting to really get to know one another. Remember, Serenity and Endymion didn't always get along either."

That was true enough. When they had first met, Prince Endymion had thought that Princess Serenity acted entirely to flighty and carefree for a girl of her station, and she had thought that he acted like an uptight, stuck up jerk. The moon palace had quaked under the onslaught of insults they had had fired at each other the first time the royal family of Earth had visited. But it had all worked out in the end.

Not too far away Lita was muttering under her breath. "He better not try anything slick on her. He may be the quiet, studious type, but they're the ones that you have to watch out for. If he so much as puts one fingernail out of line, I'll make him wish that he was never born."

Amy grinned at Raye and Mina. "Jupiter may not be here yet, but I think Lita will be able to handle the situation if anything goes wrong."

The other two nodded enthusiastically as Andrew, Asanuma, and Kobyashi wandered over to join them.

"So are the happy couple off to list themselves with the gift registry for the wedding?" Andrew asked with a mischievous smile. "I hope they don't pick out anything too expensive, my dad doesn't pay me that much for working at the arcade. He's probably breaking ten kinds of child labor laws by working me the way he does."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Asanuma replied from where he was hiding behind Kobyashi, spiking a glass of punch with something from a flask he had removed from his pocket. "If I know those two, they probably skipped the wedding and headed straight for the honeymoon."

Kobyashi nodded. "Sad, but true. Overactive hormones in teenagers usually tend to override common sense. Let's just hope they're being safe. I don't think either one of them are ready for parenthood quite yet. Of course Darien wouldn't get the chance to experience that. We would be attending his funeral when Ken Tsukino was done with him."

"Drew, make them stop!" Mina pled to Andrew in a whisper as she saw the murderous looks come over Amy, Raye, and Lita's faces. "I'm sure nothing's happening between Serena and Darien, but the other girls may decide to kill him if those two idiots keep talking like that."

Andrew tried to think quickly. "Hey guys, this is a dance. We can't let these lovely ladies be wallflowers." He offered an arm to Mina. "Shall we?"

She giggled and looped her arm through his. "Why thank you, gallant sir."

Asanuma downed his drink and set the empty cup on a nearby table. "How about you, Raye? Do you want to take spin?"

Raye eyed him warily. "Only if you promise to keep your hands and your perverted comments to yourself."

"I'll be a perfect angel," he declared with an innocent expression.

She sighed. "I'll probably regret this, but okay."

This left Kobyashi looking like a lost puppy. He glanced back and forth between Amy and Lita several times, opening and closing his mouth like a beached fish.

Lita finally took pity on him and gently pushed Amy toward him. "You two go ahead. I'm going to go get something to drink."

"B…but," Amy stuttered.

Lita crossed her arms. "Don't 'but' me. Get your tail out there. That's a good song coming on and Koby needs someone to dance with."

She turned and walked away, glancing back over her shoulder once with a happy, yet at the same time sad smile as she saw Amy heading out to the dance floor with Kobyashi. She had reconciled herself long ago to the fact that finding a guy that wasn't shorter than her or intimidated by her was going to be hard to find. And she was okay with that, but it still hurt sometimes.

She found a secluded spot and leaned up against the wall, watching the dancing crowd with wistful eyes. Sometimes she wished that she were more like her friends. Serena was the caring, loving sweetheart that everyone seemed to gravitate to. Mina had the classic blonde beauty that drew guys in like a magnet. Raye was dark and mysterious with striking good looks. And Amy was like a cute little china doll, but with a cutting wit that drew people in.

And what was she? She was tall, brusque, and extremely outspoken. Her face was definitely not hideous with her lightly tanned complexion and bright green eyes, but people were easily intimidated by her and usually gave her a wide berth. She'd had few friends in her life until Serena had come along and treated her like a normal person. The other girls had fallen into line behind her and she loved how she felt feminine around them, but there were still moments like this when she felt left out.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but the current song ended and changed into something slow and romantic as the lights dimmed. She was considering stepping outside for a breath of fresh air when a shadow fell over her. She raised her eyes to the level that she was used to looking and was greeted with a wide expanse of solid male chest. Her gaze traveled up several inches until her breath caught when she locked onto a pair of piercing slate blue eyes.

Man was he tall! And he was built like a solid brick wall. Her heart gave a few loud thuds as she drank him in. Now this was a guy that she would definitely like to get to know better. She felt almost petite in his presence. She didn't recognize him as a student of Azabu High, so he must go to Juuban. He looked to be older, so he was probably a senior.

"So what is a beautiful girl like you doing standing here all alone when there is dancing to be done?" he asked in a quiet tone that made her tremble in anticipation.

She fought to find her voice. "Lack of dancing partners I'm afraid. It's hard to find somebody to dance with when you're built like an Amazon."

He gave her a small smile. "That's a shame. Maybe we can do something to rectify that problem. I'm Max, by the way, Max Stanton." He held his hand out to her.

She took it and gasped as what felt like a jolt of electricity traveled up her arm. "I…I'm Lita Kino. I'm sorry, have we met before? You seem very familiar to me."

His look turned a little wary. "No. I don't believe we have."

She shook her head with a smile. "You're right. I'm sure that I would remember you if we had ever met. You're definitely not someone that could be forgotten easily."

He looked relieved. "So would you like to take a turn?" he asked, gesturing to the dance floor.

She was about to accept his invitation when a feeling shot down her back. It felt like someone had just shoved a fully charged cattle prod down her spine. A tingling sensation shot out from her center all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes. A voice in the back of her head began screaming at her to get as far away from this man as she could.

Being a teenage girl living alone had taught her long ago to trust her instincts. There may be absolutely nothing wrong with Max, but something about him just didn't sit right with her. "I'm sorry, but I'm just not feeling like it right now. Maybe later."

He shrugged. "If you say so. I'll be sure to look you up again later, Lita."

"Yeah, you do that," she replied with what she hoped was a convincing smile, trying not to wince as another painful surge flowed through her. "Please excuse me. I need to visit the ladies room."

He bowed his head to her. "Of course."

She turned and fled. But instead of heading for the restroom she pushed her way through the crowd toward the exit. She suddenly felt very hot, like her skin was about to sizzle off her bones, and the cold December air outside sounded like heaven to her.

She made her escape and breathed deeply of the frigid air. It was beginning to lightly snow and tiny snowflakes danced lazily through the air. She held out her palm and caught one of the flakes, gasping in surprise when what looked like a small electrical spark flared up where it touched her skin.

"Geez. I'm just full of static electricity tonight," she murmured to herself.

A group of stumbling, giggling, obviously intoxicated classmates were making their way up from the parking lot. Not wanting to be the subject of their stares and whispers, she retreated around the corner of the building and into the dark shadows there. She found herself beneath the row of high windows of the girl's locker room. A few of the windows were cracked open as cigarette smoke and giggling female voices poured out of them. She froze when she heard her name.

"Did you see that Lita Kino turn down that hunky substitute teacher from Juuban?"

"Yeah, what was she thinking? If that Mr. Stanton had asked me to dance I would have been all over him. That man is a god."

"Girl, I would have done more than dance with him. All he'd have to do is say the word and I'd have us both naked before he could blink. He looks like the type that could show a girl a very good time."

"But he's a teacher! That would be wrong."

"Don't be such a prude! He's not that much older than us. Maybe one of our teachers will take some time off and we'll get him as a sub. I'd love to show him that the teacher's desk is for more than just grading papers."

Lita rolled her eyes and muttered, "Stupid bimbos. I guess they've finally humped the entire football team and now they're searching for new victims to sink their claws into. They'll probably all have STD's and a baby on their hip by the time we graduate."

"So do you think the rumors about Lita are true? I mean, she did turn down a perfect opportunity."

"Of course they're true. That girl has lesbian written all over her. And look who she hangs out with. They're probably all doing something freaky with one another."

"I don't know. Raye, Mina, and Amy are certainly strange enough, but Darien, Andrew, Asanuma, and Kobyashi are always around them too. And I've known Serena since elementary school, I can't picture her being involved in anything weird."

"It's the bubbly ones like her that you have to watch. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that she's doing Darien Shields and Andrew Furuhata at the same time. She may seem innocent to everyone else, but the way guys stare at her makes me think that she's definitely putting out. I have to admire her though, last year I tried to put the moves on Darien and he pushed me away. I'd like to know her secret for thawing him out so I could give him another try. I bet he is ripped from playing basketball."

The sound of multiple giggles floated down to Lita, who ground her teeth together and clenched her fists. She wanted nothing more than to burst in there and give those bitches an ass kicking that they would never forget. She didn't care what they thought about her, but she couldn't stand for people to talk bad about her friends. The only thing that held her back was the promise that she had made to Serena.

She had been transferred to Azabu High after her old school had kicked her out for fighting. She hadn't felt that it was fair because, despite her reputation for being a brawler, that had been the first fight she had ever been involved in on school grounds. But she still felt that her actions were justified until this day. She had stepped in to save a freshman girl that was being manhandled by thickskulled, muscle-bound senior boy. The memory of the satisfying crunch of his nose under her fist could still bring a smile to her face. But the school had a strict no fighting policy, so she was booted out.

The first day that she had arrived at Azabu she had found that her reputation had preceded her. When she had stepped onto the campus all eyes had turned toward her and the whispers had started. She had put on her usual mask of indifference and stalked past all of the curious and prying eyes, not willing to let them see how much their criticisms and speculations had hurt her.

When she had reached her homeroom she had avoided the teacher's sharp gaze and had stood at the front of the room as the rest of the class had filed in. The teacher had then briefly introduced her and had assigned her a seat next to a blonde girl with a strange hairdo, saying that the girl would be her guide until she had learned her way around. She had taken her seat, but didn't even bother looking at the girl, knowing that she would probably find the same wary expression on her face that was on everyone else's. So she had been shocked when she felt a tap on her shoulder a few moments later.

"Hi! I'm Serena," the girl next to her spoke in a whisper.

She had sighed and reluctantly turned to her, sucking in a breath as she took in the owner of the cheerful voice. She felt an instant connection with this girl, but she didn't know why. They were total opposites.

Serena was a china doll compared to her. She appeared almost childlike in all of her petite glory. She stood 5'2" at her full height and had long golden hair that rippled and curled like a living thing. But what had struck Lita the most about her were her eyes. They were large, round, and the color of a summer sky. They had also shown with an innocence and sincerity that had struck straight into her heart.

Before she had known what was happening, she had found herself drawn into Serena's social circle. The perky blonde had introduced her to Amy and Raye, and then to Darien, Andrew, Asanuma, and Kobyashi. By the time her first week at Azabu had finish, she had found herself falling into the routine of group lunches and hanging out at the arcade after school. When Mina had shown up a few weeks later, she had watched in amazement as the cycle repeated itself.

During a late night junk food binge with the girls, she had spilled all the details of her lonely life. She told them how her parents had died in a plane crash a few years before while flying back from a chef's seminar in Paris. A distant cousin had been made her guardian, but since he didn't want to be saddled with an orphaned relative he had allowed her to remain in her family's apartment and had hired a caretaker to look after her. When she had turned sixteen she had told her guardian that she was old enough to look after herself. He had agreed as long as she stayed in school and completed her education. Luckily her parents had left her a tidy inheritance, so her apartment and other bills were paid for and she was given a generous living allowance every month.

Serena had predictably shed a fountain of tears for the pain and sorrow her friend had gone through. Then she had thrown her arms around Lita's neck and hugged her fiercely, making her promise that she would never get into a fight in school again so that they would never be separated. Lita had hugged her back and agreed wholeheartedly.

So it was that promise that kept her from storming into that locker room and mopping the floor with those spiteful bitches. She wanted to, badly, but she would not break her promise to Serena like that. Those girls just better hope that she never came across them alone in a dark alley. If she did she would give them the beating they deserved.

She hissed a painful breath as another electrifying jolt slammed into her body. She had always been a magnet for static electricity, but this was going a little overboard. She heard a crackling sound and looked down, shocked to see bright arcs of snapping electrical energy dancing at her fingertips. She leaned against the wall and held her hands in front of her, staring at them as if they belonged to someone else. What the hell was going on?"

"I'm going to go hunt down Mr. Stanton and see if he could use a little company for the evening," a voice said from inside the locker room.

"I wish everyone would quit talking about him," Lita growled as a vision of the sinfully good-looking man popped up in her head. She was tired of hearing about him. She was extremely grateful now that she had refused to dance with him. What kind of teacher went around asking students if they wanted to dance? He must be a major pervert.

Her head suddenly swam dizzily as the picture in her mind seemed to morph and change. Max's dark suit melted away to be replaced by a gray uniform of some type that appeared to be scorched and blood spattered in several places. His dark chestnut hair became disheveled and his slate blue eyes were cold.

"Stupid princess of Jupiter!" he sneered. "Did you honestly think that you would be able to beat me?"

She saw herself in a bloody sailor suit with a short green skirt. She clutched a gaping wound in her abdomen as it poured blood over her fingers. "I'm not dead yet!" she spat, sending out a fine spray of blood and saliva to hit him in the face.

He backed up a few steps and wiped an arm across his face. He glared at her as he leveled his sword in her direction. "You will be soon. Come on and give me your worst, Jupiter!"

An antenna extended up from the tiara on her forehead as lightening shot down to surround her. She ran forward and threw her arms around him, gasping in pain as his blade cut through her side.

She looked down into his shocked eyes before pressing her blood coated lips to his and whispering, "I will always love you, my dear general."

She called the lightening into their bodies, and just as she felt the darkness that was coming to claim her she heard a heartbroken scream, "Endymion!" She fell to the ground, still wrapped tightly around the man she held. Tears streaked down her blackened cheeks as she felt the last breath expel heavily from his body. The burning ache in her heart intensified a few moments later, and she knew that her beloved princess had died as well.

"Wait for me, Nephrite, Serenity. I will see you soon in the next world," she murmured weakly. Her eyes fell shut as the darkness descended.

Lita's head jerked up, her green eyes wide as a jumble of memories bombarded her brain. She remembered the moon. She remembered her princess and her sister scouts. And she remembered him.

"Nephrite!" she ground out. She had heard the recent stories on the news about the mysterious attacks that had been taking place around town and the unknown heroes that had been coming to the rescue. So far Sailor Moon was the one that had been receiving the most attention. Mercury had been briefly mentioned after the attack at the cram school earlier in the week and a few of the hijacked bus victims that had been semi conscious had mentioned seeing three scouts. Mars was the logical choice for the third since the attack had taken place right outside the shrine where Raye lived.

She pushed away from the wall. A hundred questions were burning inside her, and she wanted answers. She knew Mercury was awake and was pretty sure Mars was as well. She wasn't sure about Venus, but she couldn't imagine the leader of the scouts not being aware of what was going on. The big question that bothered her the most was why was Serena, who she now recognized as being her princess, fighting against this enemy as Sailor Moon? She was meant to be protected, not be on the front line battling youma.

And Darien Shields, aka Endymion, what did he know about all of this? She would like to have five minutes alone with that guy so that she could beat him to a bloody pulp. The prince of Earth that she had known in the past would never have allowed Serenity to be placed in any danger. They may have argued from time to time, but he had been fiercely protective of the moon princess.

She had to go hunt down her friends and find out what was going on before all of this drove her insane. And for good measure she needed to run Nephrite out of there. She had no idea what he was doing lurking around a high school dance, but considering he had been a brainwashed murderer the last time she'd seen him she figured he couldn't be up to anything good.

She had only taken a few steps when a loud boom came from inside the building and the ground shook. Then the sounds of hundreds of panicked teenagers screaming filled the night air.

"Shit! I knew he was up to something!" she exclaimed. She tried to call upon her transformation powers, but without her henshin rod there was no way for her to change into Sailor Jupiter. She was stuck in her civilian form without it.

"Lita!" she heard a voice call, and she turned to see two cats, one black and one white, running toward her.

"Luna, Artemis!" she cried. "What the hell is going on?"

The felines skidded to a stop in front of her, panting for breath.

"Thank the goddess!" Luna choked out. "I had a feeling that you had awoken, and I prayed that it was true. Here, this is yours." She jumped into the air and there was a glittery poof. A small, green, pen looking device hit the ground.

Lita snatched it up quickly. She held it up, ready to call out her transformation, but was cut off by Luna's shrill voice. "Wait! We have to tell you something first. Don't say anything to Serena or Darien about the past. They don't have their memories back yet. The other scouts have awakened, but Venus has not made her presence known. She is acting as a decoy for the princess until we find the Silver Crystal and restore Princess Serenity to her proper place. We'll explain everything later, but for now keep your knowledge of the past to yourself."

Lita's jaw clenched. Things sounded like they might be worse than she originally thought. "Okay, I won't say anything yet, but somebody better start talking when this is over. Just tell me one thing, is it Beryl again?"

Both cats nodded and Lita let out a stream of curses. "That's just great! I kind of thought so when I figured out that the guy that asked me to dance earlier was Nephrite."

Luna's cinnamon colored eyes went impossibly wide and Artemis shook his head grumbling, "So he's here too? I'm afraid our suspicions were correct, Luna."

Lita gripped her henshin rod close to her chest. "What suspicions? Are you saying that they were all resurrected with Beryl?"

"Up until now we have only seen Jadeite," Luna said on a sigh. "But if Nephrite has appeared as well, then it's safe to assume that Kunzite and Zoicite are slinking around somewhere as well."

"We'll take care of them when they decide to show their traitorous faces," Lita growled. "For now I'll settle for kicking Nephrite's ass." She held her wand up and cried, "Jupiter Power!"

* * *

"Are you having fun?" Melvin whispered into the ear of the girl with her head on his shoulder as they spun slowly in time to the music.

Molly raised her head to look at him with shining cobalt blue eyes and nodded. "I'm having a great time. Of course I always have a great time when I'm with you."

He grinned at her, brown eyes twinkling mischievously behind his glasses. "Who said nerds couldn't show a girl a good time?"

Molly slid one of the hands she had around his neck up and pulled playfully on a piece of his shaggy brown hair. "I've told you before, you're not a nerd! You are quiet and studious. Just because you get good grades doesn't make you a nerd. You're way too good looking to fall into the nerd category."

He lifted his chin and preened a little. "You think I'm good looking?"

She giggled. "You know I do. Of course there was a time that I could never imagine that I would have to look up to talk to you, especially when I am wearing heels."

"Thank goodness for growth spurts," he sighed reverently. "I think the time I've been spending in the gym has started paying off too."

Molly slid her hands down his shoulders to his arms, feeling the lean muscles beneath his tuxedo jacket and shirt. "You won't hear any complaints out of me. You're ripped."

He chuckled quietly. "And you're biased."

She shrugged. "Maybe I am. But I would still love you even if you were still short and wore thick glasses."

Melvin glanced around quickly to make sure that no teachers were watching before he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips just as the last notes of the song played. He pulled back with a smile. "Are you thirsty?"

She nodded and he took her by the hand to lead her off the dance floor. He saw her to a seat and then left to weave his way through the crowd toward the refreshment table.

Molly bent over to remove her high-heeled shoes and rub her aching feet. She adored the strappy black heels and loved the way they looked with her dress, but they were killing her. She was sure that she would pay for wearing them the next day, and probably a couple of days after that, but it was worth it.

She felt someone come to stand beside her, and then a deep voice asked, "Are you having a good time tonight, Molly?"

She looked up in surprise and then smiled at her substitute science teacher. "Yes I am, Mr. Stanton, thank you. And how about you? I would imagine that you would have better things to do on a Saturday night than to chaperone a high school dance."

He grinned good-naturedly. "I don't mind it. Everyone seems so happy and…energetic."

She felt a trickle of unease at the way that he said that last word. And when he turned his gleaming and calculating eyes on her, she jumped up quickly from her seat and began babbling. "Well it was nice talking to you, but I really need to go find my boyfriend. We have some friends of ours that we haven't managed to track down yet. Good night, Mr. Stanton."

She turned to walk away, wanting to get away from the creepy teacher and find Melvin. But a cold, hard hand locked around her arm like a vice. She opened her mouth to scream, but her throat suddenly felt paralyzed and her voice refused to work. She was spun back around and yanked into a pair of harsh, unyielding arms.

She felt hot breath against her ear as he rasped to her, "I don't think so, pretty Molly. You have something that I want, and I'm going to get it."

She desperately tried to pull away from him, but it was if every muscle in her body had locked up and frozen her in place. She felt fingers under her chin, forcing her head up. And when wide, panicked eyes met his, everything faded away into darkness.

Nephrite smirked as he gathered the unconscious girl close to him. It was time to get this party started.

* * *

"Do you have any idea where Lita wandered off to?" Mina asked Amy after she thanked Andrew politely for the dance and rejoined her friend. She was a little starry eyed from her encounter with her crush, but concern shown in her cornflower blue gaze as well.

Amy shook her head. "No. She wasn't here when I got back. I guess she either found a dance partner, went to get a drink, or went to the restroom. I'm sure she'll be back soon."

Mina chewed on her bottom lip. "I sure hope so. I wish Serena and Darien would come back too. I would feel better if we were all together."

"Is something wrong?" Amy asked quickly, opening her handbag. "I could try to find a private place and run a scan."

Mina waved a hand at her. "No! Don't pull the Mercury computer out here. It isn't worth the risk. I thought I felt something a minute ago, but I'm probably just being paranoid."

"I don't think you are," Raye said as she joined them. "I definitely felt a sweep of negative energy a few minutes ago. It was almost like it was scanning auras. I tried to pinpoint it, but it disappeared before I could."

"I think we need to find the others," Mina insisted quietly. "I think the Dark Kingdom is planning something."

They all nodded in agreement, but before they could move three loud explosions went off together and chunks of debris fell from the ceiling to block all of the possible exits. Screams erupted all around as the lights cut off, plunging the gym into total darkness. They turned back on a moment later, along with a spotlight that highlighted the man standing on the makeshift stage where the crowning of the holiday king and queen was supposed to take place later in the evening.

"Nephrite!" Mina hissed as she took in the sight of the tall general with his long chestnut hair and cold blue eyes. In his arms he held the body of an unconscious teenage girl that she recognized as being Serena's friend, Molly.

Behind her she heard Amy and Raye talking and knew that they were calling Serena on the communicator. They may not like the idea of their princess fighting, but in this case they didn't have a choice. They were trapped with nowhere to go and no place to transform, not that she would anyway. She needed to keep her cover as the moon princess for just a while longer. She was suddenly grateful that Artemis had taught her how to mask her aura so that she wouldn't show up as Sailor Venus. If they found out who she really was that would put Serena at risk if the Dark Kingdom began suspecting her of being the moon princess, and her identity needed to be kept a secret until the Silver Crystal was found.

"Serena, please be safe," she prayed as Nephrite began speaking.

"I'm sorry to interrupt such a joyous occasion, but I'm afraid I need your energy," Nephrite spoke calmly. "Now be good and give it up quietly so that the negaverse will rise and take over the world."

The old fashioned disco ball that the decorating crew had erected over the dance floor exploded to reveal a dark crystal that began sucking up everyone's energy. As Mina fell to her knees she tried to reach for her henshin rod, not caring if her cover was blown. At the same time Amy and Raye both reached for theirs, only to fall helplessly to the floor as their energy was zapped.

'_It's all up to you, Serena,' _she thought as she fell in a boneless heap on the floor. She hated to leave her princess without backup in a case like this, but her energy was being drained at an astronomical rate, and there was nothing that she could do.

* * *

"Damn it!" Sailor Moon growled in frustration as she pushed against the gym doors for the fifth time and was still unable to budge them. She placed her palms against the unforgiving metal and put her entire unsubstantial body weight into trying to shove her way into the gym. The screams that she had been hearing had dwindled into nothing but an occasional muted moan, and it frightened her.

A second pair of white-gloved hands appeared next to hers and began pushing as well. She didn't have to look to see who it was, she could feel his much larger presence wrap around her like a cloak. Part of her wanted to shriek at him to go away, but a larger part of her was secretly thrilled that he was still coming to her aid despite the fact that she had walked out on him only a few minutes before.

"Something's blocking the door. We aren't going to be able to get in that way," Tuxedo Mask grumbled as he gave up his efforts and stepped back.

Sailor Moon gave up as well and glanced quickly at him, grateful that his eyes were hidden behind the opaqueness of his mask. "What are we going to do? We have to find a way to get in there. I could try to blast the door open," she reached for her tiara.

She flinched a little as his gloved hand grabbed hers, and his mouth tightened into a thin, straight line at her reaction. "No, don't do that. We don't know what's on the other side of that door. There could be people close by and they could be hurt by flying debris if you blow that door open."

"Oh! You're right," she said softly, trying to remove her hand from his only to find it held tightly. She tried pulling gently, but he refused to let go.

He turned and walked away, pulling her behind him. "Come on, we'll find another way in."

"Okay," she agreed. "But could you let go of my hand, please? I can follow you on my own."

He stopped and she ran into his back. He did let go of her hand, but he turned to look at her as she grumbled and rubbed her freshly banged up nose. He looked severely put out.

"You never had a problem with me taking your hand before," he accused.

She stuttered in reply, "We…well, tha…that was before."

He snorted derisively. "Before what? Before you found out that the guy that you had trusted to watch your back during a fight was also your worst enemy? I'm so sorry to disappoint you!"

He ripped the mask away from his eyes and shoved his face close to hers, his sapphire eyes snapping with irritation and anger. "This is who I am, Serena! I'm sorry that I'm not some random stranger that you've never met, but things haven't changed. We still have a battle to fight and I'm still your partner whether you like it or not."

She recoiled a little from his raging emotions, and then her own agitation kicked in. "Get over yourself, Darien," she snapped with a glare. "I know that whatever happens in our personal life has no bearing on what goes on when we are taking care of business. And you're not my worst enemy, you big, dumb, stupid jerk! I thought I'd made it clear to you that you're my best enemy. There's a big difference!"

A grin spread across his face. "Right…best enemy. You know, some people may use the word friend instead."

Her lips twitched. "Don't push your luck! Now let's find a way into the gym and see what's going on."

His grin widened as she grabbed his hand this time and began dragging him behind her. He replaced his mask. "Lead on, my lady."

"Weirdo!" she muttered. "I'm not your anything."

'_Not yet, but you will be,' _he thought smugly to himself. _'I haven't given up on you yet, Serena. You can try to deny it if you want to, but you responded to that kiss and liked it. I know you have feelings for me, even if you don't want to admit it. But I can wait.'_

She led him outside and to the side entrance of the gym. They both pushed on the doors, but once again they were met with resistance.

"What are we going to do?" she wondered out loud. "I'd be willing to bet my brother's Xbox that the doors on the other side are blocked as well."

Tuxedo Mask looked around, and then he looked up. An idea began forming in his head. "Let's go up there," he said, pointing to the roof.

"What good is that going to do?" she demanded sharply.

He rolled his eyes. "There are skylights on the roof. We'll be able to look in and see what's going on and possibly be able to get in through there if we have to."

"Oh," she grumbled, feeling a little foolish for not figuring that out right away when he first mentioned the roof. "Right! Let's go!"

They both took a couple of running steps and pushed off hard from the ground, straight up. They soared through the air for a couple of seconds before landing softly, side by side, on the roof. But they both reeled back a step when they realized that they weren't alone.

A larger figure and two small ones were crouched in the darkness by the nearest skylight and were peeking down into the gym below. All three looked up at the muffled thumps of their landings.

"There you two are!" a relieved voice exclaimed. "I was beginning to worry when I couldn't find you anywhere in the crowd."

"Luna? What's going on?" Sailor Moon asked, hurrying toward them. She pulled up short when she got a good look at the person with the two felines. "Lita! You're a sailor scout too?"

Her auburn haired friend grinned and nodded. "Sailor Jupiter, at your service."

Sailor Moon groaned and began rubbing her temples. "All of my friends are turning into sailor scouts around me. What next? Is Mina going to become one too? And I guess it's only a matter of time before Andrew, Asanuma, and Kobyashi start running around in tuxedoes and throwing roses like him." She gestured emphatically toward Tuxedo Mask.

Jupiter smirked. "I don't think so. By the way, Shields, that's a nice look on you."

He gaped at her. "You know who I am?" He glared at Luna. "I guess you went and told everybody, didn't you?"

"She didn't tell me," Sailor Moon grumbled. "I had to find out the hard way."

Jupiter laughed. "Luna didn't have to tell me. It's pretty obvious just by looking at him. I can't believe you didn't figure it out right away."

Sailor Moon sighed. "I had my suspicions for a while, but then I went into denial. Anyway, what's happening down there?"

Jupiter's expression turned serious. "We've got one dark kingdom general and he's using some kind of a dark crystal to suck up everyone's energy. So far there's no youma, but I'm sure he'll summon some in a heartbeat if we interfere. Amy and Raye are trapped with the rest, so we can't expect any help from them. And he's holding a hostage."

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask both leaned over the skylight to get their first look at the situation.

Sailor Moon gasped. "That's not Jadeite! And he's got Molly!"

"Nephrite!" Tuxedo Mask ground out between clenched teeth as he balled his fists at his side.

Everyone's head snapped toward him. "You recognize him?" Artemis asked quietly.

His brow furrowed in concentration. "Yeah, but I don't know why. I'm pretty sure I've never seen the guy before in my life, but he seems familiar somehow. It's the same feeling I got when I saw Jadeite, almost like I know them from somewhere."

Jupiter and the two cats shared a significant look. Perhaps Endymion's memories weren't as deeply buried as they had thought. They had believed that neither Serenity nor Endymion's memories would resurface until the Silver Crystal had been recovered. But if the way he was glaring at his former general was any indication, it meant that the memories of his past life were bubbling just underneath the surface. That could be both good and bad.

It could be good because everyone knew that Endymion was obsessively protective of Serenity, almost to the point where others could question his sanity. That would definitely help ensure Serena's safety, but it could also put her at risk as well. Beryl had been overly infatuated with the earth prince in the past. If she ever discovered that Darien was Endymion's reincarnation, it wouldn't take her long to figure out that Serena was Serenity. And that was what they were trying to prevent from happening until the Silver Crystal had been restored to its full power.

That was an issue they would have to address later. For now they needed to stop Nephrite and free his victims before somebody was seriously hurt, or worse, killed.

Jupiter eyed the locks on the skylight. "I think I can handle those. Everybody, step back."

Tuxedo Mask didn't budge, although Sailor Moon snatched up both of the cats and retreated several paces. He stared down the Amazonian scout. "I think something a little more subtle than you blasting a hole in the roof would be appropriate for our entrance."

He flicked his wrist and a steel tipped red rose appeared in his hand. He took careful aim and launched the rose at the locks. They shattered quietly as it skimmed over them.

Jupiter smirked. "Understated, but effective. Now lets go kick some dark kingdom ass!"

Tuxedo Mask pulled the skylight open before dropping through the opening. Sailor Moon shot a curious glance at Artemis as she handed him to Jupiter. "I can't believe you hid the fact that you could talk like Luna from me all this time, but I guess I'm not really all that surprised. I've kind of come to expect the unexpected lately. I'll want the full story later, but first I want to save my friends and everyone else."

She jumped through the opening holding Luna securely. She sat the feline down on the floor gently as Jupiter landed beside her and did the same with Artemis. Tuxedo Mask wasn't far away, and he was glaring daggers at the general.

Nephrite turned slowly toward them, his eyes widening just a fraction when he took in Sailor Jupiter's tall, seething form, but he quickly covered it with a smirk. "Well, well, Lady Jupiter, this is a bit of a surprise. And you two must be Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Jadeite has told me so much about you."

"Funny, he never mentioned you to us," Sailor Moon replied, trying to sound firm despite her jumping nerves. Jadeite had scared her with his cold, evil persona, but this guy was ten times more intimidating. He stood a few inches taller than even Tuxedo Mask's height of 6'2" and was almost twice as broad as the masked hero. There was a lethal air about him that chilled her to her bones. This man was a killer, and he wouldn't think twice about it. He probably ate shrimps like her for breakfast.

Something that could have almost passed as humor sparkled in his eyes. "Please forgive my rude manners. I am Nephrite, second in command of Queen Beryl's generals and her loyal subject."

"Puh-leeeeze!" Jupiter drawled with a roll of her eyes. "All you are is a cowardly, backstabbing turncoat! It's because of you that the Silver Millennium was destroyed. If you and the others hadn't jumped ship and joined Beryl, none of us would have died and Queen Serenity would have been able to take down the Dark Kingdom with the Silver Crystal."

Sailor Moon shuffled over to Tuxedo Mask's side and whispered. "Do you get the feeling that Lita knows something we don't?"

He nodded in agreement. From the way she was talking, it was pretty safe to assume that Sailor Jupiter definitely recalled some memories of her past life. Her words struck a chord deep inside him and a fleeting memory of the same man before him, laughing and smiling, flitted across his mind, but faded just as quickly before he could make anything out of it.

Nephrite chuckled darkly. "Still just as feisty as ever I see, Jupiter. I couldn't help but notice that Mars and Mercury are here as well." He waved a hand in the direction where Raye and Amy lay unconscious on the floor. "It got me to wondering. With so many scouts together in one place, does this mean that Princess Serenity is nearby? Queen Beryl is most interested in having a little chat with her."

Jupiter's hands balled into fists and lightening began to crackle around her. "Even if she was, I wouldn't tell you. You'll never lay a hand on my princess, not while I've got breath in my body!"

"Tut, tut, you're always the protector, aren't you?" he admonished her sardonically. "Surely you can see how futile your efforts are. What hope could you possibly have that one, insignificant little princess would be able to stand up against the might of the Dark Kingdom? I have bled all of these pathetic people almost completely of their energy, your fellow scouts included. And as soon as I have taken this girl's energy I will have a nice gift to present to Queen Beryl." His arms tightened around Molly.

Sailor Moon lunged forward. "No! Let her go!" She fought against Tuxedo Mask as he grabbed her and held her tightly against him. "Let me go, Dar…Tuxedo Mask! I won't let him hurt her!"

"Calm down, Serena!" Tuxedo Mask whispered calmly to her. "You're not going to do Molly or anyone else any good if you go charging after him recklessly. All you'll do is get yourself hurt."

Nephrite's eyes glinted as he took in the struggling girl. "Normally I would love to challenge you, Sailor Moon. But as you can see I have other business to attend to right now. But if it's a fight you want, I'll be happy to accommodate you. Celestina! Polaris!"

There was a loud crack, and then two buxom youma were knelt before him. They had identical faces and features, but one had long white hair and was dressed in a white leather corset and matching miniskirt while the other had hair as dark as pitch and wore the same outfit in the blackest of black.

"How may we serve you, Lord Nephrite?" they asked together.

"Keep these nuisances occupied while I finish up here," he ordered, nodding toward Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Sailor Jupiter.

"Of course, my lord," the opposite twins answered before blurring into motion so quickly that they practically disappeared.

Thanks to his elevated sense of hearing, Tuxedo Mask heard a low hissing sound and jumped with Sailor Moon in his arms only seconds before a blast of dark energy hit the spot they had been standing. He landed on one of the rafters and lowered Sailor Moon to her feet as Jupiter lit beside them after dodging a similar attack.

"I'll take care of the bimbos. You two find a way to shatter that crystal," Jupiter said, pointing at the dark crystal that was now eye level with them. "I bet if we break it everyone's energy will be returned."

"But what about Molly?" Sailor Moon cried hysterically. "We can't leave her with him!"

"We'll get to her," Tuxedo Mask soothed her. "But first we have to get rid of Nephrite's pit bulls. While Lita's taking care of them maybe we can help everyone else."

The two youma appeared before them, floating in mid air. "You're not going to spend all night hiding up here in the dark, are you? That's no fun."

"I'll show you fun!" Jupiter snarled, flinging out a hand and sending bolts of lightning flying from her fingers toward them.

They both shrieked as her attack singed the ends of the white haired one's hair and the hem of the dark haired one's already almost nonexistent skirt. Their eyes flared red and they both took off after Jupiter as she leapt away.

"I hope she's careful," Sailor Moon muttered as she watched her friend lead the youma away.

"She'll be fine," Tuxedo Mask told her. "Now let's see what we can do about pissing Nephrite off and getting everyone their energy back." He launched one of his deadly roses at the crystal, but it bounced harmlessly off a barrier of dark energy that surrounded it.

"Let me try," Sailor Moon said, taking off her tiara and charging it up before throwing it at the crystal with all her might. It recoiled back with a snap and she barely caught it with her fingertips as it flew back toward her.

"Well that didn't work," she grumbled as she replaced the tiara on her brow. "What do we do now?"

"I'm thinking!" Tuxedo Mask snapped harsher than he intended.

Sailor Moon flinched as though she had been struck. "Well excuse me! I figure that since you're the know it all with the big brain and genius IQ you might have an idea about what to do next. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother talking to you!"

He drew back at her words. Even though he had known for a few days that Serena was Sailor Moon, his brain had still been classifying them as two separate people. But hearing Serena's voice spilling hurt-filled words out of Sailor Moon's mouth brought the reality slamming home.

"I'm sorry, Serena," he said softly. "I had no right to snap at you like that. The truth is I honestly don't have a clue how to break through that barrier."

She looked up at him as she heard the sincerity in his words. "It's okay. I understand."

Then she jumped as noise exploded beneath them. The dark youma let out a howl as one of Jupiter's attacks managed to destroy her partner, and Molly came to with a scream of agony as Nephrite held her tightly against him and shimmering waves of energy began rolling off of her to be collected in a second, smaller crystal that the general held in one palm.

Tears burned Sailor Moon's eyes. "I've got to do something!"

The area around her right hip suddenly grew very warm, and she slipped her hand into the carefully concealed pocket of her skirt to pull out the wand Luna had given to her. The golden crescent moon at the top glowed innocently, but she felt power humming through her hands as she wrapped her fingers around the handle.

"That's weird. It's never done that before," she muttered in confusion.

Tuxedo Mask eyed it skeptically. The same vision that he had the last time he saw her with that wand of the older woman with silver hair in the same style as Serena's floated through his mind. "Have you even tried that thing out yet?"

She shook her head. "No. I have no idea what it does or how to use it. Luna just gave it to me and said that when the time came I would know what to do."

"So much for that idea," he grumbled sarcastically, scanning the floor below them. "And it seems like your furry little companion decided to make a run for the hills, Meatball Head."

She glared at him. "You're being a jerk again."

Just then the wand flared brighter for a moment, and Sailor Moon's eyes went wide as a sudden understanding filled her. "I do know what to do. I just don't know if it will work. That barrier deflected your rose and my tiara easily enough."

"Just watch out where you point it," Tuxedo Mask actually whimpered as she turned toward him with the wand in her hands. "I've got a sneaking suspicion that that thing packs quite a punch."

"Oh please!" Sailor Moon snorted as she pointed it at the black crystal that had sucked up everyone's energy. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to scout power. I don't go around shooting ice bubbles, or fire…" she paused as another one of Jupiter's sizzling attacks took out the second youma, "or lightning like the others. All I got stuck with was a stinking tiara."

No sooner had the words come out of her mouth than a beam of white-hot light shot from the crescent moon and slammed into the crystal, shattering it into a million dust fine particles. Clouds of vaporous energy began floating down and being absorbed by the bodies.

Nephrite snarled and threw Molly aside. He hadn't even half drained the girl yet, but he was filled with a murderous rage. He could handle the loss of two youma, but to lose all of that energy…the moon brat was going to pay for that.

"You little bitch!" he growled, glaring up to where Sailor Moon stood next to Tuxedo Mask, both of them with matching expressions of shock on their faces. "You won't live long enough to regret that." Queen Beryl would be beyond pissed that he was coming back to her empty handed. But if he could deliver her the death of the meddlesome moon scout, that would go a long way in redeeming him.

He took a threatening step forward, relishing in the sight of the tiny scout cringing back into Tuxedo Mask's embrace as the masked hero pulled her against him protectively. Maybe he would get lucky and be able to take out both of the troublemakers. He would be welcomed back to the Dark Kingdom as a hero if he could pull that off.

He jumped back as a surge of lightning flew past his face. He leveled his cold gaze on Jupiter as she stepped into his path. "Get out of the way, Jupiter. I seem to remember that the last time we fought didn't end so well for you."

Sailor Jupiter smirked. "It didn't go so great for you either. But you've got another thing coming if you think I'm just going to stand by and let you go after my friend. The only way you're going to get to Sailor Moon is if you go through me first, buddy! So if you want to go another round with me, then bring it on big boy! I'm ready for you!"

A twisted grin curved his lips. "I would like nothing better."

There was a rush of heat, followed by a blast of icy coldness as Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury appeared on the scene.

Jupiter grinned at them. "I wondered when you two were going to quit sleeping on the job."

Mars returned the grin with one of her own. "You're one to talk. We were starting to think that you were never going to wake up." Then she leaned closer to whisper. "I'm just glad that Amy and I recovered faster than everyone else once the energy was released. We snuck into the locker room when no one was looking and transformed."

Jupiter looked around expectantly. "But what about Ven…"

Mars slapped a hand over her mouth and then looked pointedly over to where Mina was still lying on the floor. They both saw a china blue eye wink at them from under a fringe of blonde bangs before it closed again.

"We'll talk later," Mercury promised. "But how did you break that crystal?"

"It wasn't me. It was all her doing," she pointed up to Sailor Moon, who smiled in relief and jumped down to join her friends, followed closely by Tuxedo Mask.

Nephrite was seething in anger. One sailor scout alone he could handle, but there was no way he could take on four of them and Tuxedo Mask. "You've won this round sailor scouts, but I'll be back. You haven't seen the last of me."

"Famous last words," Jupiter snorted. "That sounded just like a line out of a poorly made, low budget movie."

"I'm just glad that everyone's okay," Sailor Moon cheered, beaming a smile at all of them.

"We should probably get out of here," Mercury told them as the people around them began moaning and stirring. They all jumped up quickly through the skylight to the roof.

Sailor Moon's knees suddenly felt wobbly, and she would have collapsed if Tuxedo Mask hadn't put a supporting arm around her waist. She hated to admit it, but whatever that blast from the wand had been had made her feel a little weak.

"You should probably go home and get some rest, Serena," Mars said in concern. "You look completely wiped out."

Sailor Moon shook her head. "No. As much as I want to go home and have a date with Ben & Jerry, I want to make sure that everyone's okay first."

"We've got it under control," Mercury insisted. "Everyone should be awake soon, and I'm sure the principal will send everyone home after that. Raye and I should definitely stay because we were in the gym when the attack happened and it may seem suspicious if we suddenly disappear. But a lot of people know that you weren't around, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to slip away."

Sailor Moon chewed her bottom lip uncertainly. "I don't know…"

"Enough of this debating!" Jupiter exclaimed. "Shields! Take the girl home already! She looks ready to drop any second. And I don't want to hear any more arguments out of you, missy! Go home and curl up with a pint of ice cream and a good movie. And I don't want to see hide nor hair out of you until at least noon tomorrow! Is that understood? I don't care if the whole city is falling down around us, you keep your butt at home and in bed!"

"Ye…yes ma'am," Sailor Moon stammered weakly under the force of her friend's stern glare. She muttered a hasty goodnight to the others after promising to meet them at the arcade for lunch the next day. And then she felt cold air rushing past her as Tuxedo Mask jumped lightly from the roof to the ground with her still in his arms.

He sat her gently an her feet and said softly, "You should probably go ahead and detransform."

She nodded and pressed a hand to the broach on her bow. After the light show and dance of ribbons ended, she stood there in her blue and silver dress once more.

Darien, who had also changed back into his civilian form, stood transfixed, staring at her in wonder.

She glanced nervously at him. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I've just never seen you with your hair down before. It's really long."

She groaned. "Shoot! I knew I was forgetting something." She rummaged in her small bag and pulled out a gaudy pink pen. "Luna Pen, fix my hair and make up exactly the way you had it earlier so mom won't get suspicious when I come in."

There was a glow of soft white light, and when it faded she had been transformed back into the elegantly coiffed girl that he had seen walk into the dance earlier in the evening. She looked absolutely stunning, but he found himself preferring her wholesome, natural look compared to this made up version of her.

"Nice trick," he commented with a grin.

"It comes in handy sometimes," she replied wearily. "You don't have to take me home, Darien. I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own."

"Yeah right!" he snorted, taking her arm and steering her toward the parking lot. "You look half dead, there's patchy ice everywhere, and you're wearing two inch heels when you have a hard enough time walking barefooted on a flat surface. That's a recipe for disaster."

She stuck her tongue out at him and muttered, "Jerk!" under her breath, but she allowed him to lead her to his red BMW and get her situated in the passenger seat. He rounded the car and got in behind the wheel, starting the engine and turning the heat on full blast when he saw her shiver.

"It'll warm up soon, just give it a minute," he told her.

She nodded and leaned her head back against the headrest, closing her eyes. He took a moment to drink in the sight of her, but he was concerned by her sudden tiredness and the lack of color in her pale face.

"That new attack took a lot out of you, didn't it?" he asked softly.

Her eyes fluttered open and she gave him a wane smile. "Yeah, a little. It was like it came from inside of me. I felt really warm right here," she placed a slim hand against her chest, "and then it was like whatever it was traveled down my arm and came out through the wand."

"You sure took that crystal down quick enough," he replied with a grin before turning thoughtful. "So what are you doing tomorrow after you meet with the girls?"

Her eyes turned wary. "I don't know. I don't have anything planned. We are on vacation after all. Why?"

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "No reason. I was just thinking that if you felt like it we could get back to your lessons. We've really slacked off this week with everything that's been going on, and don't take this the wrong way, you could still use the help."

She gaped at him for a moment. "You want to keep teaching me?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, yeah. Sailor Moon's lessons were always important to me, even when I didn't know who she was. But now that I know she's someone I know that makes them even more important."

She thought about it for a moment. The thought of spending hours alone with Darien was a little unnerving, but as long as she treated the sessions in a professional way she should be fine. "Okay. I agree to let you keep teaching me. But the moment you start acting like an ass I'm outta there."

He grinned and put the car in gear. "Fair enough. Now let's get you home so you can get some rest. And Serena, about earlier, when I kissed you, I…"

She held up a hand and cut him off. "Can we please not talk about that right now? I have so many things running through my head right now that it's hard to concentrate."

She had come up with her own reasons why he had kissed her, and none of them were happy. Pretty much it boiled down to her thinking that this was a simple case of one super hero developing a crush on another. Darien had never seemed romantically interested in her in the two years that she had already known him, but the moment he found out that she was Sailor Moon he hadn't wasted any time in kissing her.

That brought up another question. "How did you find out who I was, anyway? I don't remember ever saying anything to give it away."

The glow from the dashboard lights lit up his amused face. "No. You hid your identity well. Of course I had noticed the physical similarities between you and Sailor Moon, but your personalities were so much different. When you're Sailor Moon you show a serious side to yourself that I had never seen. I was suspicious for a while, but then I convinced myself that there was no way that you were the same person. But then I found this." He took one hand off the wheel and fished around in his jacket pocket until he pulled out a small piece of white fabric.

Serena gasped as she recognized it as being her missing handkerchief that she had been looking for. "I've been wondering where that thing was! But how did that tell you who I was?"

He smirked. "I saw you with it at the arcade last Sunday, and then Sailor Moon dropped the same handkerchief on the roof of the Crown after that supermarket attack. It was just too much of a coincidence that both of you were carrying around such a ridiculous handkerchief, so I started watching you closely and followed you to Amy's cram school when Mercury woke up. I saw you transform and knew my suspicions were correct."

She sighed as they pulled up in front of her house. "Wow! All the sneaking around I've been doing lately, and a silly handkerchief gave it away. That's crazy! But then again, most people aren't as maniacally observant as you are. You should really think about getting a hobby or something, Darien."

"Uh, uh, uh," he admonished her as he brought the car to a complete stop. "If I have to be nice to you, then you have to be nice to me. That's only fair."

Serena lifted her chin defiantly. "Fine! But I bet you'll be the one to break the truce first. You have a hard time controlling that mouth of yours."

His eyes twinkled at the challenge. "You're on! The loser has to treat the winner to the largest ice cream sundae that Andrew can make."

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. "Really? You didn't strike me as being much of an ice cream fan. All I ever see you get at the arcade is soda, coffee, and the occasional burger."

"There's a lot about me that you don't know," he quipped lightheartedly.

"So I'm beginning to see," Serena muttered as she looked out the window at her home. The lights shining in the windows gave it a warm, welcoming appearance. As she stared out, she saw the curtain on the living room window twitch. Noticing her father's car in the driveway, she knew it had to be him looking out. Her mother was probably wrestling him to the ground right now to keep him from storming out here to see who she was with.

She slowly unlatched her seatbelt. "I guess I better go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Call me if you need me," Darien called after her as she climbed out of the car and began walking up the front walk to her door. She was just about to step up on the front porch when she slipped on a patch of ice. She would have gone sprawling if she hadn't reacted quickly enough to grab the porch railing to hold herself up.

As she righted herself she looked over her shoulder back toward the car. She couldn't hear him, but she could see Darien almost doubled over with laughter. She ground her teeth tightly together and carefully climbed the two steps up to the porch with her back straight and her head held high. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he got under her skin.

As she opened the door she heard the sound of his car as he pulled away. She stepped into the entry hall and closed it firmly behind her before letting out a loud breath and leaning against it.

"And just who was that, young lady?" a slightly hysterical voice demanded.

She looked up to see her mother blocking the living room doorway and her father trying desperately to get by her. He was wild eyed and practically foaming at the mouth. "That better not have been a boy! You know that you aren't allowed to date until you at least finish college. Your mother said that Melvin gave you a ride to the dance, but that was not his car."

Serena huffed an irritated breath. "Chill out dad. There was an incident at the dance so it ended early. Darien offered to give me a ride home, that's all."

"Darien…as in Darien Shields, Andrew's friend?" Ken seemed to calm slightly. "Well at least it wasn't a total stranger. But Andrew was with you, right? You weren't riding around with that boy alone, were you?"

She crossed her fingers behind her back as she told a little white lie. "Of course he was with us, dad. Darien was giving him a ride home too, so don't blow a gasket."

Ilene nodded approval at her daughter's words, but she gave her a conspiratorial wink and smile that let her know that she knew that there had only been two of them in that car. Serena just hoped that her mother didn't ask her a million questions about it. She could be quite a drama queen when she wanted to be.

"What kind of incident stopped the dance?" her father cried, turning around and scrambling for his remote control to change the station on the TV to the news. Luckily nothing was being reported on the attack at the high school yet."

"It wasn't that big of a deal," Serena told them. "It was a monster attack of some kind, but I didn't see it. I was in the bathroom primping with the girls."

Ken shoved his hands through his hair. "You see, Ilene! This is exactly what I was talking about earlier. We can't even let our children go to a place where they should be safe. Maybe next semester we should start home schooling the kids. Or better yet, we could move out into the country near your mother where it's safer."

Serena was appalled by both ideas. "No way!"

Ilene patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry dear, I'll take care of it. Why don't you go on up and relax. You look tired." Then she turned to her husband. "Sit down and calm yourself, honey, and I'll go make us some nice chamomile tea."

Serena took advantage of the opportunity and sprinted for the stairs as fast as she could. This was definitely one night that she was ready to put behind her.

* * *

"IDIOTS!" the scream echoed throughout the chamber, causing the assembled youma to quake in terror. "Can neither one of you get anything right?"

Jadeite and Nephrite both ducked as a glass flew toward them and sailed over their heads to smash into a thousand pieces against a wall behind them.

Beryl spun on them, her eyes blazing with fury. "I am surrounded by incompetent fools! I gifted you, my most elite youma, with the bodies of some of the most powerful men on Earth. I was even able to keep most of the general's powers intact for you to use as well. All I asked in return was for you to gather energy, find and destroy one cursed little moon tramp, and bring her crystal and Prince Endymion to me, and you couldn't even do that!"

A few large rocks broke free from the walls to tumble to the ground as the enraged queen's voice continued to rise in pitch. The youma scattered to escape the falling stone.

"Please try to calm yourself, my queen," the platinum haired Kunzite spoke from beside the large, black, grotesquely ornate throne. "Getting yourself worked up like this won't solve our problems."

"Calm, hell, I want her dead!" Beryl screeched as she threw herself across her throne. "I want that little lunarian bitch's corpse in front of me so that I can spat on her and watch as her blood stains the floor red. And I want Endymion at my side when that time comes so that he knows that I am the only woman for him."

"It will happen, your majesty," Kunzite soothed her as he knelt next to her knee. "We may have run into some obstacles along the way, but the time will come when we will find your prince and that princess that stole him from you. You will have your revenge on her and will take her Silver Crystal. I promise you that."

Beryl's breath hitched as she felt his hand caressing her calf under the long purple skirt of her dress. Of all of her generals, Kunzite was the only one who could soothe the raging beast within her when it came to the surface. "Kunzite, come with me! The rest of you may leave. Jadeite, Nephrite, you two are confined to chambers until I can figure out what to do with you. Just count your blessings that I didn't decide to kill both of you on the spot. That is all." She stood and made her way over to the stairs that led down to Metallia's inner sanctum with Kunzite trailing behind her.

The youma rushed from the chamber at the dismissal, followed closely by Jadeite and Nephrite who were anxious to put some distance between them and their murderous queen.

Zoicite paused for a moment to glance over his shoulder at Kunzite's retreating back before snickering. The poor guy probably had a wild night ahead of him. He would be lucky to be able to walk by morning. He shook his head in sympathy before returning to his research.

Beryl led the way down the stairs holding the small orb of energy Nephrite had been able to bring back from that human girl. It wasn't a lot, but it was strong energy. Metallia would benefit a lot from it. She knelt before Metallia's essence and silently offered up the energy to her. She stayed in that kneeled position for several minutes before rising slowly to her feet.

"Kunzite," she said softly, not turning to face him. "You are on my side, right?"

"I am, my queen," he answered smoothly.

"And you would never betray me, right?" she questioned insistently.

He stiffened a little, but answered in the same even tone, "Of course not, your majesty."

She turned to him then, her eyes blazing with an emotion hotter than her anger had been only a short while before. She sauntered over to a nearby chaise lounge and lowered herself across it. "Then prove it to me."

Kunzite grinned mockingly. This was a game that he was used to playing. "If that's what you wish." He began stalking toward her.

Beryl bit back a moan. Kunzite was the only one of her generals that could make her feel like this. He had been Endymion's teacher in the art of combat, so his movements closely mirrored those of the earth prince she craved. She waved a careless hand and his long, light hair shortened and turned as black as the darkest midnight sky and his silver eyes darkened into a deep ocean blue. His gray uniform faded away to reveal a set of ornate black and silver armor with a long, sweeping, red lined cape. His shoulders and chest slimmed down some to a tapered waist. But when the spell was complete he was an exact physical duplicate of Prince Endymion.

She knew on the inside that he was just an imitation of the one she truly wanted. He was nothing more than a possessed body under an illusion spell, but the moment she looked into those mesmerizing eyes she fell into a world of fantasy where no one existed but her and her prince.

A feral smile twisted her lips. She could already imagine the feel of his body surging over hers as she arched beneath him, lost in the throes of passion that he would be able to invoke in her. Kunzite was very skilled as a lover. And if she contrived this much pleasure from an illusion, she could only imagine what heights her real prince would be able to lift her to once she had him in her arms.

Heat and lust flooded her body as she thought of that and opened her arms to him. "Come to me, Endymion. Come love me and make me believe that we will be successful in destroying that hateful girl. Tell me that you love only me and that you will never leave my side."

He laid himself carefully across her body and looked down into her reddish brown eyes before answering in Endymion's low, husky voice. "I love you, my dearest queen. There will never be any other woman for me but you." Then he claimed her lips in a searing kiss as he ran his hands over her. Neither one of them spoke again for several hours.

**A/N **So there we go. Another chapter bites the dust. I know I'll probably get some flak for that last scene between Beryl and Kunzite, but this is supposed to be a twist story and I didn't want it to be all sunshine and rainbows. Besides, I've always pictured Beryl to be one severely messed up chicky. I always thought the anime never portrayed her as being the deep, tortured person she was in the manga. And you all know that I am a huge supporter of scout/general pairings, but I don't feel like I'm messing with Kunzite and Mina too much since technically that's not Kunzite. Everyone that has read "What If" knows that Mina's true soul mate is alive and well. Kyle, Jake, Nick, and Zack are just sitting back and waiting patiently until it's time to launch the S season twist, "Stolen Hearts". Expect some more of Serena and Darien dancing around each other and their feelings, after all, their big romance doesn't start until the R season. But there will be a few dramatic moments between them. More twists and turns are coming up. Don't forget to drop me a review and tell me what you think. I'll see you all next update! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	10. The Reviving White Light

**A/N **A thousand and one humble apologies for the long wait for this update. I have been sooo extremely busy lately with this annoying little thing called life that I can hardly tell which way is up and which way is down, much less find time to sit down at my computer to work on my precious little stories. But I know that none of you want to listen to me moan and groan about my problems, so we'll just cut right to the chase. But first I have to give out my hugs to all of my amazing reviewers for their wonderful words of inspiration. BIG SUPER-SIZED HUGS TO:

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Thank you so much for the reviews everyone. They really mean a lot to me. Now I know you've all been waiting patiently for this chapter, so I'm going to shut up and let you get on with it and I'll see you again at the end.

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 10

The Reviving White Light

The fog was thick around them as she danced in his arms. It never parted or thinned out. Even when he twirled her gracefully it remained, hanging heavily in the air in spite of the way the long skirt of her white gown flared out when he spun her around.

His face was obscured by the mysterious vapor, making it impossible for her to see his features. But that didn't bother her for some reason. She felt safe and secure in his arms and she was perfectly content with that. She gave in willingly when he pulled her closer to him and even went so far as to sigh and rest her cheek against his chest as they twirled to the sound of phantom music that played from somewhere.

She felt something tickle her nose and turned her face into his chest to rub her nose lightly against the fabric of his tuxedo jacket. She felt his chest rumble, and then a deep, husky chuckle ruffled the hair by her ear.

"I love you," a velvet smooth voice whispered to her, making her smile and burrow even closer to him. She rubbed her nose again as the tickling sensation came back.

They stopped swaying to the music as he put his hands on her shoulders and set her back a step. "I mean it, Sere. I love you more than my own life. There's nothing that I wouldn't do for you. You believe me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," she replied breathlessly.

His fog-enshrouded face began to lower toward her and her eyes fluttered closed as her hands slid up his arms to wrap around his neck. She rose up on her tiptoes, anticipating the feel of his phantom lips on hers.

Her eyes popped open as that darn tickling started up again, and she watched in dismay as the dream world around her melted away. She tried desperately to hold on to her dream man, but he faded just like everything else…

Serena came awake slowly, blinking her eyes drowsily as her bedroom ceiling came into focus. Darn! That dream was getting good. Why did it have to end now?

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" a voice sang next to her ear.

She turned her head to find a pair of laughing blue eyes watching her from a face that was very similar to her own. "Mina?"

"The one and only!" the bubbly blonde shrilled, waving around the fuzzy pen that she had been using to tickle Serena's nose. "Your mom let me in and told me that it was okay to come wake you up."

Serena groaned and looked at the clock on her bedside table. "What the…Mina! It's barely nine o'clock on a Sunday morning and we're on vacation! Why are you waking me up this early? I was having the most wonderful dream and you ruined it!"

"Ooo," Mina drawled as she waggled her eyebrows. "It must have been one of _those _types of dreams for you to be so crabby."

"It was not, you hentai!" Serena denied hotly, but she felt her face heat up as the blood rushed to it. "It wasn't like that at all."

"Was there at least a guy in it?" Mina asked as she enthusiastically bounced on the side of the bed.

"Maybe," Serena muttered vaguely as she shoved her friend away so she could get up.

Stars sparkled in Mina's eyes. "Was he hot? What did he look like?"

Serena shook her head as she stood and stretched. "I don't know. I couldn't see his face." Then she sighed. "But he had the most amazing voice."

Mina bounced and clapped her hands together. "Sounds like somebody's in _loovvvee_!"

"I am not!" Serena said with a roll of her eyes. "It was just a dream, Mina. How can somebody fall in love with a dream? I don't even know who he was."

Mina wasn't dissuaded in the least. She spun around with a love struck expression on her face. "Maybe he's your dream prince, come to sweep you off your feet and carry you away into the sunset."

Serena eyed her friend cautiously. "Exactly how much caffeine have you had this morning? You're awfully energetic for someone that had the energy sucked out of her last night. You could barely string two words together when I called to check on you."

"I know!" Mina chirped. "It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for you, isn't?"

That was true, Serena thought. She felt heaps better than she had last night. She had been so tired when she had finished with her bath that she had pulled on her pajamas and had crawled immediately into bed, foregoing the ice cream binge and manga marathon that she had promised herself. She had been out like a light almost before her head had touched the pillow.

"So what are you doing here so early?" she asked as she went to her closet and began looking for something to wear. "I thought we were all supposed to meet up at the arcade for lunch."

"Pick out something warm to wear," Mina advised her as she came to lean against the wall next to the closet door. "The sky dropped like five inches of snow last night and it's freezing out there. And yes, I know we planned on lunch, but I have to meet with my agent today about doing a public appearance for the Sailor V game, so I won't be able to make it."

Serena paused while pulling a thick sweater from the rack. "Mina, why are you doing all of this Sailor V stuff again? I thought you said that Minako DeLune was retired for good. I know you don't care for that lifestyle anymore, so why are you putting yourself through this?"

A tight smile appeared on the girl's face. "This is the last time. They're ending the Sailor V franchise after this anyway, so I figured that it couldn't hurt to promote this one last thing before I put it all behind me. I'm only doing local things though. They wanted me to do a tour, but I told them no way. I'm finally enjoying a halfway normal life and going to school, and I don't want to give that up."

'_I also can't afford to leave town. This Dark Kingdom business could blow sky high at any minute, and you will need me here,' _she thought to herself. Of course she couldn't tell Serena that.

"So anyway," she said, putting a bright smile back on her face. "What was the deal with you and Darien last night? You two left and were gone for an awfully long time. Is there something going on between you two that I need to know about?"

Serena's cheeks turned scarlet and she stammered as she grabbed her sweater and a pair of jeans from the closet. "N…no! There's nothing going on between us. I still think he's the biggest loser jerk on the face of the planet!"

Mina clucked her tongue. "For shame, Serena! I can see right through that charade of yours. You may be able to fool everybody else, but not me. I know you're hot for him. I mean, who wouldn't be? The guy is definitely one seriously put together package. He gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'tall, dark, and handsome'."

Serena snorted as she yanked open a dresser drawer and began rooting around for some socks. "If you think the great Darien Shields is so wonderful, why don't you go after him yourself?"

Mina looked affronted. "Nah! He may be sinfully gorgeous, but he's not my type. You know I go for blondes. Besides, I would never try to take my best friend's man away from her."

"I told you, he's not mine," Serena ground out through gritted teeth.

"Not yet, but he will be," Mina said loftily as she sat back down on the side of the bed and patted the spot next to here. "Come have a seat and tell Auntie Mina everything."

Serena burst into laughter. "Now you're just weirding me out! There's really nothing to tell. We've been trying to get along better lately and he just wanted to talk to me. That's all."

Mina's bottom lip quivered. "That's it? No kissing? No touchy feely? Nothing?"

Serena took a deep breath. She sure wasn't about to tell her gossipy friend about the brief kiss she had shared with the black haired junior. If she did, her blonde friend would probably have it posted on everything from Facebook to the school's website within the hour. And that was the absolute last thing she wanted. "That's it. Sorry if you're disappointed."

"But Lita said he gave you a ride home last night," Mina insisted.

Serena smirked. "Lita also told me that you danced to two songs with Andrew last night. Are you saying something happened with him?"

Mina crossed her arms and pouted. "No. He was a perfect gentleman. He was polite the entire time and his hands never moved from my waist."

"So there you have it," Serena told her. "Just because I spent a few minutes alone with Darien doesn't mean that anything happened between us."

"But you are friends now, right?" Mina persisted.

"Not exactly," Serena hedged. "I prefer to think of us as more like friendly enemies."

"Well, it's a start," Mina moaned as she flopped back on the bed. "Now go get dressed. I thought that perhaps we could go get breakfast and then hit the mall for a while. I still need to buy gifts for my parents."

"All right, all right, I'm going," Serena said as she trudged to the bathroom, already bemoaning the fact that that she had gone to bed with her hair damp and it was going to take her forever to get it straightened out.

Mina waited until she heard the door close firmly before turning her head to look at the supposedly sleeping black cat on the foot of the bed. "What do you think, Luna?"

Cinnamon eyes blinked open. "She's in denial. She came in here last night muttering all kinds of things to herself, and I'm sure I heard the words 'kiss' and 'Darien' mixed in there somewhere."

Mina hugged herself gleefully. "That's what I thought."

* * *

Andrew looked up from where he was wiping the counter and grinned as he saw his best friend entering the arcade. He poured a cup of coffee and had it waiting when Darien slid onto his favorite stool at the very end.

"Thanks," Darien said as he pulled off his gloves and wrapped his hands around the hot mug. "It's like the Arctic out there."

"Tell me about it," the sandy haired blonde groaned. "I slept too late to catch a ride with my dad this morning so I had to walk here. I thought I was going to turn into an icicle. I can't wait until I've saved enough to buy a car."

"It won't help that much," Darien grumbled. "I let my car run for ten minutes before I took off and the heat barely made a dent in the cold."

Andrew's eyes widened. "You drove? But you barely live two blocks from here, and you're always complaining about the traffic and how it's quicker to walk."

Darien shrugged. "I've got some things to take care of this afternoon and didn't feel like freezing my ass off."

"Dude! We're on vacation! What could you possibly have to do? This is the time for us to just kick back and have fun," Andrew scolded him.

Darien took a sip of his coffee. "I just have some errands to run. It is the holiday season after all."

Andrew let out a snort of disbelief. "Yeah right! Like you care about the holidays. You'd spend Christmas holed up in that apartment of yours all alone if you weren't scared that my mother would come and drag you out by your hair to make you come to our place. Of course I'm surprised that she would invite you back after that little scene between you and Serena last year. Just count yourself lucky that Serena couldn't wail loud enough to break mom's china or there would have been hell to pay."

Darien chuckled as he thought back to Christmas Day the year before. The Tsukino's and the Furuhata's swapped up every year on who would host Christmas dinner, and last year had been Andrew's parent's turn. When Serena had walked in with her family nursing a cold and sporting a bright red nose he had been unable to stop himself. He made a joking comment about her resembling Rudolph and asked her how the other reindeer were doing. Her cheeks had turned the same color as her nose and her eyes had blazed furiously as she had tried to screech at him in a hoarse voice.

A mischievous look entered Andrew's hazel eyes as he watched the emotions flicker across his friend's face. "Sooo," he drawled slyly. "Are you going to be running your errands alone, or is someone going to be accompanying you?"

"Huh?" Darien muttered in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on!" Andrew cried in exasperation as he threw his towel down on the countertop. "Don't leave me in suspense here! You dragged Serena off at the dance last night and neither one of you came back. Then later Lita happily informed me that you gave her a ride home."

"So?" Darien returned nonchalantly.

"So what happened?" Andrew cried. "You two were alone together!"

"We were just talking," Darien insisted. "Nothing else happened."

Andrew looked almost ready to cry. "Nothing happened?"

"Nothing at all," Darien confirmed. "It was just a simple conversation."

'_Liar!" _his mind screamed at him. His lips still burned at the memory of hers pressing against his. It had definitely been the best few seconds of his life.

Andrew regarded him curiously and looked as if he would like to continue his interrogation, but at that moment the arcade doors opened again and a pink and white Eskimo walked in.

Serena swept back the hood of her heavy, pink coat and shook her long golden hair free as she unwound her white scarf from around her neck and the lower half of her face. Her cheeks and nose were a brilliant red from the frigid winter cold.

"Serena!" Andrew exclaimed in a scolding tone. "What are you doing out in this weather? You should be at home all nice and warm and cozy. It's entirely too cold for you to be out walking around. Get over here right this minute and let me make you some cocoa so you can thaw out."

"Th…th…thanks," she stammered through chattering teeth as she stumbled over to the counter, using her teeth to peel away her white gloves from her hands. She climbed up on the stool next to Darien and moaned as she wrapped her hands around the steaming mug that Andrew placed in front of her.

"Mmm…heaven! I can't believe how cold it's gotten out there. It's way colder now than it was last night," she said after she had taken a tentative sip of the hot beverage.

"Winter has definitely set in for good," Andrew replied. "Which is why I'm surprised to see you out and about today, Sere. You hate the cold."

She nodded. "I know. But Mina needed my help with some shopping this morning and I wanted to stop by and check on Molly."

Andrew wiped down the already spotless counter, his face filled with concern for his old friend. "How is she?"

Serena shrugged. "I think she'll be okay. She's still pretty out of it, but she's not too tired to keep Melvin on his toes. I felt kinda sorry for the poor guy. He hasn't left her side for a moment since the attack and he's been at her beck and call ever since. When I walked in he was feeding her breakfast in bed."

Darien snorted into his cup. "He was feeding her? That's just like a woman to take advantage of the situation. I'm not saying that she's not still feeling the effects of what happened to her last night, but I'm sure she's capable of lifting her arm to feed herself."

He sucked in a breath as Serena sent on elbow jabbing into his ribs. "That was such a sexist comment! You obviously don't know anything about relationships. Molly and Melvin have been together for a long time, but even Melvin wouldn't do anything that he doesn't want to. It's just that he loves her so much that there's nothing that he wouldn't do for her. He would crawl on his belly across hot, burning coals for her."

"Sorry," Darien grumbled as he pulled away from her and rubbed his side, counting himself lucky that the petite blonde was still wearing her heavy coat to cushion the blow. She wielded one mean elbow. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

Serena rolled her eyes expressively. "It's more like I was dragged out of bed. My mom has one sick sense of humor to allow anyone to come into my room and wake me up like that on a non-school day. Doesn't anyone get the meaning of the word _vacation_?"

"Just you Meatball…uh, Serena," Darien said, quickly trying to cover up his slip with the dreaded nickname when she glared darkly at him. He sighed in relief when he spotted salvation walking through the doors. "Hey look, the other girls just came in."

"Nice save," Andrew commented as Serena hurried away to join Amy, Raye, and Lita in their favorite corner booth. "It's a good thing the girls came in when they did, or you might have dug yourself into a pretty deep hole. I'd hate to see you lose all the ground you've made up with Serena lately."

"Don't read more into than what there is," Darien told him. "I just decided to cut her a little slack because she seems to have a lot on her mind recently, so stop spinning fairytales in that overactive mind of yours."

"If you say so," Andrew replied in a tone that clearly said that he didn't believe a word of it, but he wisely changed the subject to safer topics and the two of them chatted for a while until Mr. Furuhata came and dragged Andrew away to take care of other business.

Curious as to what was being discussed between the four seemingly innocent teenage girls, Darien picked up his coffee and wandered toward the back booth, grinning when he saw Serena look up and her eyes widened as she saw him approaching.

"Excuse me, ladies. May I join you?" he asked smoothly as he came to a halt next to the gaping blonde.

"Um…well," she stuttered. "We really don't have a spot big enough for you to sit."

"Don't be silly, there's plenty of room," Lita scolded as she elbowed Serena out of her seat so that she could get up. Then she pushed her speechless friend back into the booth. "There you go, Darien. I'll just slide in over here next to Raye and Amy."

The tall, auburn haired girl ignored the confused looks that everyone shot at her as she took her new seat and grinned as Darien sat down next to a very uncomfortable looking Serena. "See! Now everyone has a place to sit."

Amy and Raye didn't look particularly pleased with the outcome, but they both kept their mouths shut. Serena grumbled incoherently under her breath as she pulled her plate holding her half eaten hamburger toward her.

Darien looked as nonchalant as ever. "So I assume that you girls were talking about what happened at the dance last night."

"You would be correct," Amy answered primly. "Nephrite's appearance was a little surprising, but not completely unexpected."

Raye nodded. "I'm just pissed that I didn't sense him there before the attack. He must have been shielding his presence from me, the bastard."

Lita shrugged as she snagged a cheese fry from the plate before her. "That shouldn't come as a shock to you, Raye. While I agree that he is a bastard, Nephrite is hardly stupid. Of course he didn't want you knowing that he was there and blowing the whistle on his plans before he had a chance to act."

"Now I just wonder how long we have before the others show up," Amy muttered.

"Others? What others?" Darien asked in concern. "Are you saying that we have more psychos coming besides Jadeite and Nephrite?"

"We were just talking about this before you came over," Serena said softly from beside him. "It seems that Beryl has four generals working for her."

"At least she used to," Amy corrected as she typed something on her Mercury computer that she had on her lap under the table. "But it's a pretty safe bet to say that wherever two of them are, the other two can't be far behind."

"And how do you know all of this?" Darien drawled skeptically. "Serena and I have been fighting against them for weeks and haven't found this out. Now you show up and in less than a week have them all figured out? Where are you getting this information?"

Amy's head came up and her eyes burned like two chips of blue ice. "I know because it's my job to know. As the lead tactics officer for Princess Serenity's guard, it is up to me to keep track of all the information that is available to me and plan accordingly."

"Hmph!" Lita snorted into her cocoa. "It's also hard to forget the person that killed you."

The burger slipped from Serena's fingers and splattered on the plate. Her eyes went wide in shock. "What do you mean, Lita?"

"Ha!" Raye barked. "The injuries that Jadeite inflicted on me may have been what ultimately caused my death, but I took his sorry ass with me."

"Wait a minute!" Serena screeched before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Are you guys saying that you remember your past lives?"

"Bits and pieces mostly," Amy answered. It had been decided the night before that Serena and Darien at least needed to be told the partial truth for safety's sake. "Most of what I do remember is very vague, but I do remember that last day fairly well. Beryl attacked the moon and we fought against her and her generals. Needless to say, we lost."

"I don't remember anything like that," Serena grumbled as she sat back and crossed her arms across her chest. "How come you remember and I don't? That doesn't seem fair to me."

"You're not really missing anything, unless you like having visions of death and destruction running through your head," Raye griped. "I am glad to know where the crazy dreams I had been having were coming from though."

"You said it," Lita agreed. "I sure got tired of dreaming of the nightmare ball from hell every night and not knowing why."

"Ball?" Serena and Darien whispered together before looking at each other curiously.

"Do you have dreams about a ball?" Serena asked him, looking shaken.

He nodded. "I guess that's what it is. There's definitely music and dancing, but it's all really blurry. There are other people there, but I can't make out who they are."

"Same here," she said quietly. "It starts out as a very nice dream, but then I think it turns into a nightmare. I'm not sure because I never seem to be able to really remember it when I wake up."

"I don't remember them too well myself," Darien replied. "If my dreams start getting too out of control, that's usually when Serenity shows up."

Raye dropped her fork. Lita set her cup down with a thunk. Amy's mouth fell open in shock, but she was the first to compose herself.

"What do you mean _'Serenity shows up'_?" she asked in tightly controlled tone.

"That's right, I haven't had a chance to tell you guys yet," Serena gushed, trying to cover the sudden awkward silence that had fallen over the table. "Princess Serenity comes and speaks to Darien in his dreams."

"And what does she say?" Raye barely whispered. Her violet eyes were wide as she stared at Darien.

Darien shrugged. "She really doesn't say a whole lot exactly. She's just always been there as far back as I can remember. When I was a kid living at the orphanage she would show up whenever I was having a bad dream and make it go away."

Lita grinned. "That sounds like her. I may not be able to remember things from the past clearly, but the one thing that I do remember is that the princess was one of the kindest, most loving people that ever existed. She would do everything in her power to protect those that she cares about."

"And that's what I don't get," Darien growled in confusion. "Why is a princess from a thousand years ago interested in me?"

Amy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I thought that would be fairly obvious. Lita told me that you recognized Nephrite last night before she ever spoke his name."

"I did," Darien said with a nod. "I don't know why, but I felt like I knew him from somewhere, but I couldn't remember from where. It was the same the first time I saw Jadeite."

"Those are the memories of your past trying to come through," Amy told him. "You see, the generals were your best friends in your past life. They were captured by Beryl and brainwashed into thinking that we were their enemies. That witch probably would have gotten you too if you hadn't been on the moon with us."

"Hold the phone!" Darien blurted out. "Are you trying to tell me that I was friends with the assholes that have been trying to kick our asses?"

"You got it," Raye drawled in a bored tone. "The five of you were from Earth and were nearly inseparatable. You guys did everything together."

Darien snorted. "If we were so tight, then why was I hanging out on the moon instead of hanging with them?"

"Duh! Because you were invited," Lita said sarcastically. "Look, you and Serenity were really…close. You were on the moon to attend a ball. You had come ahead early and the other guys were supposed to come later."

"How vague," Darien drawled with a roll of his eyes. "So not only was I bosom buddies with a bunch of psychopathic murderers, but I was chummy with a princess as well? I guess next you'll be telling me that I was a prince or something?"

Lita's mouth popped open, but Amy hastily slapped a hand over it to stop the high tempered girl from saying more than she should. "That's enough!" she stated firmly. "It's probably better if Serena and Darien regain their memories on their own the way we did, Lita. So don't let your temper overload your mouth."

Lita sat back with a huff. "Fine! I wasn't going to say anything about the past anyway. I was just going to give Mr. Smartypants here a piece of my mind for being a jackass, especially after I was nice enough to give up my seat so he could join us. Believe me, I much rather have room to move around instead of being squished together with you and Raye. I think you two need to lay off the hot chocolate and join a gym."

Raye's face flamed. "Are you calling me fat? You're not exactly a small person yourself ya know! If they ever need somebody to fill in for the role of Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, you would fit the bill."

"Why you loony pyromaniac!" Lita growled as she lunged across Amy in an attempt to wrap her hands around Raye's neck. A round of good-natured shoving and bickering sprang up between the three girls.

Darien took advantage of the scuffle and leaned over to whisper to Serena, "Are we still on for this afternoon?"

She turned wary eyes on him as she moved away slightly. "I don't know. I know I need the practice, but I really don't feel like freezing my tail off to do it."

Darien's eyes glinted mischievously. "You have a hidden tail that I'm not aware of? Wow! And I thought your fuku skirt didn't hide anything."

Her cheeks flushed pink. "You know what I meant. It was a figure of speech, genius. Now I see why you're such good friends with Numa and Koby, youe mind is just as deep in the gutter as theirs are."

He chuckled at the sight of her flustered features. "I was just picking a little, Serena. Anyway, I wouldn't dream of making you spend an extended amount of time out in this weather just to teach you some moves, so I came up with an alternative."

"What kind of an alternative?" she asked skeptically.

He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. "You'll just have to wait and see. Do you think you can meet me around the corner in about ten minutes?"

Serena looked across the table at her friends. Somehow Amy had managed to loop an arm around both Lita and Raye's necks and secure them in a headlock. As a result, both girls were turning slightly blue in the face as they listened to the scout of ice rake them over the icicles for acting so childish.

"I think I can manage that," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady. Her nerves were jumping at the prospect of spending time alone with Darien after their encounter the night before, but this was business and she would treat it as such. She knew that now that Lita had awoken as Sailor Jupiter that she could go to her for lessons on fighting, but she had started this with Tuxedo Mask and wanted to continue. He had proven to be a capable teacher, succeeding where others had tried and failed, and she had learned a lot in a short amount of time. There was no sense in messing that up.

"Then I guess I'll see you then," Darien said in a low voice, a wide smile appearing on his face. Then he said louder, "I guess I catch up with you ladies later."

Lita wrestled her head away from Amy. "Aww, are you leaving already?"

Darien got up from his seat. "I'm afraid so. I've got some errands to run, so I better get to it."

Raye barely glanced at him as she smoothed down her ruffled hair. "Later."

"Yes, I'm sure we'll see you around, especially if anything comes up," Amy replied coolly.

Darien inclined his head to them and then made his exit, calling goodbye to Andrew as he left.

Serena watched his retreating back until he had passed through the sliding doors. Then she sighed and halfheartedly turned her attention back to her lunch. She picked at it as she engaged in idle chit chat with her friends. Exactly ten minutes later she got up and told the other girls that she had to go home and made a quick escape.

As soon as she was gone, Amy and Raye turned furiously on Lita.

"What was the big deal pushing Serena and Darien together like that?" Raye snapped. "You did the same thing last night when you practically forced him to give her a ride home."

Amy sniffed disdainfully as she regarded her auburn haired friend over the rims of her reading glasses. "Quite right. I would have figured you for being the first one in line to try to keep some distance between our princess and Endymion; at least until this Beryl situation is resolved. If you remember, last time didn't work out so well."

Lita sighed, stars shining in her eyes. "But they are just so darn cute together that I couldn't help it! Besides, like Mina said, they are fated to be together, and nothing we do or say can prevent that. I just want Serena to be happy, and I think that Darien is exactly what she needs."

"I just hope that things turn out differently this time," Raye intoned gloomily.

* * *

Zoicite rubbed his damp palms against his pant legs as he approached Queen Beryl's chambers and then looked down quickly to make sure that the sweat hadn't left any tell tale signs behind. Then he smoothed his hands over his long, wheat colored hair to make sure that no strands had escaped from its ponytail. The summons from the queen had come unexpectedly and he hadn't had a chance to freshen up, but he knew that she expected her generals to be well groomed at all times.

He reached the tall double doors and nodded to the youma that was standing guard beside them. The green haired youma bowed to him respectfully, but before she could knock on the door to announce his presence, it was flung open and a decidedly tired and rumpled looking Kunzite stomped out.

Zoicite cringed at the sight of his head general. "Kunzite, you look half dead! Have you been with her majesty ever since last night?"

The platinum haired general nodded dejectedly. "Our queen was in a foul mood and was in need of a…distraction. It took hours to calm her down, but have no fear of facing her, Zoicite. She's as placid as a kitten now. Just go along with whatever she says and you should be fine."

"But what about you?" Zoicite insisted as he noted the long, jagged scratches that were visible above the undone top buttons of Kunzite's uniform. "Do you need any help getting to your chambers?"

Kunzite waved off his concern. "I'll be fine after a little rest. You should get in there though. You don't want to keep her waiting."

"Of course," Zoicite agreed as he watched the closest person he had to a friend stumble away. He heard the youma announce him and took a deep breath to compose himself before striding through the doors with a confident air that he definitely didn't feel.

"Ah, Zoicite," Beryl drawled from her perch on her twisted black throne. Her face held a very calm, almost serene look as she greeted him.

Zoicite dropped to one knee in front of her. "You called for me, your majesty?"

She smiled patronizingly at him. "I did indeed. Have Jadeite and Nephrite been confined like I ordered?"

Zoicite nodded. "They have, my queen. They are both imprisoned in their chambers which have been sealed by a barrier that will alert us immediately if they try to leave by any means either physical or magical."

"Good…good," she replied absently. "I knew that I could count on you to make sure that my wishes were carried out. I may decide to give them a chance to redeem themselves, but right now I'm so disgusted with their failures that it's all I can do to keep from blasting them into oblivion. I was thinking that it would be nice to present Endymion with what at least looks like his former guard as a wedding gift. I thought it might make him feel more at home. But if those two pathetic worms don't get their acts together, I'll be forced to eliminate them. There is no room for repeated failures and petty excuses in my Dark Kingdom. Speaking of which, how is your search for the Silver Crystal going?"

Zoicite gulped. "It's slow going, your majesty. It is very hard to try to sort through all of the energy signatures that exist on this planet. I thought that I had located both the princess and the crystal when I read an article in one of the earthling's newspapers about a princess from a small country and a ball at which she would present her family's treasured Imperial Crystal. I investigated it and found that it was neither the princess nor the crystal we are looking for."

He bowed his head as he finished and awaited the scathing, angry tirade he was sure his queen would screech at him for his lack of progress. He would probably end up locked in right beside Jadeite and Nephrite by the time she was done with him. But he was surprised when nothing but silence reached his ears. After several seconds he dared to glance up.

Beryl had her attention focused on the glowing orb before her. "Zoicite," she began in an uncharacteristically soft tone. "I have a problem that I was hoping you would help me with."

"Of…of course, your majesty," he stammered nervously. "I am your willing subject. How may I be of service?"

Her reddish brown eyes pinned him with intensity. "For all of their bumbling ways, Jadeite and Nephrite were able to procure enough energy to revive Lady Metallia to the point where I can communicate with her once more, but she is still weak and requires more energy to return her to her former state. Kunzite believes that he has successfully located the moon princess's reincarnation so I have assigned him the task of bringing her to me. I have no doubt that she will lead us to the Silver Crystal. That being said, I have a new assignment for you."

"I am here to do your bidding, my queen," Zoicite replied submissively.

Beryl waved a hand and a small, dark crystal floated across the room to land in the general's palm. "This is a crystal from Metallia's chamber. It is filled with her power. Nephrite was able to use one similar to it last night to gather a large amount of energy from the humans by combining it with electricity. I want you to take that one and go to the mortal world. Use any means necessary to collect as much energy as you can in as short of time as possible. Make it quick and do not dawdle long enough to be caught by those meddling sailor scouts. After you bring me the energy I need I'll have another job for you."

Zoicite inclined his head and then rose to his feet. "It will be done as you've commanded." Then he teleported from the Dark Kingdom and into the human realm.

He rematerialized in a small alley in what he knew from his research to be the Azabu district of Tokyo. A sinister look entered his green eyes as he eyed the tower with a television satellite and a radio antenna affixed to the top. If Nephrite had been able to utilize a building's electrical system to aid in gathering energy, he could only imagine the widespread damage he would be able to inflict by using those to send out negative energy over the population.

"There's only one way to find out," he whispered with a grin.

* * *

"Whoa!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed as he ducked the red booted foot that swung at his head. If he had only been a second later he would have been knocked flat on his back and sporting a massive headache.

"Dang! I almost had you that time," Sailor Moon pouted. "Why do you have to be so fast?"

He smirked at her. "Years of practice. You should be grateful for it though. It seems to be a prerequisite for the job of being Tuxedo Mask. If I was any slower I wouldn't be able to get to you in time to yank you out of the line of fire."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You don't have to make me sound like a damsel in distress. I admit that I was clueless about fighting at first, but I think I'm getting better."

He couldn't help but feel a certain amount of pride at her words. "You have definitely improved. You caught on a lot faster than I thought you would. Now if we could just work on your balance you might be okay."

Her nose scrunched up in irritation. "I can't help it if I'm vertically challenged. I can handle jumping over rooftops just fine, but just don't ask me to walk on a tightrope or balance beam. Remember my little accident in gym near the beginning of the semester?"

His look turned dark. "You mean the one when you slipped off the balance beam and cracked your skull against it? Yeah, I remember that."

"Don't look like such a sourpuss!" she scolded him. "Luckily I'm hardheaded and the doctor said I didn't scramble my brains or anything. Of course I did wonder if I knocked a couple of wires loose when Luna showed up a few weeks later. When that cat started talking to me I was sure that I had lost my mind."

He chuckled. "I bet you did." Then he pulled out his phone to check the time. "I say we call it quits for today. We've been sparring for over two hours."

She pushed her damp bangs out of her eyes. "Have we really? It doesn't feel like we've been here all that long."

"Time flies when you're having fun. Just be glad that I thought of this place and we didn't have to practice outside," he told her.

She looked around the large warehouse they were in as she pressed a hand to her brooch and let her transformation fade. "This place is great. Do you really own it?"

He shrugged as his tuxedo melted away into jeans and a sweatshirt. "You could say that. It belongs to the pharmaceutical company that my father owned. It was a shipping and storage facility until they moved to a newer location a few years ago. Technically I own 51% of the company so I consider it mine, but the trustees are running everything for me now. I'll receive my full inheritance when I turn twenty-one, but I'll probably just leave them in charge. I really don't have any interest in running a company. I want to a doctor, not a businessman."

"Oh," she murmured. Then curiosity got the better of her. "Hey Darien, if your family was so successful, why did you have to go live in an orphanage? Wasn't there anyone around to take care of you?"

His eyes swung to her in shock and she hastily stumbled to cover what she was sure he would see as an invasion of privacy. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be nosy. You don't have to answer."

His face softened. "No, it's okay. I really don't know all the details, only what I've been told. Both of my parents were only children of only children, so there wasn't a large network of aunts, uncles, and cousins to take me in. All of my grandparents had already passed on by the time of the accident, so I had no more family and I guess no one else wanted to be bothered by a six year old with amnesia."

Serena's eyes were shimmering pools of emotion. "That's so sad. Lita's story is so similar to yours, but at least she got to stay in her family's home. It must have been rough being sent to an unfamiliar place to live with strangers."

Darien brushed off her concern. "I wasn't really that bad because everything was strange to me since I couldn't remember anyone or anything after the accident. I didn't even know my name was Darien until they told me in the hospital. And the orphanage I went to was really more like a boarding school than an orphanage thanks to the money that was left to me. The people that worked there were really nice, but I was stubborn and pushed them all away. Looking back now I see that I was the one responsible for making my childhood lonely and miserable."

"But you're not lonely anymore, right?" Serena chirped with her usual optimism. "Now that you moved out on your own and started going to Azabu you've got friends all around you. You've got Drew and Numa and Koby and the guys from your basketball team. And I know that the girls consider you a friend too."

A wry grin turned up his lips. "And what about you? Have I moved up to being your friend yet?"

She shook her head. "Best enemies, remember? The day that we become friends will be the day that the Earth falls into the sun. I guess if you think about it, we are frenemies. Is that even a word?"

He burst out laughing. It wasn't a forced laugh, but a true one that rang deeply through the large, empty space. "I guess it's a word if you want it to be, Meatball Head."

She scowled at the hated nickname. "Don't start being a jerk! Anyway, what did you think about all of that stuff the girls told us earlier about your past life? They made it sound like you were really chummy with Princess Serenity."

He shrugged. "I don't really know what to think. It makes sense I guess since she's always been around. I guess we must have been pretty good friends at one time. I'm a little disturbed at the part about me being friends with those generals, but if I was a general from Earth too then we would have been comrades. I just don't see how I would have become so close to the princess of the moon."

"Hmm…" Serena mused for a moment. "It doesn't seem that odd to me. Luna told me that each planet had their own royal family back then, and that they met together frequently for diplomatic meetings and balls. So if you were a general it's possible that you met her at some function and you hit it off."

Her eyes widened as a vision tore through her head. She saw Darien dressed as Tuxedo Mask holding a woman whose features she couldn't see. His long cape shielded her from view as he wrapped it around her and pulled her close against him. He whispered something unintelligible to her ears before he dipped his head and kissed the woman deeply.

"Serena! Hey! Snap out of it!" Darien's voice broke through her thoughts, shattering the image.

She blinked several times and forced her eyes to focus on his concerned features. "I'm sorry. I guess I spaced out for a second." Then she shivered. They may have been shielded from the brutal cold outside, but the warehouse was still quite frigid inside.

Darien cocked an eyebrow at her. "You looked like you were a million miles away. What was that all about?"

Serena hadn't meant to say anything out loud, but the words whispered past her lips on their own. "I think you were in love with her."

"What!" Darien exclaimed as he reeled back a step. "What are you talking about?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I just had this vision. I think it may have been a memory. And I saw you with a woman that I'm almost positive was the princess. You were whispering to her, and then…well, you kissed her."

"That's crazy!" Darien retorted. "Why would you be seeing memories of me kissing the princess?"

"Think about it, Darien," Serena said in a surprisingly firm voice. "I was the leader of the princess's scouts, so I would probably be close to her at all times. If you and her had a relationship, then it's possible that I would have seen you two together."

"Ridiculous!" he denied, but in the back of his mind he couldn't help but think about all of the times that he had held Serenity in his dreams and how right it felt. The first feelings of doubt began trickling in as he considered the possibility that Serena could be right.

'_No way!' _his mind screamed in protest. He had thought that he had moved past all of this indecision about which of the women in his life that he loved, and he was sure that Serena was the one, not the elusive Serenity. He could definitely believe that he and the princess were friends, but he was convinced that his heart belonged to Serena.

"But Darien!" Serena insisted. "I really do think that it could be a possibility that you and the princess were…"

"Just drop it, Serena!" he grated out a little harshly. He felt bad about it when he saw her wince a little at his tone, so he dropped his voice to a more conversational level. "I don't believe that there was ever anything between me and Serenity other than friendship. Besides, isn't there some rule that says that a princess can only be with a prince?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly. That's just in the fairytales. I don't think there are any rules that can tell someone's heart who they can and cannot love. But you're probably right. Why would a princess be in love with a nerdy bookworm like you?" She grinned impishly at him.

He scowled mockingly at her. "Don't hate me just because I can manage to make passing grades while you barely squeak by."

She snorted disbelievingly. "Passing grades? You're at the top of your class in everything. I still don't see how you can manage to be such a genius when all of this Dark Kingdom crap is going on. I barely have time to squeeze in any homework, much less studying."

He let out a suffering sigh. "It's all thanks to the caffeine god. I can probably count on one hand how many nights I've had more than four hours of sleep since this whole mess has started. Luckily I've always been a little bit of a night owl and was already used to it."

She stared at him in mock horror. "How could anyone want to sit up pouring over schoolbooks instead of sleeping? I can hardly function if I don't get a full eight hours of beauty sleep. That's why I hate that the youmas like to attack at night so much. Between them and the dreams I've been like a walking zombie."

"But you've been sleeping better lately, haven't you?" Darien asked in concern. "You've seemed to have been more rested the last couple of weeks."

Her brow furrowed in thought. "The dreams have been so fuzzy that I don't remember them, but they still wake me up a few times a night. I hate waking up in the middle of the night. It's always hard to go back to sleep after that." She smothered a yawn with her hand. "Now look what you've done! All this talk about sleep has made me tired. Now I need to go home and take a nap."

He chuckled and pulled his keys out of his pocket, internally breathing a sigh of relief that the conversation had turned away from his possible past romantic involvement with Serenity. That was something that he didn't want to think about right now. "All right, let's get you home, Miss Snooze-a-lot."

She blew a raspberry at him. "If you're going to start being mean I'll just walk home. The last thing I want is to be trapped in a car with a jerk like you."

He twirled the key ring on his finger. "If you want to walk, be my guest. But you're forgetting one thing."

"And what's that?" she snapped back.

He grinned evilly. "That we're at least a good ten miles from your house and it's only about twenty degrees outside. Even if you transformed and tried to run home, you'd probably freeze your skinny little legs off before you got there. Now I'm graciously offering you a ride in a nice, heated car. Are you coming or not?"

"Fine!" she grumbled. "But you better be nice to me."

"I'll be a perfect saint," he told her, drawing an invisible halo above his head with a finger.

"Somehow I doubt that," she muttered as she followed him.

* * *

"Miss DeLune, may I have your autograph?" a shy, timid voice asked.

Mina bit back a sigh and pasted a smile on her face as she turned to face a little girl of around ten with large, hopeful brown eyes. "Of course, sweetie," she replied as she picked up her pen and took the 8 x 10 color photo of herself in her Sailor V costume from the tiny hand. "What's your name, pumpkin?"

The girl hung her head so that her brown bangs fell over her eyes and shuffled her feet nervously. "I'm Nanette."

Mina smiled warmly at her. "Nanette, huh? That's a pretty name for such a pretty little girl. So you're a fan of Sailor V?"

Nanette's head rose and her face sparkled with excitement. "Yes ma'am! I think you…er… Sailor V is the best! My brother says that Bleach is better, but I told him that he was wrong. I have all of your movies and games and even the whole manga collection!"

"Wow! Sounds like you're quite a fan. Are you here today to get the new game?" Mina asked her.

Nanette grinned and then leaned across the table to whisper conspiratorially to her, "Momma said that we're here to pick up a game that my brother wants for Christmas, but I think she's hiding it from me that she's getting me your game too. I have it on my wish list. But don't tell her I said anything."

Mina winked at her. "It'll be our little secret." She finished signing the picture and handed it back to Nanette as a petite woman with the same brown hair and eyes as the little girl walked over to join them.

"Momma, look, it's the real life Sailor V!" Nanette squealed to the woman.

Her mother smiled indulgently at her and greeted Mina cheerfully. After a minute of exchanging pleasantries, the mother and daughter left the store. Mina grinned when she saw the corner of the pink box of the newest Sailor V game peeking out of the sack that the woman was carrying. It looked like Nanette would be getting at least one thing on her Christmas wish list.

She waved a final goodbye to her little fan and then sat back and looked around the almost deserted game store. She still couldn't believe that she had let her agent talk her into this spur of the moment appearance. When she had gone in to meet with the woman that had pretty much ran her career, she had thought it would be a simple meeting and then she would be free. But when the lady had casually mentioned that her brother ran this game store and that it would be nice if Mina could put in a short, impromptu appearance, she had agreed to do it. After all, she was trying to pull attention toward herself and away from Serena.

Ten minutes later her agent had come and thanked her profusely for taking the time out to do this and had told her that she could leave. She walked into the backroom of the store to retrieve her purse and coat. She was struggling to pull the heavy garment on when she felt hands on the collar helping her.

"Well, well, Minako DeLune. I've caught up with you at last. Or do you prefer to go by the name Mina Aino?" a smooth voice purred in her ear.

Her heart stuttered and almost came to a stop. "Kunzite," she whispered.

He chuckled. "So you do remember me. I was wondering if you would."

She spun around and faced the silver haired general. "What are you doing here?"

He raised a sardonic brow. "I think the real question is what are you doing, Venus? Did you really think that you could try to pass yourself off as the princess and I wouldn't recognize you for who you really were?"

Mina felt every bit of blood drain from her face. If Kunzite knew who she was then it was certain that he had told Beryl that she was a decoy. While the self-proclaimed queen was psychotic, she wasn't stupid. If her cover was compromised it was only a matter of time before Beryl pieced the clues together and realized that Serena was Serenity.

"Why so quiet, my dear?" Kunzite crooned. "It's not like you to have nothing to say. Don't worry your pretty little head about me running to Beryl with your secret. I've known who you were for a year now and have yet to inform my queen of your true identity. She suspects you of being the moon princess, and I've seen no reason to allude to her otherwise."

Mina took a step back, her hand automatically going into her pocket to close around her henshin rod in case she needed to transform in a hurry. "Why would you keep such important information from Beryl, aren't you working for her?"

He laughed softly. "Now surely, Venus, you know me better than that. It's true that I am Queen Beryl's right hand, but I always look for opportunities that will benefit me. It's not in my best interest at this time to reveal what I know to that witch."

Mina slapped away the hand that he had reached toward her cheek. "I don't know you at all! You are not my Kunzite! All you are is a twisted soul that has taken over the body of a dead man. General Kunzite was an honorable and respectable man who would never betray his allies!"

He grabbed her by her coat and jerked her against him. Then he leaned down to hiss in her ear. "I may not be your sainted general, but I do have his body and his power, little girl! You would do well to remember that in the future. Now listen to me, you will lose again. It's only a matter of time before you or one of your little scouts leads me to your princess and the Silver Crystal. Then I will kill her and take her power to overthrow Beryl and Metallia so that I may rule this planet myself."

"The crystal is useless right now. It wouldn't do you any good even if you managed to get your hands on it," Mina ground out between clenched teeth as she struggled in his grip.

He smirked darkly. "That may be true, but as soon as all of the Rainbow Crystals have been gathered the Silver Crystal's power will be restored. Zoicite has already been working on a plan to locate the crystals, and we will be moving on to that as soon as he finishes one tiny little assignment for Beryl."

Shivers shuddered through her at his softly spoken words. "What kind of assignment?"

His calm appearance never changed. "Oh, just a little energy gathering. You'll find out soon enough. Your scouts may have been able to deal with Jadeite and Nephrite easily enough, but I'm afraid you don't stand a chance against Zoicite's method. He is quite ingenious after all."

Mina reached down deep inside and tapped into her power to give her the strength to get away from him. She broke free from his grip and spun, landing a hard kick in his gut that sent him flying into the wall several feet behind him. She was running out the back door before he had even fallen to the floor.

She flew down the alley and hit the sidewalk at a furious sprint, all of her senses on high alert for the smallest sign of danger. It wasn't until she realized that people were leaning tiredly against walls and signposts and that the sky was much brighter than what it should have been on a late winter afternoon that she looked up.

A gasp slipped past her lips as she saw a bright light shining at the top of Starlight Tower. She squinted her eyes and was amazed to see shimmering waves of energy flowing toward the tower from all directions. If this kept up, all of Azabu and Juuban would be sucked dry in only a matter of minutes, leaving it a ghost town.

A wave of dizziness hit her as she began to feel the drain on her own energy. She knew that she had to get inside the protective barrier of the control room under the arcade as quickly as possible. It was the only place that she would be safe from whatever Zoicite was doing up there and she would be able to plan a counterstrike. She just prayed that the other scouts had made it there as well.

She ducked into a nearby alley, away from prying eyes, and pulled out her orange henshin rod. She had tried to keep from transforming as much as possible to avoid detection from the Dark Kingdom, but that seemed to be a moot point now. She needed the energy of her alter ego if she had any hope of making it to the arcade before passing out.

She held the pen-like device up and whispered, "Venus Power!"

A ribbon of glowing golden stars burst from the rod and wrapped around her comfortingly. She felt relief as a fresh burst of energy flowed through her. As soon as it faded she leapt up into the air and took to the rooftops, covering the several blocks to the arcade in only minutes.

She swayed a little as she landed on the roof of the Crown, already beginning to feel the effects of the energy drain on her scout form. She dropped into the alley behind the arcade and slipped through the backdoor that led to the kitchen.

The two men that worked as cooks at the arcade were unconscious on the floor, so she stepped carefully over them and hurried toward one of the sets of built in shelves that held restaurant sized bags and cans of food. She shoved her shoulder against one corner and pushed with all of her might until a whole section of wall slid to the side to reveal the secondary entrance to the control room. She squeezed through the crack and almost sobbed in relief as it closed behind her and she felt the drain on her energy stop.

She rushed down the stairs to find Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter gathered around on of the computer monitors with Luna and Artemis. They were all trying to speak over one another as they tried to figure out what was happening in the outside world. But one person was conspicuously absent.

"Where's Serena?" Venus demanded, forgoing any other greetings.

Mercury whirled to stare at her with wide, panicked eyes. "That's what we're trying to figure out. None of us have been able to contact her since this started. She's not answering her communicator and now I can even locate her energy signature on my computer. What's going on out there?"

Anxiety and fear burst like sour acid across Venus's tongue. "It's Zoicite. He's using Starlight Tower to drain the whole town of energy. But what do you mean you can't find Serena? Your computer should be able to pick up her presence."

Mercury's blue head shook rapidly. "I can't find her! I thought I had a weak signal for a moment, and then it just disappeared!"

"It's possible that she's already fallen victim to Zoicite's attack," Artemis said sadly.

"I have to go find her!" Venus burst out. She ran back up the stairs only to scream in frustration when a reinforced door dropped down to block her way. "Artemis! Disengage the security door, now!"

His blue eyes looked at her mournfully. "I can't do that, Venus. I can't let you go out there and get yourself killed. We need you if we have any hope of defeating Beryl."

She screeched in outrage and even pulled at her hair. "Don't you see? There is no hope of beating them if Serenity is dead! We need her! You have to let me go! My princess needs me! I won't let the Dark Kingdom be the cause of her death, not again! Please, let me go!"

Jupiter hurried toward her and wrapped her in her strong arms. "Shh, Mina. We just have to have faith that she will be okay. This is Serena we're talking about after all. I've come to learn that nothing's impossible where she's concerned."

Mars joined them and laid a comforting hand on the blonde scout's shoulder. "Lita's right. Serena's a scrapper, much more than Serenity ever was. If there's a way for her to get around this attack, she'll find it."

Luna cleared her throat. "And don't forget that Darien's out there too. I'm sure he'll find a way to her and be there to give her the support that she needs."

Tears poured from Venus's blue eyes as she stared at the black feline. "I sure hope you're right, Luna."

* * *

Serena tried once again to push herself up from the sidewalk where she had stumbled and fallen, but her body refused to cooperate. She lay with her cheek pressed firmly against the ice glazed concrete, trying to get her brain to comprehend what was happening.

After Darien had dropped her off at home, she had gone up to her room to take a nap. But after tossing and turning for nearly an hour as she was plagued over and over with visions of Darien in intimate situations with the ghostly woman that she was sure was the princess, she had given up all thoughts of sleep and gotten up. She felt nauseous and heartsick at the turn some of the visions had taken. At one point they even involved the removal of clothing.

She had felt dirty. She may have been the princess's bodyguard in the past, but now it seemed like she must have been a voyeur as well. She was convinced that what she was seeing had to be memories from her past life. They were too clear and graphic to have been invented by her imagination

Feeling no better than a common Peeping Tom, she had pulled her coat back on and left the house thinking that maybe a little video game therapy was just what she needed to get her mind off of Darien and the princess.

She had been halfway between her house and the arcade when a peculiar feeling swept over her. One minute she had been fine, the next it felt like every bit of energy had drained right out of her and she collapsed in a boneless heap on the snowy ground. Her whole body felt too heavy to move.

She was so cold, but her body didn't even have the strength left to shiver. Blackness began creeping in around the edges of her vision, and she welcomed it. At least if she was unconscious she would feel this tiredness or the cold. She closed her eyes and embraced the darkness.

Just as she was slipping away she thought she felt somebody turn her over and gather her up in their arms. Something soft and warm wrapped around her and made her feel comforted. Vaguely she thought she heard someone calling her name, but she just didn't have it in her to open her eyes and respond.

'_Maybe this is what dying is like,' _she thought to herself. _'If it is, it isn't so bad.'_

* * *

Tuxedo Mask panicked as he shook the unconscious girl in his arms and received no response.

He had been at home curled up with a cup of hot coffee and a good book, trying to distract himself from the thoughts that Serena's earlier, disturbing revelations stirred up in him when he had begun feeling uneasy. He had gotten up and opened the curtains over his balcony doors and had seen the bright light shining at the top of Starlight Tower. Somehow he knew that the Dark Kingdom was behind this

He stretched out with his senses, trying to see if he could feel Serena. He knew that she hadn't transformed, he would have felt that, but he had an overwhelming feeling that something was wrong. He suddenly began to feel fatigued, and he transformed almost without thinking about it, using the sharper senses of his alter ego to try to locate her.

He finally felt a small spark that he had learned to associate with Serena, but it was very faint, almost nonexistent. Without a second thought he was out the door and over the balcony railing, leaping from roof to roof as he followed the invisible pull toward Serena.

His heart had plummeted to his feet when he spotted her sprawled out face down on the frozen sidewalk. Her hood had slipped from her head and her long pigtails streamed around her, wet and dirty from the icy slush made by tramping feet.

He was by her side in an instant, turning her over and picking her up off the ground to cradle her in his arms as he wrapped his cape around her. He vaguely realized that were other people laying on the ground unconscious as well, but he only had eyes for the blonde in his arms.

"Come on, Serena, wake up!" he cried as he shook her gently. But she lay silent and unmoving in his grasp.

He patted her cold, pale cheeks with his gloved fingertips and tried again. "Wake up, Meatball Head," he begged, hoping that the use of the nickname that she detested so much would get through to her. There was still no response.

He felt another wave of exhaustion sweep through him, and his panic mounted. He knew if it wasn't for the adrenaline pumping through his body that he would be passed out right alongside her. He had to find a way to wake her up so that she could transform and get a little energy back. Hopefully then they would be able to come up with a way to stop things before they got worse.

He felt bad for what he was about to do, but he was desperate. He slapped her across the cheek sharply, not hard, but enough to hopefully get her attention. Her face snapped toward his chest, and then her eyelids fluttered weakly, revealing hazy and dilated blue eyes.

"Dar…Darien?" she whispered weakly. Then her eyes fell shut again.

He shook her harder this time. "Damn it, Serena! Stay awake! You need to transform!"

"Wha…whaaat?" she slurred, forcing her eyes back open and trying to glare at him. "Stooop shakin meee, Shieeeldz. I'm diizzzy."

"You need to transform," he repeated firmly as he gripped her chin and forced her blurry gaze to meet his. "The Dark Kingdom is sucking your energy. We need Sailor Moon right now."

She nodded weakly and whispered. "My brooch…in my pocket."

He reached into her coat pocket and closed his fingers around the smooth, circular metal brooch and pulled it out. "Here," he said as he pressed it into her fingers.

"Mooon Prhizmm Powahh…" she breathed drunkenly.

The explosion of ribbons around her took him by surprise for a moment, but he didn't let her go. Interestingly enough, he began to feel reenergized as she went through her transformation. When the lights and ribbons faded, he found himself sitting on the sidewalk holding Sailor Moon on his lap.

"Holy crap it's cold!" Sailor Moon complained as she traded her protective layers of clothing for her short-skirted fuku. "Why couldn't the sailor scout uniforms be pants instead? I'm going to freeze into popsicle out here!"

Tuxedo Mask let out a shaky chuckle of relief and hugged her close for a moment. He had been so scared only a minute before that she was about to die right there in his arms, but now she seemed to be much more like her usual self.

Sailor Moon leaned against his chest, basking in the warmth and security she felt in his arms, but then common sense prevailed and she realized what she was doing and whom she was doing it with and she pushed herself away. She shivered at the loss of contact and the cold wind hit her.

She felt her cheeks flame, but decided to act like nothing happened. "So what's going on?" she asked as she stood up.

Tuxedo Mask got up as well and pointed up toward Starlight Tower. "The Dark Kingdom is attacking. They're using the tower to amplify their power and suck up a lot of energy at once."

"Well what are we waiting for?" she demanded and took off at a run.

He fell into step beside her, his long legs easily able to keep pace with her breakneck speed. "Hold up a second, Moonie. We can't just go running up there without a plan of some kind. We don't know which general is up there or even how many. We may be at a disadvantage."

She raked him with a contemptuous look. "You stay down here and make plans if you want to, Mr. Genius, but I'm going up there. This is more than just simple energy stealing. They are sucking everyone dry. And if I don't stop them then a lot of people will be killed!"

"Well at least wait for me," he cried in exasperation after her as she pushed up hard off the ground and began jumping her way up the side of the tower. He leapt up into the air and quickly followed her.

They landed on the top platform together on silent feet, but the only other person there sensed them and spun around to confront the intruders. He was a man of average height and build with long, dark blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and calculating green eyes. He wore the same gray uniform that Jadeite and Nephrite had.

"Zoicite…" Sailor Moon heard Tuxedo Mask hiss beside her. So this was yet another one of Beryl's generals. And if what the other scouts had said earlier was true, one of Darien's best friends from his past life.

"Ah, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask I presume," Zoicite said in a smooth, cultured voice. "I must say that I am surprised to see the two of you here. I figured you would have fallen victim to my attack along with the rest of these humans. I would love to stay and chat, but I'm afraid that I have other places to be."

He clenched a glowing dark crystal in his palm and a swirling portal opened up behind him that he stepped through.

"Wait!" Sailor Moon screamed as she ran forward to try to stop him, but the portal disappeared before she could reach it.

"Nooo…" she moaned as she fell to her knees. "He got away."

Tuxedo Mask knelt down beside her. "They're getting smarter. They're learning that if they stick around long enough for us to confront them that they run the risk of losing the energy that they've gathered."

"But they took so much this time," Sailor Moon whispered brokenly as she stumbled to her feet and over to the railing. Her gloved fingers clenched tightly around the cold metal as tears poured down her cheeks. "People are dying out there. I can feel it. This isn't their fight, so why should they be made to suffer for it? And now I can't even save them because that general got away with all of their energy."

Tuxedo Mask longed to comfort her, but he felt just as helpless as she did. He could sense it the same as she did. There were hundreds and hundreds of people out there that were barely clinging to life. Without having their energy returned to them, they would surely die.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side as they stood silently cursing themselves for not getting there sooner.

Sailor Moon jumped as she felt heat coming from her skirt pocket and she reached in and pulled out the crescent moon wand. "Fat lot of good this thing will do now," she grumbled. "That general is long gone with that energy sucking crystal."

The wand continued to heat up and even began vibrating in her hand, making her look up at Tuxedo Mask curiously.

"I think it wants me to use it," she told him.

He eyed it skeptically. "I don't think you should, Serena. That thing took a lot out of you last night. Besides, there's nothing left to attack. Zoicite got away. I don't think your magic wand could do any good now."

But Sailor Moon held it out in front of her. A phantom voice was whispering in her ear, telling her what to do. "I think it can help, Darien. If there's even the slightest chance of saving all of those people, I have to try."

He sighed, but nodded. "You're right. We have to do everything that we can. Just be careful. I'll be right here behind you."

She was touched by his concern and gave in to the urge to lay a hand against his cheek. "Thank you." Then she focused her attention on the city.

It was the same as the night before. She felt a burning warmth deep in her chest and then a rush of power down her arms as the tip of the wand exploded in white light. But instead of the concentrated beam it had been before, this time it came pouring out in shining waves.

The force of it sent her slamming back into Tuxedo Mask's firm chest. He put his arms around her to help steady her and slid his hands down her trembling arms to lend support.

She began to sag against him as more and more energy continued to flow out of the wand, and he knew that it was taking a huge toll on her body. He wanted to beg her to stop, but he knew that it would be like talking to a brick wall. Nobody could make Serena do anything that she didn't want to do.

Then a thought popped into his head. He could share his energy with her. He didn't know how he knew it; he just knew that it was possible. He almost felt as if someone else had taken control of his body as his hands slipped further down her arms to cover hers that held the wand in a white knuckled grip.

"Darien, what are you doing?" he heard her ask faintly.

"Just hush and let me do this," he whispered to her softly. "The other scouts aren't here to support you so I'm going help you. Let me do this, Serena."

He felt her nod as he closed his eyes and reached down deep inside himself. He was suddenly very grateful for the meditation that his years of martial arts training had taught him. A sensei that he had studied with once had taught him how look inside himself and identify the different types of energy inside him, and it was his life energy that he searched for now.

But instead of the intricately woven string of blue and green it had always appeared to be, it was now burning bright gold and pulsing like it was indeed a living thing. He didn't take the time to analyze the change, he just grabbed hold of it and reached out in search of the bond he shared with Serena.

He found it easily and noticed a change in it as well. Usually Serena's energy was bright pink, but now it was shining silver, a silver that was rapidly beginning to fade away. He hurriedly looped his energy around hers and felt a jolt as it flowed into her.

There was one final bright burst of energy from the wand, and then he felt another jolt as her energy separated abruptly from his and she slumped back in his arms, unconscious once again.

He felt a little weak himself, so he lowered both of them to the ground as carefully as he could. He watched as her transformation melted away, and when she was once again dressed in her jeans and heavy coat he pulled her fully into his lap and checked her vital signs. He groaned in relief to find her breathing deep and even and felt her pulse steady and true under his fingers.

He smiled as he brushed long golden strands of her hair away from her face. "I don't know what that was that you just did, Serena, but whatever it was worked a miracle. I can feel people being revived all over town. You wanted to save them and you did."

A small smile turned up her lips as if she heard his words and she snuggled closer to his warmth. The sight of her calm, angelic looking face proved to be too much of a temptation for him. He leaned down until his lips were only a breath away from hers.

"I know you would never believe me if I told you this while you were awake, but I feel like I need to say it to you now," he whispered against her slightly parted lips. "I love you, Serena. I truly, deeply love you. I just hope that one day I'll have the chance to tell you exactly how much you mean to me. I know we don't always get along, but I'm praying that maybe you have feelings for me as well and would be willing to give us a chance. Even if you were right earlier and Serenity and I had something romantic between us in the past, she'll just have to find someone else to give her love to, because you have already captured my heart. You are the only princess I want in my life."

Then he closed the gap between them and brushed his lips lightly over hers. He chuckled as a breathy sigh puffed slid past her lips.

He stood with her in his arms and wrapped her securely in his cape. "Okay, sleepyhead, let's get you someplace warm where you can relax and sleep this off. I sure can't take you home like this, and I would rather choke on broken glass than face the scouts right now, so I guess that leaves my place."

He leapt away over the nearby rooftops, making sure to make his landings as gentle as possible to keep from jostling the sleeping girl. In just a few minutes he landed on his balcony with all of the grace of a stalking panther and used his elbow to slide the door open.

Once inside he let his transformation fade. He eyed the couch for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to put Serena there, but then bypassed it in favor of carrying her to his bedroom instead, thinking that she would be more comfortable there.

He held her with one arm as he pulled back the covers on his king sized bed and then laid her down carefully on the black silk sheets. She squirmed a little as he pulled away from her, but didn't wake up. He gently unzipped her coat and pulled her arms out of it before laying it over a nearby chair. Then he slid her shoes off, marveling at how small her feet were. Everything about Serena was tiny and petite, but she could sure pack a punch when she wanted to. She had proven that tonight.

He pulled the fluffy comforter over her and made sure that she was covered warmly. She looked so right lying there in his bed, that he was tempted to crawl in beside her and sleep with her in his arms. But knowing Serena as well as he did, he figured she would probably flip out enough when she woke up to find herself in his apartment. So it was in his best interest not to rock the boat too hard.

So instead of making his fantasy a reality, he did the gentlemanly thing and grabbed another pillow from the bed and a spare blanket from the closet before going back into his living room to crash on the couch. The attack had drained him as well and he desperately needed sleep. He was out like a light almost before he had even laid down good.

* * *

"So do you really think they're okay?" Luna asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

Artemis sighed and answered her the same way he had every other time before. "I'm sure they're fine, Luna. You heard what Mercury said, both Serena and Darien's energy signatures showed up on her scans. They were both weakened, but seemed unharmed. We would have heard from the others by now if anything were wrong."

"I'm sure you're right," Luna agreed grudgingly. "I can't help but worry though. That was a massive amount of energy Serena unleashed earlier. She could have died if Darien hadn't been there to help her."

"But he was there, and they managed to save a lot of lives tonight. You should be proud of our princess. I know I am," Artemis told her. Then his look turned irritated. "For the love of Selene, Mina! Would you please stop that infernal pacing?"

Sailor Venus skidded to a halt where she had indeed been pacing frantically back and forth across the roof of Darien's apartment building. Mercury had traced Serena and Darien there after the attack, and she and the others had come to check and make sure they were okay.

She looked guiltily at her advisor. "Sorry. I guess I'm just a little on edge. I still can't believe that Serena was able to heal the whole town the way she did without having the Silver Crystal. I didn't think it was possible."

Luna shook her head. "Oh it's possible. It's highly dangerous, but definitely possible. Don't forget that while the Silver Crystal was their greatest source of power, those born of the goddess Selene's line were each blessed with magical powers of their own. But just like the Silver Crystal, those powers feed directly from the person's life force and must be handled carefully. What Serena demonstrated tonight was her will to save the people that idiot Zoicite left behind to die. The crescent moon wand helped her to draw it out and then amplified it. But it was a terrible strain on her energy. If Darien hadn't been there…" she trailed off.

"I'm more concerned with the Dark Kingdom analyzing Serena's energy and figuring out that she's the princess," Venus growled. "If what Kunzite said is true, then Beryl still believes that I am Serenity. But if she gets to digging into who Serena is too deeply that will blow all of that sky high."

"And you really can't put any stock into anything that he says," Artemis grumbled.

"Can't put any stock into what who says?" Jupiter asked as she, Mars, and Mercury appeared on the roof beside them.

"It doesn't matter," Venus waved the question away. "How are they doing?"

"Sleeping like babes," Mars answered as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Serena's taken over Darien's bed and the poor guy is all scrunched up on his couch sawing logs."

Jupiter smirked. "He didn't appear to be too put out. He had a goofy grin on his face, so he must have been dreaming something good. I could have sworn that I heard him moan Serena's name at one point."

"Anyway," Mercury interrupted their rantings. "Both of them are resting comfortably. Serena's energy levels are, of course, much lower than his right now. From what I can tell, Serena must have passed out from the energy drain and then Darien brought her here. I simply can't imagine Serena agreeing to spend the night in a boy's apartment, much less Darien's. We considered moving her to one of our places, but all things considered it's probably best to leave her where she is. She should be fine by morning. I called her mother and told her that Serena fell asleep while watching a movie at my pace and that we all decided to have a sleepover."

As worried as Venus was, she couldn't stop the mischievous grin that appeared on her face. "Yeah, but wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall to see how Serena reacts when she wakes up to find herself in Darien's bed? That will be epic!"

**A/N **Oooo! Serena is in Darien's bed! Too bad that nothing extremely romantic happens between them until we get to season 2 in What If. But I agree with Mina, things could be mighty interesting when she wakes up. And what about Darien's heartfelt declaration of love? My own heart fluttered a little as I wrote those lines. Too bad the girl in question was out cold through the whole thing. How typically male! Anyhow, moving on. Coming up in the near future: the race to find the Rainbow Crystals is about to get started, Serenity's spirit decides to intervene and reveal to Darien exactly who he was in the past, and a possible love triangle springs up when Mina finally makes the scene as Sailor V and presents herself as Serenity in hopes that the fake Kunzite has kept the secret of her real identity to himself. The emotional roller coaster is about to take a steep plunge straight down. I can't wait! Please remember to drop me those reviews and tell me what you think so far. Feedback is always greatly appreciated. Later guys! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	11. The Morning After

**A/N **Hiya guys! I had really planned on getting this out a couple of days ago, but some things came up and I got sidetracked…blah, blah, blah…you know the drill. The point is I finally finished this and here it is. I really don't have a lot to say right now, so I'll just get down to business. It's time to give out my hugs for last chapter's wonderful reviewers. BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Nuisha**

**afallenblackrose**

**BostonBill **

**sabina21**

**chimichurri**

**LGCoffeeAddict**

**Lady of the Celestial Moon**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**GoldenDragon326**

**jade2nightwing**

**KatanaPrincess**

**mandii-xo**

**anime-lover10**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

**Nyanko76**

**rainbabie**

**Sakura-Chan-Blossom**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**SlackerDee**

A million thank yous to all of you, as always! Without you this story wouldn't exist except inside my mind. And now to move on with the story!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 11

The Morning After

Pale slender fingers clenched his cape in a death grip as explosions rocked the building around them. He yanked the faceless woman in his arms out of the way of a falling chunk of white marble and tried to push her toward a door. "Run, Serenity!" he demanded in a harsh tone.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" she cried in a trembling voice. "Please, let me stay with you."

He cursed and ripped the cape from her grasp to pull it over both of them as a nearby window shattered into a million pieces. When the debris had settled he took her roughly by the arm and began dragging her to the door.

"No, Endy!" she squealed, trying to break his hold. "Don't make me do this! I can't just run away! What about my mother and the scouts?"

He ground to a halt in the doorway and spun to face her. He put both hands on her shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "Don't be an idiot, Serenity! Your mother has the Silver Crystal and can take care of herself. And I wouldn't worry about the scouts. Haven't you always said that they were four of the best fighters you've ever seen?"

She was trembling under his hands. "Yes, but…"

"No buts!" he commanded. "Beryl is out there and she's coming for you! She has also turned the generals to her side. I can't fight and protect you if I have to worry about your safety. So I want you to go find someplace safe to hide. I'll come find you when it's over."

Her hands came up to cover his. "You can't go out there and face them. They are your best friends, your brothers. You've always fought beside them. You can't draw your sword against them."

"I can and I will," he ground out between clenched teeth. "They severed whatever bonds that existed between us when they went over to that witch. I'm not going to let that snake get you too. Now please, Sere, for me, go hide someplace safe until I come and get you."

She nodded slowly. "Okay. But please be careful, my love."

"I'll be back soon," he promised her, and leaned down to kiss her phantom lips. He tasted her tears and felt his heart twist painfully in his chest. He pulled back and whispered, "I love you, Serenity."

"And I love you, Endymion," she answered softly.

He gave her a little nudge. "Go."

She whirled away from him in a swirl of white skirt. For the briefest of moments he could see her vaguely. There was a flash of blue eyes and the gleam of golden hair, and then it was lost to the shadows again as she fled.

And then the mist rolled in. One minute he was standing in a battle torn ballroom, and the next it felt like the cracked marble floor gave way beneath him. He fell for a few seconds before he landed rear first on hard ground.

Darien hissed loudly as he climbed to his feet. "Ouch! This is a pretty painful experience for a dream."

A nervous giggle came from behind him. "I'm sorry, I was hoping that you would land softer than that."

He turned to look over his shoulder warily. "Serenity."

She looked the same as she had the hundreds of other times she had appeared to him over the years. She still wore the same long white dress while all other telling features were obscured by shadow and mist.

"You don't look happy to see me, Darien," she said softly.

He fought back the urge to roll his eyes as irritation bubbled up inside him. Oh now she showed up after going on hiatus the last couple of weeks. He'd had so many questions that he wanted to ask her, but now that she was in front of him he could only think of one.

"What were you and I to each other?" he asked her evenly.

He heard her sigh. "Straight to the point as usual. You always were like that, even in your past life."

He turned around to face her fully. "I'm tired of beating around the bush, Serenity. I need answers. The scouts and I have been able to put together bits and pieces, but there are too many holes. The Dark Kingdom is stepping up their game drastically. Instead of one general running around attacking a handful of people we now have three. And tonight the whole city was targeted. A whole lot of people almost died. If it hadn't been for Serena…well it would have been a disaster. I need to know what's going on before somebody gets killed. And I don't want the chopped up, watered down version that the scouts told me. I want the truth."

Serenity walked a few paces away and the mist faded some to reveal an ornately carved stone fountain. She sat down on the edge and gestured for him to join her.

"I guess the time has come for you to hear the truth," she told him as he took a seat beside her. "Do you remember the dream you were just having before I intervened?"

He felt his face grow warm as he remembered the way his dream self had held Serenity and whispered words of love to her. He remembered the fear he had felt for her safety and the taste of her tears as soft lips had clung to his. He nodded.

Serenity's hands twisted in her lap. "That was an accurate depiction of your memories from the last day on the moon."

Darien swallowed hard. "So you and I were…we were…together?"

A huge sigh came from her. "This is a difficult story to tell, and it's hard to know where to begin. You know that I was the princess of the moon and heir to the Silver Millennium. What you don't know is that you were Prince Endymion of Earth, crown prince of the Golden Kingdom."

Darien snorted. "Me…a prince? Yeah right!"

"I'm telling you the truth!" she cried. "You were Endymion!"

He began chuckling. "No offense, princess. I've been accused of being a snob many times in my life, but no one has ever called me a prince."

Serenity jumped up from her seat and stood before him, her hands planted firmly on her hips. When she spoke again her voice had lost the cool, cultured tone that it usually carried.

"I can't believe you!" she almost shrieked. "You are still the most stubborn man ever to be born in the history of the galaxy." She began pacing back and forth, muttering as if to herself, "I must have been insane to want to marry you! Everyone said it wasn't a good idea. But no! I just had to push the issue until I wore mother down enough for her to agree with it. What was I thinking? Oh, that's right! I wasn't thinking! I let myself get sucked in by those deep blue eyes of yours and threw caution to the wind. I am such an idiot!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Darien exclaimed, rocketing to his feet and grabbing her by the arm. "What are you talking about? Are you saying that we were _married_?"

She jerked away from him, hissing like a scalded cat. "No we were NOT married, you pompous, stuck up…TERRAN! I didn't even like you when we first met. You were mean and made fun of me all the time. Then one day you started being nice. And just like that, I fell under your spell. Most people were against a union between the moon and the Earth because the Earth governed itself and wasn't part of the Silver Millennium. We were on civil terms, but anything other than friendly relations was frowned upon."

Darien sat back down, hard. "You're not joking, are you? You're really telling the truth."

"Yes," she whispered brokenly as she sank down to the ground. Her long white dress pooled several feet around her. "You were my prince. The night that Beryl attacked the moon was the night of our engagement ball. We had secretly been engaged for months before then, but we waited to make it official once all of the bureaucratic nonsense had been taken care of. Obviously there were still some people that weren't happy with our decision."

Darien pushed aside his shock at her revelation and forged ahead. He would wonder about past romances later. What he needed was information on the enemy. "So what's this Beryl's problem anyway? Where did she come from?"

Serenity's pale hand fluttered up toward her shadowed face to wipe away tears that he couldn't see. She took a deep, unsteady breath. "Beryl was a lady in the Earth's royal court. She was from a noble family of high standing and at one time was considered to be the prime candidate to become your wife and the next queen. She pursued you relentlessly, even though you had turned her down on many occasions, and she was caught spying on us one night when I had snuck down to Earth to see you. She was ordered away from the palace by your generals. Evidently she had been experimenting with the dark arts for years, black magic and such, and in her jealousy called upon an ancient evil entity named Metallia."

Darien shoved a hand through his hair in an agitated gesture. "Wait a minute! You're not telling me that all of this is happening because some woman had a crush on my past self are you? Because that's way past bizarre."

Serenity snapped back haughtily, "Don't let your ego swell up too big. It wasn't just about you. She's greedy and power hungry. She wanted to rule the world and saw you as her ticket to achieving that. When she discovered she didn't have a chance she went on a rampage that threw the Earth in chaos as she attempted to take over the throne for herself. Metallia then urged her to set her sights higher and go after the entire galaxy instead of one planet. And to do that she had to conquer the moon and steal the Silver Crystal."

"And she also wanted to kill you," Darien muttered as he remembered Endymion's words to Serenity in his dream. _'Beryl is out there and she's coming for you!'_

She shrugged. "Well she hadn't exactly hidden the fact that she wanted me dead. In her warped mind I guess she thought that if I were out of the picture then maybe she would have a chance with you. But things didn't work out exactly the way she planned. She raised an army of followers and then kidnapped your generals and used her magic to turn then to her side. They essentially destroyed my kingdom, but the one thing that they didn't count on was my mother. When you, I, and the scouts died my mother used the Silver Crystal to seal the evil forces away and send us all to this time to be reborn."

"And now they've broken free and are up to the same old tricks…nice," Darien grumbled.

"So it seems," she replied. "Now that I've explained the reason why Beryl is doing what she's doing, why don't you ask me about what's really on your mind."

Darien went stiff and kept his eyes focused on the ground. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Serenity made a scathing noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a snort. "Sure you do, and I'll sum it up in one word for you…Serena. She's the reason why you lost your composure when I mentioned you and I being a couple in the past."

"Listen, Serenity," he groaned and kneaded his eyes with the heels of his hands. "It's nothing against you. I care for you a lot. You've been with me as far back as I can remember, and I can't easily forget that. But…"

"But you love her," she finished softly for him.

"Yes," he whispered and looked up at her. "I love her. She infuriates me sometimes and pushes me to the brink of madness, but I love her."

"I understand," Serenity murmured. "While you may have Endymion's soul inside of you, you are not exactly the same person. You look the same and some of your mannerisms are amazingly similar, but you are your own person, Darien Shields. And besides, there are no rules that can tell someone's heart who they can and cannot love."

Darien couldn't help but grin. "Serena said the same thing."

Serenity let out a soft laugh. "She would. But there is something else that you should know."

"And what's that?" he asked.

Her voice rang with sincerity. "We are soul mates. No matter how many times we die and are reborn, that bond cannot be severed."

Darien gasped at her words and for a fleeting moment her caught another flash of golden hair and sad blue eyes before darkness closed in around him.

"Serenity!"

He jerked awake, bathed in sweat. He sat up quickly and looked around, taking in the fact that he was in his living room as he fought to bring his ragged breathing under control. Everything in the sparsely furnished room appeared as it always had.

He swung his legs off the couch to sit up properly and buried his face in his hands as he mulled over everything that Serenity had told him.

He was a reincarnated prince? Beryl had flipped out because his past self had turned her down in favor of the moon princess? He was the princess's soul mate? But he was in love with Serena.

_SERENA! _His head snapped up as he leapt from the sofa and ran down the hall to his bedroom. He flung the door open, fully expecting to find the bed empty and untouched, telling him that the night before had just been a dream, but instead he was confronted with the sight of a small lump underneath his black comforter with long streamers of blonde hair that hung over the side of the bed to barely brush the floor.

He tiptoed across the room on sock feet to get a better look at the sleeping girl. She was curled up on her side with one tiny hand tucked up underneath her chin. Her cheeks were flushed with sleep and her lips glistened in the morning light that managed to worm its way through a crack in the curtains.

Darien thought of how easy it would be to lean down and taste the sweetness of her lips for a third time, but he thought better of it. Serena could wake up at any time and it would already be a tense situation when she found out that she had spent the night sleeping in his bed. If she woke up to find him kissing her she was liable to knock his head right off his shoulders.

But when she rolled over and mumbled something incomprehensible in her sleep, he could help but reach out and try to smooth away the worry lines that had appeared to crease her forehead. He wondered what she was dreaming about.

He thought about his own recent dream and remembered the explosions that had rocked the moon palace and the distant sounds of fighting and screams of death. Was she envisioning that final day as well? As the leader of the sailor scouts, she would have been in the thick of the battle. Was she having to relive the final moments that led to her death?

He sure hoped not. He was irritated with what little he had seen of his past and with Serenity's revelation of his identity then and what they had meant to each other. Of course he had asked for it by demanding that she tell him the truth, but he had never imagined that she would reveal that he had been the prince of earth and her fiancé.

Soul mates she had called them. He snorted at the thought. That was just something made up by romanticists to sell stories and cater to the masses of people around the world that held a passion for the drama of a good love story. The idea that there was only one true mate for each person out of all the billions of people in the world was laughable.

Serena muttered something again and waved her hand around, batting away his fingers that were still lingering on her brow. He backed away from her slowly. She would probably be waking soon and he didn't want to be caught hovering over her like some kind of obsessed weirdo.

He glanced at the clock on his bedside table, shocked to see that it was nine o'clock. He had been asleep for fourteen hours! He had never in his life slept that long! Serena was probably used to it, but this was a new experience for him.

He ran quickly around the room, gathering up some clean clothes before ducking into the bathroom to take a quick shower. In ten minutes he was done and sneaking back through the bedroom as he headed for the kitchen and his precious coffeemaker. He had plans to meet up with Andrew, Asanuma, and Kobyashi, but that wasn't until later. For now he had nothing else to do but wait for Serena to wake up. Then they would see what happened next.

* * *

"We can't keep meeting like this," she whispered against his lips. "It's wrong."

His warm breath washed across her face. "This feels too right to be wrong."

"But what if somebody finds out?" she barely breathed.

He growled deeply. "Let them find out. I don't care anymore."

Then his lips were on hers, hard and demanding, but surprisingly gentle at the same time. She tried to pull away, but he cupped a hand behind her head to hold her in place. As his tongue ventured forward to swipe at her bottom lip she felt all resistance drain away and she melted into him. But for some reason tears stung in her eyes and spilled over to flow down her cheeks.

He felt the wetness and pulled back to look at her with questioning midnight eyes. His thumb gently stroked her damp cheek. "What is troubling you, my love?"

She shook her head. "I can't keep doing this, Endy. I have a duty to the moon kingdom and to the scouts to uphold. You are the prince of Earth. If word got out that we were together the repercussions could be devastating."

His hands slid down to grip her arms. "I told you that I don't care what anyone thinks. I love you, Sere. To hell with the moon kingdom and the scouts, my kingdom too if they don't want us together. We'll run away if we have to. We'll go someplace where no one knows us. It doesn't matter as long as I'm with you."

She pulled away from him and took a step back. "You can't possibly mean that! Think of your parents, Endy. You are their only heir. Your entire kingdom is depending on you to take the throne someday. You can't just throw it all away."

"So you would rather I throw you away instead?" he sneered as his voice turned cold. "Is that why you came here tonight, to tell me that it's over between us?"

She turned away, glancing around the beautiful garden full of red roses as she fought back a fresh wave of tears. "It's for the best."

She felt him step up behind her. "Sere…"

"Goodbye, Endymion," she whispered in a cracked voice as everything disappeared in a flash of white light.

Then she found herself lurking by a doorway, looking in on what was obviously a ball that was in full swing. Couples twirled around the dance floor, the men all looking distinguished in their tuxedoes while the women were elegant in their colorful ball gowns.

The music came to a close and a tall slender woman with shimmering silver hair rose from an ornately carved throne on a raised platform and began to address the crowd. She was too far away to make out all of her features, but she had a regal bearing that was hard to miss.

"Good evening," she began in a clear, bell-like voice. "I want to take this opportunity to welcome each and every one of you to this year's holiday ball. I don't want to take too much time away from your enjoyment, so I will make this short. I would like to introduce my daughter, Princess Serenity of the moon kingdom and her escort for the evening, Prince Endymion of Earth."

Polite applause echoed around the room as the large double doors at the top of a sweeping staircase opened and two people walked in. She paid no attention the blonde woman; instead her eyes were intently focused on the man at her side. Her throat burned at the sight of how his raven black hair shined under the lights.

Suddenly a hand gripped her arm tightly and a voice hissed in her ear. "You've been avoiding me."

Her head jerked around to find a tall, black haired man in a black tuxedo that clung to his body and emphasized his wide shoulders. A white mask was in place over his face, but it did little to hide the deep blue eyes behind it that were glittering with barely suppressed emotions.

"Endymion!" she gasped. Her eyes swung to the man in the ballroom that had just taken the princess in his arms for a dance and then back to the man before her. "But…but how…"

"I got Kunzite to cover for me," he told her harshly. "I didn't want to walk into the ball with _her_. You are the only woman I want on my arm."

Her head spun with confusion. "But how did you…" and then it all became clear. "You stole my Luna Pen!"

"I borrowed it," he corrected her. "It was lying on your dresser when I went looking for you in your room earlier, so I thought I could use it to get me out of attending this infernal ball. I knew that you wouldn't be present, so I decided to use this opportunity to find you. You've been hiding away and claiming that you were sick since I arrived."

"You have no right to take my things without permission!" she spat angrily. "And so what if I have been avoiding you? I can't believe you even had the nerve to show up here. I thought I had made it clear, there can be nothing between us."

His eyes narrowed dangerously and he pulled her close so that her body was flush against his. "I'm not giving you up, Sere! I can't! You've poisoned me! You're in my blood like a sickness and I spend every waking moment doing nothing but yearning for you. I can't live without you!"

She shook her head. "Endy, I…"

He cut her off by pulling her into the shadows behind a pillar and pinning her up against a wall. His lips were on hers instantly, cutting off any protest that she may have had. The kiss was rough, not like the other kisses that they had shared, but it held an edge of desperation to it that speared through her heart like a dagger.

She found herself responding eagerly, parting her lips so that her tongue could engage his in a furious duel. She plunged her fingers into the ebony silk of his hair and felt gratified when his moan reverberated in her mouth. She answered with a moan of her own when she felt his hand skim up her ribcage.

She broke off with a gasp and stared up into his lust filled, passion glazed eyes. They burned with a silent question. She nodded and let him take her hand to lead her toward the wing of the palace where the bedchambers were. She knew that she was probably making a horrible mistake, but she couldn't deny him. He was right, they were too much a part of each other to be apart.

She glanced out through a glass door as they passed it and saw the back of the blonde haired princess as she was wrapped in the arms of the fake prince. The last thing she saw was the Endymion imposter claim her lips in a fiery kiss.

Serena came awake with a jolt. Her heart was pounding in her chest like a jackhammer and her breath came in short bursts as she gasped for air. She felt something on her face and reached up with trembling fingers to touch it. Her fingertips came away wet with tears.

Her mind raced at 100 mph as she tried to process what she had just dreamed. Darien was a reincarnated prince! He was Prince Endymion of Earth! That explained why he had such a close connection to Princess Serenity. They were both royalty!

Her stomach plunged as she thought about the rest of the dream, wondering if it was a true memory from her past life or if it was a figment of her imagination. Something deep inside told her that it was real, that those events had really happened.

Sour bile rose in her throat. If it was true, then it meant that her past self had been involved in an affair with the earth prince. But from what she had seen he was supposed to be with the moon princess. He was supposed to have been Princess Serenity's escort to the ball, and the princess had kissed the fake Endymion believing that he was the true prince.

Her dream self had kept saying that they couldn't be together, and now she knew why. He had belonged to Serenity, and she, Serena, had betrayed her princess by having an illicit affair with her prince!

"No," she groaned and pressed her hands over her eyes. She wouldn't have done that, would she? She was Sailor Moon, leader of Princess Serenity's royal guard. She would have never betrayed her princess by sleeping with the man she had loved. And she had no reason not to believe that Serenity had been in love with Endymion. She had seen the way the princess had thrown her arms around the neck of the imposter as they had kissed.

'_Think about it, Serena. It makes perfect sense,' _an annoying little voice that must have been her conscience piped up in her head. _'You've been crushing on Darien for two years now. No matter how many times you fight with him, you keep crawling back for more like a junky looking for a fix. He's searching for Serenity the same as you are. She appears to him in his dreams. That's because they belong together. You already had your suspicions about their relationship, and yet you still wondered if there was a way that you could have him for yourself. Are you going to betray your princess again by stealing her prince away from her?'_

"I won't do it," she whispered. "Darien belongs with Serenity. I'll do all I can to help him find her. We'll locate the Silver Crystal and defeat the Dark Kingdom. And when that's done I'll walk away and let them enjoy their lives together. I won't let past mistakes be repeated."

She felt heartsick at her proclamation, but at the same time she felt a little bit lighter. She had been going up and down like a yo-yo for so long trying to figure out what to do about her "Darien problem", but these new revelations helped put everything into perspective. It was a huge weight off her mind, even if it didn't have the results she had wished for.

She sat up and looked around, realizing for the first time that she wasn't in her bedroom. It was much too dark. Instead of her pink walls covered with idol and anime posters, white lace curtains, and white carpet strewn with mangas and cd's, she was greeted with deep blood red walls that held only a few framed prints. Heavy black curtains blocked all the light from coming in except for what little peeked through the cracks, and the tan carpet was free of debris with a black area rug that covered a majority of the space between the bed and two doors that she assumed led to a closet and a bathroom.

A shiver raced through her. She had no idea where in the world she was. She had never seen this room before in her life. She thought hard, trying to remember how she could have ended up here. The last thing she could remember was she and Tuxedo Mask confronting that new general at the top of Starlight Tower.

She sucked in a breath as it all came rushing back to her. The general, Zoicite she recalled Tuxedo Mask calling him, had sucked the majority of Azabu and Juuban almost completely dry of energy and teleported away before they'd had a chance to try to get the energy back, leaving hundreds of people barely clinging to life. She had used the crescent moon wand in hopes of saving them. At some point she must have depleted her energy and passed out.

Her cheeks burned at the memory of how Tuxedo Mask had stood like a rock behind her, holding her up when she had started to weaken. Then he had done something to her. She had felt his energy flow from his body and into hers; giving her the strength she needed to try and save everyone. Things went blank after that.

"Oh my god, Tuxedo Mask…Darien!" she exclaimed softly. What had happened to him after she fainted? Was he okay? Had he passed out as well? Maybe they had both collapsed and the generals had come back and captured them. This could be a room in the Dark Kingdom!

She swung her feet to the floor and was about to get up when she saw a folded note on the bedside table with her name written on it. She picked it up and opened it, grinning when she saw the familiar handwritings.

First in Amy's neat script: _Serena, We were worried about you after the attack, so I used my computer to track you down. I'm glad to see that you are in good hands. Try to get plenty of rest and we'll see you tomorrow. Don't worry about your mother, I smoothed things over with her and told her you were staying at my place. Take care. Amy_

Then in Raye's bold writing: _You brain dead, idiotic, Meatball Head! You had us worried sick! I am so glad that you didn't get yourself killed, because now I have the pleasure of killing you myself. Your butt is so roasted the next time I see you. But I am glad that you are okay. Raye_

And last was Lita's loopy scrawl: _Way to kick some ass, girlfriend! You sure showed those negaverse creeps that they couldn't get you down. Take a break. You deserve it. And don't do anything I wouldn't do! Lita_

Serena shook her head in amusement. Her friends had to be the craziest bunch of people she had ever known, but she loved them for it. She hadn't liked the idea in the beginning that they were sailor scouts as well, but when she thought about it now she knew that she couldn't imagine having anybody else by her side. Their words comforted her. And obviously if they had found her and left this note then she most definitely was not in the Dark Kingdom.

She swallowed hard as realization struck. Darien must have brought her to his place! She looked around trying to find something to either prove or disprove this fact, but the room was almost unbearably spartan despite its rich color scheme.

Still, she was able to find a few small clues. A vase of red roses sat on top of the dresser and the sleeve of what appeared to be an Azabu High varsity jacket peeked out from under where her own coat lay across a chair. There was also a thick book on the nightstand with its place neatly marked. It looked just like the hundreds of other thick, boring books she had seen him with since she had met him. But what caught her eye was what was lying next to the book.

It was a stunning gold, star-shaped locket with a delicate gold chain. She picked it up carefully and held it in the palm of her hand. She pushed a button on the side and the lid sprang open, but nothing else happened.

She jumped as the door clicked quietly and opened several inches. Her heart began pounding as that familiar head of jet-black hair poked in. Joy sparkled in his bottomless, deep blue eyes when he saw her sitting on the side of the bed.

"Hey! You're up!" he exclaimed, throwing the door open the rest of the way and crossing the room quickly to stand in front of her. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up."

She stared at him blankly, mesmerized by his features as scenes from her dream played through her head. No, not a dream, they were definitely memories. What she had seen had been way too detailed to be a mere dream. The Darien standing before her was Endymion to a tee, right down to the stubborn strands of hair that hung into his eyes. No simple dream could have captured him so perfectly.

Darien waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello, Meatball Head, are you in there?"

She snapped from her reverie at the sound of his voice. "Huh? What?"

He chuckled and folded his arms across his chest. "I asked you if you were intending to hog my bed for the entire winter break."

She looked down to where her hands were clenched in the black silk sheets. _'Whoa!' _her brain screamed at her as the intimacy of the situation hit her. So much for trying to keep things neutral between them. Not two minutes after she had made a vow to be nothing more than a friendly ally to Darien she found herself alone in his bedroom with him while she sat on his bed.

She jumped up quickly, feeling her face heat up. "Oh, wow! Sorry about that. I had kind of figured that this was your room right before you came in."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "It's okay. I didn't know where else to take you after you passed out and I figured you would be comfortable here. I wasn't about to take you home in your condition and run the risk of bumping into your father and I figured Amy, Raye, and Lita would have executed me on the spot if I had taken you to them."

Serena let out a shaky giggle and held up the now severely crumpled note that was still in her hand. "You should have known that you wouldn't be able to hide from the girls. They must have come in sometime last night because they left their calling card."

He growled out a curse under his breath. "Damn! Who would have ever thought that I would have to start locking my balcony door when I live on the top floor of a twenty-story building to keep miniskirt wearing teenage girls from invading my personal space while I sleep. I must have really been out cold if they were able to get by me while I was sleeping on the couch"

She felt a wave of guilt swamp her as she thought about how uncomfortable he must have been. He was every bit of 6'2", and couches were rarely that long. "I'm sorry, Darien. You must have been miserable being stuck on a couch all night. You should have put me there and kept your bed for yourself."

He gave her a heart-stopping smile. "It's not that big of a deal. I was still on my feet at least. You were the one that was wiped out and needed the rest. Besides, what kind of gentleman would I be if I stuck you with the couch and kept that big bed all to myself?"

Serena's knees went weak at the sight of his gorgeous smile and she felt like melting into a puddle of goo on the floor. Those memories of the past were really screwing with her head and making her feel more emotional than usual. Granted Darien had always had a major impact on her feelings and the ability to make her feel slightly loopy when she was around him, but the urge she had to throw herself into his arms and kiss him was stronger than ever.

'_Remember the princess. He belongs to her,' _she told herself. She forced her voice into its normal tone as she joked, "Well I don't think you have to worry about that. Nobody would ever make the mistake of assuming you were a gentleman."

He clutched his chest dramatically. "Ouch! That one cut deep, Meatball Head! Is that they thanks I get for giving you a warm, dry place to sleep off last night's escapades? That's harsh!"

She rolled her eyes at his use of her nickname, but couldn't help but laugh at his teasing. Inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief that things were going so normal between them. Darien was treating her the same as he always had; now if she could just keep herself together and act normal in front of him. She may not be able to act on the feelings she felt for him, but she didn't want to lose their recent camaraderie either. He was too much a part of her everyday life now, and they still needed to work together.

Darien was thinking along the same lines. He had been afraid that things would turn awkward between them when she woke up in his bed, but one look at her smiling face erased all of those fears. She wasn't quite as bright and perky as she normally was, but that was to be expected after her ordeal.

'_Serenity's soul mate, my ass!' _he thought harshly. There was no doubt that he felt a strong connection to the princess that had been with him for so long, and he felt sorry for the horrible things that she had experienced in the past. He hoped that she was having a better life this time around and he would help her find the crystal and defeat Beryl, but he wasn't willing to give Serena up for her.

Serena sobered as she thought back to the night before. "So what happened after I passed out? Were the people revived? Did anyone die?"

Darien grinned at her. "Nope! You saved the day. I just got done watching the news reports of the attack. There were a few people taken to the hospital to be treated for mild exhaustion, but nobody died."

Relief flooded through her, and this time her legs did give out as she sat back down on the edge of the bed with a huge sigh. "Thank goodness! I wasn't sure if I would be able to help them or not, but something told me that I could."

His grin grew. "You did a great job. Now how about I treat you to a celebratory breakfast at the Crown. I know you have a weakness for Andrew's pancakes."

She gave him a small smile but shook her head. As much as she enjoyed his company, she needed to get away from him for a little while so she could sort out all of her thoughts. "Do you mind if I take a rain check? I feel really grungy and would like to go home and take a shower and get into some clean clothes."

His face fell a little, but he could respect her wishes. She was looking a little more bedraggled than usual and he knew that he had felt much better after his shower. "Sure thing. I'll just get my keys and give you a ride home."

She smiled in gratitude. "Thanks." Then she reached up to push aside a stray strand of hair and almost bashed herself in the face with the locket she still held in her hand.

Blushing, she held it out to him. "Oh, sorry. I found this on your table and was admiring it when you came in. It's a beautiful locket. Where did you get it?"

He shrugged. "I don't really know. I had to spend several days in the hospital after the car accident with my parents. I woke up one morning and found it on the bed next to me. I figured one of the nurses had accidentally dropped it, but no one ever claimed it so I kept it. It's supposed to play music, but it doesn't work. I've taken it to probably ten different jewelers, but none of them have figured it out. They say it's unlike any piece of jewelry they've ever seen."

He reached to take it from her, and as soon as his fingers brushed against it a tinkling melody began playing.

"Oh wow! It's so beautiful," Serena breathed. Then her face scrunched up in concentration. "I know that song from somewhere."

"Yeah, me too," Darien whispered as he stood transfixed by the sound.

Serena shook herself out of her stupor. She snapped the locket closed and shoved it into Darien's hand. "Anyway, I guess I better get myself together so I can get home. The lure of hot water and shampoo is calling to me."

Darien pulled himself from his wonderings of why that song sounded so familiar and why the locket had suddenly decided to start working. He put it back in its place on the table, his fingers lingering on it for a moment before he turned back to see that Serena had grabbed her shoes and coat and stood waiting for him.

"Are you ready?" he asked her politely.

She nodded. "Ready when you are."

"Let's go then," he told her.

One silent elevator ride and a few minutes later they both entered the frigid underground parking garage of Darien's apartment building and sprinted for the nearby, cherry red sports car. Darien hit the remote to unlock the doors and they dove inside the plush, but still cold interior. He shoved the key in the ignition and started the car, turning the heat up to full blast and praying it would warm up soon.

"It…it's s…s…so cold!" Serena stammered through chattering teeth. "I d…don't think I…I've ever seen a win…winter this c…cold!"

Darien gave her one of his superior smirks. "It's all in your mind, Meatball Head. It's no colder now than it usually is this time of year. Sometimes it just takes your body a while to get used to the change in the weather."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Your nerdiness is showing again. If you're not careful you'll start wearing a pocket protector and pulling the waist of your pants up to your armpits."

He bit back a smile at her teasing to put on an affronted look. "And disappoint the members of my fan club that you're so fond of bringing up? I couldn't do that!"

She rolled her eyes. "That massive ego of yours is going to get you into serious trouble someday. Your head is going to swell up so big that you're going to fall over and not be able to get up."

This time he did smile. "That's what I keep you around for, Meatball Head. I know that if I start getting too full of myself that you'll use that razor sharp tongue of yours to bring me back down to earth."

Serena fought down the urge to blush as she thought of other ways her past self had used her tongue on his past self. "Whatever, jerk!" she grumbled and lapsed into silence.

Darien shot a curious glance over at the blonde that was now huddled up in the corner of her seat with her arms crossed as she stared pensively out the window and wondered what he had done this time to make her turn so aloof. He had been trying his best to keep things as normal and lighthearted as possible between them. He thought back over his last words and couldn't find anything in them that would have offended her.

He put a hand on her shoulder and grew even more concerned when she jumped under his touch and her head jerked around to stare at him with wide, confused eyes. "Are you okay? I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings somehow."

Her gaze softened and she shook her head. "No, it's okay. You didn't do anything. I'm just still feeling out of sorts. I'll be fine once I get home and get my bearings."

He pulled his hand away and shifted the car into gear. "Well just hang in there fore a few minutes and I'll have you there."

The drive was silent for the most part except for the music playing softly through the speakers. Darien tried to start a conversation a few times, but gave up when Serena's short replies came out in a flat tone.

"Can you drop me off here?" she asked when they reached the corner before her house. "My mom thinks I spent the night at Amy's and my dad's at home. I really don't feel like playing twenty questions with them if they see you dropping me off."

"Sure," Darien said as he pulled the car over to the curb. As Serena opened the door to get out he grabbed her hand. "I'll see you later, right?"

She smiled at him, causing his stomach to writhe like it was full of squirming snakes. "I'm sure you will. We always seem to bump into each other no matter where we go. It's almost as if fate keeps putting us in each other's paths."

Darien snorted. "There's no such thing as fate. I don't believe that a person's life is mapped out from the very beginning and that we're just walking down a predetermined path. We are the only people that control our lives and our choices are what shape our future."

Serena shook her head. "I believe in fate, but I think you're right about how our choices impact our lives. Fate can only deal the hand, it's up to use to decide how to play the game."

He chuckled. "When did you become such a philosopher?"

Another smile graced her lips, but this time it seemed a little sad. "Maybe there's more to me than you thought." Then she pulled her hand from his. "I've gotta go. I'll see you later."

His smile faded as he watched her as she got out of the car and hurried down the snow-covered sidewalk. Something was wrong with her, he just didn't know what. Her moods changed from one minute to the next. When she smiled and laughed with him it seemed genuine, but he couldn't help but feel like she was holding something back.

"You're one to talk," he muttered to himself. It had been a constant battle for him to keep his emotions in check from the moment that he had walked into his room and seen that she was awake. All he had wanted to do was scoop her up into his arms and kiss her until all thoughts of Serenity's proclamation that they were soul mates melted away. He was in charge of his own destiny and no princess was going to tell him otherwise.

Feeling the need to do something normal, he steered his car away from the curb and headed to the Crown. Andrew was there, and if he was in luck some of his other friends would be too. He didn't want to think anymore about past lives or the Dark Kingdom right now. He just wanted to be himself; Darien Shields, a normal high school junior on a normal winter's day.

* * *

"Okay, girls, let's pack it up. Obviously people are smart enough not to come out in this weather just to buy charms," Raye told her three friends.

"Yay!" Mina cheered as she began grabbing the neatly organized trays of charms that the Hikawa Shrine was well known for selling and setting them into boxes to be moved to the storeroom.

Amy glanced up from where she was standing next to the small bonfire that Raye had made to keep them warm. She carefully marked her place and joined in with the packing.

"I can't believe you were crazy enough to set all of this stuff up anyway," Lita grumbled. "It's colder than Mercury out here and there's close to a foot of snow on the ground. No offense, but nobody's going to come all the way up here just to buy some stupid charms."

Raye blew out a breath. "I know, but grandpa wanted to open up at least for a little while to see if we had any customers. We've already had our big holiday rush, but with Christmas only a few days away there are usually a few stragglers wanting to buy a charm for a last minute gift. At least I can say we tried."

"Yep, we tried. And now the rest of our day is free to do as we please. I for one can't wait to go to the arcade and pamper myself with one of Andrew's hot cocoas," Mina sighed.

"Go flirt with Andrew you mean," Lita muttered. "I don't see how you keep putting up with the disappointment. You've been laying it on hot and heavy for months now and the guy acts like he doesn't have a clue."

Mina tossed her blonde head defiantly. "Like you don't spend your fair share of time flirting with him? Please!" She changed her voice into an imitation of Lita's. _"Oh Andrew! I simply must have your recipe for this chocolate pie. It's absolutely the best I've ever tasted." _Then she batted her eyelids dramatically.

Lita's face burned red. "I do not act like that! I just happen to respect him as a fellow cooking enthusiast, that's all. Besides, blondes really don't do it for me. I prefer my men to be darker and more mysterious."

"It's amazing that you didn't try to come on to Darien then," Raye said with a snort. "They don't come much more darker and mysterious than him."

Lita rolled her eyes. "No, you were the only one crazy enough to do that. I always got this feeling from Darien, even before I remembered who he was. It was almost like he had a blinking neon sign around his neck that said _hands off_."

Amy tucked a piece of her short blue hair behind her ear. "That's true. Darien has always exuded an aura of aloofness. Serena seemed to be the only one that never paid any attention to it. She barreled right past all of his roadblocks like they didn't even exist."

"Well that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone," Mina replied as she closed the flaps on the box she had packed. "The same thing happened in the Silver Millennium. Endymion always walked around with his uptight, holier than thou attitude and Serenity ran right over him like a speeding car. She never thought twice about telling him to his face that he was being a jerk."

"Yeah, some things never change," Raye said with a chuckle. "I wonder how they are doing?"

Lita tried to stifle a giggle. "I'm sure they're all nice and cozy. The way they've been acting around each other recently makes me think that we may not have to wait until the Silver Crystal is whole again for them to get their memories back. They grow closer to each other every day and if they keep spending time together like that something just might trigger their memories to resurface. I don't know what's going on in Serena's head, but Darien is definitely showing signs of remembering things."

"Serena may not be too far behind him," a new voice spoke up as Luna appeared at the top of the stairs. "Let's go inside. I need to have an informal meeting with all of you."

They quickly stowed the boxes away in the storeroom and trooped inside. All eyes turned questioningly to the black feline once they were settled around the table in Raye's room, each with a steaming mug of tea.

Luna cleared her throat before she began. Her bright cinnamon eyes looked to Lita first. "I heard what you were saying as I arrived, and I believe you may be correct. Darien is showing signs of Endymion's memories coming through. He recognized Nephrite on sight the other night and I believe we can all agree that his protectiveness of Serena shows that he definitely feels a bond with her. But Serena is the one I'm worried about."

"Has something happened to her?" Mina demanded in her most authoritative tone.

Luna shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. I warned you when I blocked Serena's dreams that I didn't know how long the barrier would hold, and I think it's starting to break down. In fact, Serena and I had a very interesting conversation before I came here."

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

Luna squeezed her way through the gap in Serena's bedroom window and sighed in relief as the warmth of the room closed in around her and began to chase away the chill from outside. She had just leapt from the window seat to the floor when the bathroom door opened and Serena stepped out, wrapped in a large fluffy towel with her long hair trailing down her back in damps waves.

"Oh, Serena!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't know you were home already. I thought you might still be at Darien's recuperating from last night's ordeal."

Serena shook her head as she walked to her closet and began searching through her clothes. "I think I've recuperated enough, Luna. I slept for about fifteen hours straight. That has to be a new record, even for me. But where have you been? I thought you would be here when I got home."

"Artemis and I stayed in the control room last night analyzing the readings from the attack," Luna told her. "I can't tell you how proud I am of you. A lot of lives would have been lost if you hadn't used the wand to restore those people's energy."

Serena blushed under the compliment as she sat down at her vanity table and began the complicated task of combing her hair. After a few minutes of wrestling with tangles she set the brush down. Her eyes were twin pools of sadness as they met Luna's in the mirror.

"Luna," she whispered softly. "Can I ask you something? I don't know if you even know the answer, but I feel like you're the only one I can ask."

Luna jumped up on the bed and regarded her charge warmly. "Of course you can, Serena. That is what I'm here for. I am your advisor. You can ask me anything and I'll try to answer it to the best of my ability."

Serena looked down, fiddling idly with a hairpin that was lying on the tabletop. "I had this…dream. But it was more than a dream. I think it was memories from my past life." She lifted her gaze to meet Luna's steadily. "Did you know that Darien was the reincarnation of Endymion, the prince of Earth?"

Luna felt like choking, but she kept her features smoothly calm as she thought of the best way to answer. She finally decided that honesty was the best policy. "Yes, I was aware that he was Endymion's reincarnation. Why do you ask?"

Serena shrugged and picked up her brush again. "I just wanted to make sure what I saw was real and not just something that my imagination made up. Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Yes," Luna said hesitantly as she mentally prepared herself for what she was sure to be the next question. _'Am I the moon princess?'_

But instead of that, Serena blew her mind by asking something equally as shocking. "Were he and Princess Serenity…together?"

The feline was struck speechless. How could she possibly answer that one? Her oath of loyalty to the Lunar royal family dictated that she could not lie to her princess, but she had promised her dying queen that she would protect her daughter at all costs. And to keep Serena safe she had to keep her identity secret for just a while longer. But if she told her that Serenity and Endymion had been set to marry it would break her heart. She would think that she was in love with her princess's fiancé.

Serena let out a small sigh and got up from her seat. She picked up the clothes she had chosen and crossed over to the bed to pat Luna on the head. "Thank you, Luna. Your silence was all the answer I needed."

She smiled at her advisor and retreated back into the bathroom. When Luna heard the hair dryer turn on she wriggled back out the window and ran for the shrine.

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

"Oh what a tangled web we weave," Mina whispered as Luna finished her tale. "Now Serena thinks she's got the hots for Serenity's prince and doesn't realize that she is Serenity. Maybe we've made a mistake by not coming clean with her from the beginning."

"Do you think we should tell her the truth?" Lita asked in a strangled whisper.

"Absolutely not!" Raye interjected, banging her hands down on the table. "I know I was all for telling her in the beginning, but I've meditated for many hours about this and the fire always tells me the same thing. If Serena finds out that she's the moon princess before we get our hands on the rainbow crystals and revive the Silver Crystal, there is a huge chance that the Dark Kingdom will kill her first."

"She's right," Amy said, typing on her computer. "The percentage of Serena falling victim to Beryl if the woman attacks without her having the protection of the crystal goes up dramatically."

"So what do we do?" Lita snapped. "We can't let the poor girl run around thinking she's in love with another woman's man! What kind of friends would we be if we did that?"

Mina's eyes burned with fierce determination. "Then we just have to step up our game and hope that we can find those crystals as quick as possible and defeat the Dark Kingdom so that Serena and Darien can be together. They've waited too long and suffered too much to let that witch come between them again. If I have to step in, I will. It may hurt both of them for a while, but all that matters is that they're together in the end. As the scout of love, I swear I will see our princess happy with her prince!"

* * *

A sinister grin stretched Beryl's thin lips as the dark blob that was Metallia grew to enormous proportions inside the bladder of orange liquid and began writhing restlessly. She had been on her knees for hours, slowly feeding the massive amount of energy Zoicite had procured from that pitiful human city into her mistress. It had been a long, tedious process, but she was gratified at last when Metallia let out a roar and a wave of dark energy rolled from her, shaking the chamber to its very foundation.

"Oh, Great Metallia," Beryl praised as she bowed in her kneeling position with her forehead touching the stone ground. "I am here to do your bidding. What is your wish, my queen?"

The black mass twisted and strained as if it sought to burst free of its confinement. "Our time has come," the evil entity's dark voice hissed. "Collect the rainbow crystals and find the moon princess and her scouts. Kill them all. Then our path to the Silver Crystal will be unimpeded and the Earth will be ours."

"As you wish, my queen," Beryl replied as she stood and climbed the stairs to her throne room. She cast a critical eye over the four men that bowed low at her entrance.

"Jadeite, Nephrite, I'm giving you two pathetic worms a chance to redeem yourselves," she snapped. "Locate and eliminate the sailor scouts. One of them is sure to lead you to the princess. When you find that conniving moon tramp I want you to bring me her head. I will not tolerate any more failures from you. Either you do as I command or I will kill you on the spot. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your majesty," the two generals mumbled with their heads down.

"You may go!" she dismissed them. When they had left she turned her attention to the remaining two.

"Zoicite, your job is to focus on finding and collecting the rainbow crystals," she ordered.

The dark blonde general's head snapped up. "Yes, my queen. But how will I go about finding them?"

Beryl waved a careless hand and the dark crystal that Zoicite had used the night before appeared and floated over to land in his hand. "This crystal has been infused with Metallia's power. It should be sufficient in helping you locate the crystals. But do not dawdle, Zoicite. I'm sure by now the sailor scouts are aware of the existence of the crystals and they will be searching for them as well. We must get them before they do or they will restore that horrible princess to power."

"I understand, your majesty," Zoicite said with a bow.

"Then get to work. Time is of the essence," Beryl ordered.

"And what of me, Queen Beryl?" Kunzite asked as Zoicite left the chamber. "I can't imagine that you intend for me to sit around here with nothing to do."

The flame haired queen beckoned him forward and then motioned for him to kneel before her. Once he was on his knees she reached out to stroke his cheek. "You thought right, my dear. I have a special assignment for you. You will find Endymion and bring him to me…alive. I will not allow that little slut to take him from me again!"

"The prince…" Kunzite muttered.

Beryl's eyes glowed with a manic light. "He will be mine."

* * *

Serena checked her reflection in the window of the store next door to the arcade to make sure that no remnants of the sob fest that she had indulged in earlier were present. After her talk with Luna earlier she had locked herself in the bathroom and given in to a good cry as she dried her hair and dressed. Once she had gotten it all out of her system she had felt at peace.

She had come to accept that Darien would never be hers. And while it stung a bit, she felt justified in her decision. She would treat him like she always did, she may even go so far as to acknowledge him publicly as a friend, but that was all there would ever be between them. She had a duty to the princess.

Satisfied that the cold water that she had bathed her face in had done the trick and there were no sins of her earlier distress visible, she hurried on her way to the Crown. She could taste one of Andrew's heavenly hot cocoas already.

"Hey, Drew!" she sing-songed as she burst through the arcade doors with her usual enthusiasm and spotted the familiar sandy blonde head behind the counter.

Andrew looked up, but instead of his normal welcoming smile, she was treated to sad, tormented hazel eyes. "Hey, Sere," he responded in a downtrodden voice.

She was immediately concern for the boy that had been an older brother to her her whole life. "What's the matter?"

He nodded his head to the three guys that were in front of him. Darien was staring pensively into mug of coffee while Asanuma and Kobyashi sat at the counter with their faces buried in their folded arms.

"Oh my goodness! What's the matter?" Serena exclaimed as she rushed over, ripping her gloves off her hands so that she could touch each of the obviously distressed blonde boys on the shoulder.

Asanuma raised his head to look at her. But instead of the eyes that normally sparkled with mischief and humor a dull, lifeless gaze greeted her. "Hey, Bunny," he mumbled miserably.

"Numa, what's the matter?" she repeated as she took in all four depressed looking boys. "You all look like somebody just died."

Asanuma put his elbows on the counter and propped his chin in his hands. "Why don't you tell her, Koby?"

"Nooo," Kobyashi groaned without lifting his head. "I can't stand to repeat it again. It's just too horrible."

"Somebody better tell me what's going on before I go crazy!" Serena almost screeched. Her gaze locked onto a pair of deep blue eyes. He would tell her. "Darien?"

He sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "Numa and Koby are going to be taking an extended trip."

Kobyashi's head snapped up. "Ha! That's putting it nicely! There's no need to sugarcoat it." He spun around on his stool to look at Serena. "The truth is that Numa and I have been given one way tickets to hell! You know that both of our dads work for the same computer programming company, right?" He waited for her to nod. "Well they've both been assigned to work on some new project together, but the catch is that we have to move to California for the next six months."

Serena's mouth fell open. "Oh, well, that too bad. I'll miss you guys a lot. But you should look at the positive side."

Asanuma turned around to look at her incredulously. "Bunny, I know that you're always a bubbling little fountain of optimism, but there is nothing positive about this. I can't even speak the language. You know English is my worst subject."

She tilted her head to the side as she thought. "Yes, that true, but there are so many other things to look forward to."

"Such as?" Kobyashi asked critically.

Her brow furrowed in concentration. "Well, you'll be experiencing a new place. You should think of it as an adventure. The weather will be better there. You can escape all of the cold and snow here. Ooo, and food! I bet they have all kinds of different food there that you can try. I'll expect a full report on that subject when you get back by the way. And don't forget Disneyland. But those aren't the important thing."

"What's the important thing?" Asanuma asked, looking a little swirly-eyed from listening to her rambling.

Serena smiled impishly at him. "You and Koby are supposed to be our resident perverts and neither one of you have thought about the amount of babe watching you're going to be able to do? I'm surprised and disappointed in you guys."

Kobyashi raised an eyebrow at Asanuma. "She does have a point. We'll be right on the coast and the beaches there are open year round."

Asanuma snapped his open mouth shut. "I can't believe I never thought about all the hot California chicks. This could be fun after all. Thank you, Bunny-chan! You've given me a reason to live again!"

Serena squealed as her exuberant friend picked her up and spun her around enthusiastically. She was getting dizzy and was about to start begging for him to put her down when a firm hand landed on his shoulder.

Asanuma turned and was shocked to find Darien's eyes burning into him with murderous intent. Those blue orbs had darkened to almost black and cut through him like a samurai sword.

When he spoke though, his voice was a friendly as ever, albeit a little forced sounding. "Okay, Numa, give the Meatball Head a break. Her head's going to fly right off if you keep spinning her like that."

Asanuma gulped under the glare and set Serena on her feet. "Oops! Sorry, Serena."

"It's okay," she said as she wobbled on her feet. "I'm just glad that I could make you feel better. It's not the end of the world. You and Koby will be together at least and you'll both be home in time to join the rest of us for summer vacation."

He grinned at her and then let her go as he spun back toward the counter and pounded on it. "Hey barkeep, let me get a soda over here. I feel like celebrating! I also wouldn't be opposed if you put a little nip of something in that drink. What are you hiding back there Furuhata; rum, vodka, or tequila?"

Serena giggled as she watched Asanuma lean far over the counter, trying to see what was on the shelves underneath it. Andrew took a dishtowel and began whacking him over the head with it while Kobyashi howled with laughter on his stool.

She jumped as an arm wrapped around her waist and Darien leaned down to whisper in her ear. "How do you do it? Drew and I have been trying to cheer those two up for over an hour with no success. Then you waltz in here and have them back to their old selves in just a couple of minutes."

She smiled up at him as she stepped away from both his lips and his confining arm in what she hoped wasn't an obvious move. "I don't know. I just pointed out some of the bright spots in their situation. They're stuck going no matter what, but they shouldn't be miserable about it."

He chuckled. "You are something else."

She turned quickly to the counter when he took a step toward her. "Can I get a hot chocolate, please, Drew? It's like the North Pole outside!"

Darien frowned at what he saw as an obvious attempt at avoiding any contact with him. He had thought that they were becoming closer, but now he sensed that she was subtly pushing him away. She wasn't being unfriendly or even distant, but he couldn't help but feel like a barrier of some kind had sprung up between them.

He sucked in a breath as a thought crossed his mind. Had Serenity gotten to Serena too? Serena had said that the princess had never appeared to her in her dreams, but perhaps that had changed. Serenity's earlier attitude toward him had almost been possessive, and if she had seen Serena as a possible threat to what she claimed was an ancient bond between them she just might have paid her lead scout a visit.

"Damn her! She's ruining everything!" he ground out between clenched teeth.

Andrew looked up from where he was wiping nonexistent dirt from the spotless countertop. "Did you say something, Dare?"

He shook his head. "No. Serena, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Oooo..." Asanuma and Kobyashi intoned together, their eyes wide with the prospect of some juicy gossip.

Darien rolled his eyes. "Can it, you old ladies! You read far too much into things."

"Says the guy that asked Serena to talk to him at the dance and they never came back," Andrew muttered, not quite under his breath.

"Serena, please," he said in a pleading tone.

She turned to look at him over her shoulder. "What? Now? I just got my hot chocolate." Then she turned her back on him.

"Ouch! Burned!" Asanuma stage whispered as he slapped a high five with Kobyashi.

Darien felt more than a little annoyed at her casual dismissal of him. He was about two seconds from hauling her off that stool and either shaking her, kissing her, or perhaps both, despite their audience, when the arcade doors opened and the scouts in their civilian forms plus Mina walked in.

He backed off then. Serena's friends were all highly protective of her. Even Raye was known to fly to the petite blonde's defense in spite of the nature of their sometimes argumentative relationship. The last thing he needed was to have four teenage girls on his back, especially when three of them possessed super powers.

Serena smiled widely and waved. "Hey guys!"

The girls all called out greetings and hurried over to the counter. Somehow Darien got shuffled neatly out of the way as they converged on Serena, exchanging hugs and all talking at once. He finally gave up and returned to his seat at the end of the counter. He watched through narrowed eyes as the girls all chattered away, commiserating with Asanuma and Kobyashi about their move for a few minutes before they all retreated to the large booth in the back with steaming mugs of cocoa.

Asanuma and Kobyashi left soon after that when they were called home by their mothers to help with some things. Then a group of middle schoolers brave enough to endure the deplorable winter weather came in and kept Andrew busy, leaving Darien alone with his thoughts.

He fought down the urge to walk over to the booth and talk to Serena. He knew the chances of getting her away from the girls were slim to none, and he wouldn't be able to say what he wanted to say in front of them because Mina was with them and she was clueless about her friend's new secret lives. Besides, he really, really wanted to talk to Serena alone.

An hour later he was still sitting there while the girls continued to laugh and gossip their way through an extended lunch. He talked with Andrew while he was in between customers, but was careful to keep one eye on Serena.

Then the unthinkable happened. He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but it did. He lost focus for just one minute while laughing at a particularly funny joke that Andrew had told him. When Andrew looked up and said, "Huh, that's funny. Serena left without saying goodbye," he abruptly stopped laughing and spun around in his seat. Sure enough, her spot at the table was empty. And when he whipped his head around to look out the window he barely caught a glimpse of her as she was hurrying away.

"Why that little…" he growled as he jumped up, grabbing his coat and trying to shove his arms into it and wrap his scarf around his neck at the same time. "When I get my hands on her…"

He left a speechless Andrew behind as he ran across the arcade to the door. He was so fixated on catching up with Serena that he failed to see the other person that was heading for the door as well. They collided together and went sprawling. A purse hit the floor, spilling its contents on the floor.

"Omigosh, Darien, I'm sorry. I didn't see you coming," Mina said as she began scooping her belongings back into her designer handbag.

"No, it's my fault. I should have been watching where I was going. I think Serena's rubbing off on me," he told her as he helped her pick up her stuff. He grabbed her wallet, a pen, and a pack of gum. He reached for something gold and paused.

There was nothing spectacular about the object. It was just a simple compact mirror. But what held his attention was the crescent moon engraved on the cover. He shook off the strange feeling and picked it up before handing it and the other things to Mina.

"Thanks," she said as she flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

His breath froze as the golden strands gleamed under the fluorescent lights. He was thrown back into his earlier dream and encounter with Serenity where he had caught a brief glimpse of blonde hair and blue eyes.

There were supposedly four sailor scouts and the princess. All four scouts were present and accounted for. All that was left was to find the moon princess. The scouts were all from the same group of friends. Only Mina seemed to be out of place.

Or was she out of place? The scouts had all been friends before their powers had been awakened. Was it possible that the princess was with them already as well.

"Serenity," he barely whispered.

The facts were so glaringly obvious to him now that he felt like smacking his head against the floor. Mina's cat, Artemis talked like Serena's cat, Luna. She was with the scouts almost constantly, except when they were fighting. She was definitely the most well off money-wise of all the girls, as the expensive clothes she wore when she wasn't in her school uniform clearly showed. And she had blonde hair and blue eyes.

Those big blue eyes were now looking at him in confusion. "What did you say, Darien?"

"Noth…nothing," he stammered as he got up. He offered her a hand and helped her off the floor as well. "Look, I'm sorry I mowed you down and all, but I've gotta run."

She smiled at him. "Of course I forgive you. Oh, and Darien," she called after him as he began to walk away.

He stopped and looked back at her. "Yes?"

Her blue eyes met his head on. "If you're looking for Serena, you'll probably catch her at the grocery store on the way to her house. Her mother called her and asked her to pick up something for her." She winked and flashed her famous V sign.

He couldn't help but grin. Maybe he was wrong about her after all. Perhaps she was a normal girl that just happened to have unique friends and an unusual cat. If she was Serenity's reincarnation he couldn't imagine her encouraging him to run after the girl she saw as her rival. "Thanks, Mina!"

A beeping sound coming from the table where the rest of the girls sat had both pairs of blue eyes snapping toward them. Amy held a small, calculator-sized device in her hand that Darien knew to be a scout communicator. The blue haired girl was speaking quietly into it with an anxious look on her face.

'_This can't be good,' _Darien thought to himself. He knew it was bad news a few seconds later when he felt the familiar heat burst in his chest that told him that Serena had just transformed into Sailor Moon.

He rushed out the doors and into the cold as fast as he could. The girls could make the excuses for their abrupt departure to Mina, but he had to go. What if Serena had to use her wand again and needed him? He couldn't let her go through that alone. She was barely recovered from last night's events.

"Why can't these Dark Kingdom bastards take a day off?" he muttered as he ducked into an alley and transformed. A few seconds later Tuxedo Mask jumped to the rooftops as he followed the magnetic pull that always led him to Sailor Moon no matter where she was.

* * *

Sailor Moon shrieked and ducked as a frozen turkey was hurled at her head. It sailed over her and smashed into the glass door of a frozen food freezer, shattering it and making the small, blonde super heroine throw up her arms to shield her face.

The youma across the aisle from her cackled gleefully. "What's the matter, sweet thing? Are you scared that your pretty face might get messed up a little? You don't have to worry about the boys running from you if you get scarred up a little, because you won't live long enough to worry about not having a date!" She slung two more large frozen birds at her.

Sailor Moon dove behind a cooler to avoid the flying poultry. Her arms stung where the glass had nicked them, and she prayed the other scouts would show up soon. She'd called them for back up as soon as the youma had shown up and started terrorizing the customers in the grocery store that she had ducked into to pick up the bread and sugar her mother had asked her to get.

She peeked around the cooler to see the youma reloading her hands, all of them, with more brick hard frozen projectiles. This was by far the craziest looking youma she had come across yet. It looked like a cross between a Barbie doll and that Doc Oc guy she had seen in that Spider-man movie a few years before. It was an almost normal looking blonde woman, aside from her pale blue skin, and had weird, tentacle-like arms that sprouted from her back.

A deep chuckle was heard as Jadeite appeared, floating in the middle of the aisle. "What's wrong, Sailor Moon? I thought you were a better fighter than this. But I guess you're only good at hiding yourself away like a coward."

Anger bubbled thick and hot in her stomach, but she ignored the impulse to jump up and light into him. The fight was two on one until the others arrived, and she knew there was no way that she could take on a youma with multiple arms plus a general by herself. No, it was definitely best to make herself as small a target as possible until help arrived.

The one good thing was at least she didn't have to worry about any innocent civilians getting caught up in the fight. There had been few people in the store to begin with, and when the youma had appeared she had been able to hold it back while the few customers and employees had fled. She had tried using her tiara several times to take out the monster, but it kept throwing things into the tiara's path and knocking it off course.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Jadeite chanted in an amused tone. "I thought the sailor scouts were supposed to be the champions of the moon kingdom; fearless warriors that would stand up against any enemy, no matter how great. Well I guess if you won't come out and face me on your own, I'll just have to make you!"

He shot a blast of fire at the cooler Sailor Moon was taking cover behind and it exploded, sending the tiny heroine flying through the air before she hit the floor and slid several feet with a squealing sound.

Sailor Moon gritted her teeth as pain exploded all over her body. Her back was extremely hot and felt slightly broiled from the flames that had come so close to her. An unpleasant smell alerted her to the fact that at least a small part of her hair had been singed. And much of her exposed skin felt like it was being peeled away from the bone as she skidded across the linoleum floor before crashing into an end cap display.

Her arms trembled as she tried to push herself into a sitting position as Jadeite's feet landed softly on the floor and he took a few steps toward her with a smirk on his face.

"So this is how the great Sailor Moon, leader of the Imperial Sailor Scouts, meets her end; groveling on the floor like a broken doll," he said in a light, airy voice, as if he were doing nothing more than commenting on the weather. "I'm not impressed, Lady Moon. I expected more from the moon princess's top bodyguard. Perhaps you should have thought twice, little girl, before you decided to play dress up and pretend to be a hero. This isn't a game. It almost seems to be a waste of time to kill you, but Queen Beryl wants you and all of your little friends dead."

He turned to the youma. "Octavia! Finish her off! I have better things to do with my time than dealing with a pathetic child."

"As you wish, Lord Jadeite," the youma replied as it turned away from a display it had been looking at with curiosity.

Sailor Moon eyes widened in fear as she saw that what the youma had been looking at was a display that held various cooking implements, and it now held a sharp, glittering knife in each hand.

Octavia's blue lips stretched in a smile. "Time to carve you up! I'll turn you into Sailor Turkey!" And then she sprang, knives extended for the kill.

Sailor Moon closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable feeling of cold, hard steel plunging into her body. She conjured Darien's face in her mind and thought, _'I love you, Darien. I know it's wrong, but I love you with all my heart.'_

The awaited pain never came. She heard a snap and a flutter, followed immediately after by a hiss and then a thud. She opened her eyes to see nothing but blackness in front of her. After a few seconds of blinking in confusion, she realized that what she was looking at was Tuxedo Mask's cape. As he spun around to her she saw the youma lying on the floor, rapidly turning to dust and with a red rose buried deep in its chest.

He swept her up into his arms as she heard the cry of "Mercury Bubbles Blast" and the whole area filled with a thick mist. Her relief that she wasn't alone anymore was so great that she almost passed out, but she settled instead for resting her head on a black clothed shoulder as she felt him jump away from the fight.

A pair of warm lips brushed her temple as that smooth, husky voice from her dreams whispered, "Are you okay, Serena?"

She nodded against his shoulder and, although she knew she was torturing herself, she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and held him close. A few seconds later she felt him land lightly on the other side of the store and looked up into the stormy blue eyes behind the white mask.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he demanded as he cupped her cheek in a white gloved palm.

She nodded again. "I'm fine, Darien. I'm just a little shaken up, that's all."

"Are you sure?" he insisted, now running his hand down her arm. "There's no broken bones or anything?"

She pulled away from him as quickly as her sore body would let her and forced a small smile onto her face, hoping that it would ease the sting of pain she saw flare in his eyes. "I said I was fine and I meant it. I wouldn't lie to you about that."

"But would you lie to me about other things?" he asked her harshly.

She pressed her fingers to her temples as a throbbing began behind her eyes. "What are you talking about, Darien?"

He put his fingers under her chin and forced her gaze to meet his. "Something's changed in you since last night, Serena, and I want to know what it is. I thought that we were growing closer, that there was some kind of connection between us. But now you're pushing me away and treating me as if I'm nothing more than I mere acquaintance, and I want to know why."

"We don't have time for this right now," she replied as Jupiter's lightning flashed brightly and something crashed several aisles away. "I have to get back to the others. They may need me."

He caught her arm as she spun away. "Just tell me this, Serena; did Serenity come visit you in your dreams?"

She turned to look at him with an open, honest expression. "No. I told you before; the princess has never visited me in my dreams. You seem to be the only one she graces with her presence."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Serenity hadn't gotten to her. There was still something bothering her and he was going to find out what, but that could wait until later.

He let go of her arm. "Okay, let's go help the girls. Jadeite's got to be pissed that we messed up his plans." He fell into step beside Sailor Moon as she darted away.

"How did you manage to kill that youma anyway?" she asked as they ran. "You've hit other youma with your roses before and it never killed any of them."

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it was just a lucky shot. I saw that thing was about to slice you into ribbons and I reacted without thinking. I had no idea that it would actually work."

They charged onto the frozen food aisle to find Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter standing over to one side while Sailor Mars and Jadeite were locked together in a heated standoff in the middle.

"Mars!" Sailor Moon screamed.

"Stay out of this!" Mars demanded, her eyes never straying from the man in front of her. "He's mine!"

Jadeite grinned cockily at her. "So I take it that you're ready for our rematch, Mars."

A surprisingly peaceful smile appeared on her face. "I've been ready. Now that I know for sure that you are not who you are pretending to be, I have no problem with killing you. And this time there won't be any chance of you coming back because your so called queen is going down!"

"Those are strong words, Mars," Jadeite drawled. "But are you capable of backing up that big mouth of yours?"

Flames began dancing around the fingers of the red suited scout. "There's only one way to find out. So why don't you bring it on? I feel like doing a little barbequing."

He gave her a small bow before he held out his hand and a sword comprised completely of fire manifested in it. "As you wish, my dear Lady Mars."

**A/N **So there you go! I know it's a little bit of a cliffy, but I had to stop this chapter while I could or it would have gone on for another 32 pages. So obviously in the next chapter it will be Mars vs. Jadeite. Will the fiery scout finally get her revenge on him for what happened in the Silver Millennium? Hmm…I guess we'll see. And I want to clarify this in case it seemed a little confusing. The reason why Serena was dreaming of seeing the princess from a distance at the ball in her dreams is because Mina was standing in as her double. That's also why the supposed princess was kissing the fake prince so enthusiastically, because he was Kunzite under the spell of the Luna Pen. And if you noticed in the entire dream, Endymion only called her Sere, not Serenity, so Serena just naturally assumed that it was a nickname for Serena. Oh, and Mina wasn't trying to make Darien think she was Serenity on purpose. That was purely an accident, so don't go hatin' on V-babe! She innocent…for now! Christmas is coming up next! What will it hold in store for our poor, disillusioned couple? And speaking of Christmas, I've been working on a holiday story as well that's almost finished. I intended it to be a one shot, but I may split it into two, I'm not sure yet. But it's called _Star Bright Angels _and it takes place in my Lunar Princess universe, but before GT started, and it will star Serena, Darien, Andrew, and Jess. I hope to post it soon. Good grief! I think I've rambled enough! Please remember to drop me a review and tell me what you think! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	12. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

**A/N **Yay! Update time! I was going to post this a little earlier, but I think the site has been having a little trouble. By the way, if any of my _Bad Boys _readers that messaged me to say that they couldn't access chapter 4 are reading this, it's showing up now. I don't know what was going on with that. Some people could see it and some couldn't. I guess there was a glitch somewhere. Anyway! I've got a longish chapter for you here. We left off with the cliffie of Mars and Jadeite about to tear into each other when the scouts and Tuxedo Mask showed up at a grocery store to assist Sailor Moon, who had confronted the Dark Kingdom general and his psycho, multi-armed youma that was fond of throwing frozen turkeys, and that's where this picks up. And since we just finished with Christmas I went ahead and pushed right through with the holiday scenes so we can move on. So now let me take a moment to hug my reviewers. BIG HUGS TO:

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Thanks as always you guys for your inspiring words. I don't really have a lot to say this time, so I'm going to let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 12

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

Sailor Moon shivered violently as a harsh, cold wind whipped around her. Then she cringed away from the heat of the flames that sprang to life several yards from her. "I don't like this. Maybe we should step in or something. Raye could get hurt."

Sailor Jupiter pinned her with a reproachful stare. "Serena! You should have more faith in her than that! I know you don't have your memories back yet, but I can assure you that Mars is a very capable fighter. Anyway, this is her fight."

"I'm just glad she was smart enough to suggest that they move this little, uh…altercation, to another location. There wouldn't have been anything left of that grocery store if they had fought in there," Mercury muttered.

Sailor Moon chewed worriedly on her thumbnail through her glove as she watched the scene that was unfolding before her. Okay, so maybe she didn't have her memories back yet, and if what she had seen in her dreams earlier had been true she wasn't sure if she wanted them back, but she was pretty sure that she would be just as concerned for her fiery friend even if she could remember the Sailor Mars from the past.

A startled whimper tumbled past her trembling lips as she saw Jadeite lunge at Mars, slashing at her with his flaming blade. But Mars merely laughed at him and twirled out of his reach as gracefully as a ballet dancer before shooting a stream of fire at him that made him have to go on the defensive.

"What's the matter, _general_," the red suited scout cackled in glee. "I'm not too hot for you to handle, am I?"

The blonde haired general glared at her for a moment before his scowl melted away into a brilliant smile. "Of course not, dear Mars. I'm just testing the fire, so to speak. I was curious to see if a thousand years had gained you any new abilities since the last time we fought, but I see now that I am to be disappointed. You are exactly the same as you were that day on the moon. That hardly poses a challenge to me since I beat you before."

"Ha!" Mars laughed harshly as she tossed her long hair over her shoulder. "Maybe your memory needs refreshing, but I seem to remember that I managed to take you out before I died. So I wouldn't be acting so cocky if I were you!"

Jadeite snorted. "Please! You got lucky, that's all. That was clearly a desperate last attempt by a dying woman."

Her violet eyes flared wide. "I admit that you had me at a little bit of a disadvantage last time. But I'm ready for you now."

He smirked at her. "So it no longer bothers you that I have _his _face?"

Her hands trembled for a moment before they clenched into fists. "Not at all."

He bowed to her slightly. "Then let's continue, shall we?"

And the clash continued as flames flashed furiously from both opponents to light up the secluded abandoned lot they were in as bright as day.

Sailor Moon gasped as Jadeite's sword came perilously close to decapitating Sailor Mars. Luckily her friend ducked at the last second, but the stench of burning hair filled the air from where his flames had singed the ends of her raven locks.

"Ooo, she's going to get him for that one," Jupiter howled as she rubbed her hands together in delight. "Her hair is her pride and joy."

Beside her Mercury nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. That is liable to really set her off. I'm sure glad I'm not in Jadeite's shoes right now. She is going to turn him into flambé."

"How can you do this?" a shaking voice asked them, and they turned to see Sailor Moon staring at them with a look of horror on her face. Her whole body was quivering and her hands were clenched tightly at her sides. Tears poured from her eyes as she looked at both of them as if they were strangers.

"How can you two just stand here and watch this so calmly?" she whispered. "Raye is fighting for her life over there, and you guys are treating it as if it's nothing more than a pay-per-view boxing special. Aren't you worried about her?"

Jupiter's dark green eyes softened as she took in her petite friend's distraught state. "Of course we're worried about her, Serena! But we're sailor scouts. This is what we do. We fight against the enemies and we take them out. And believe me, this showdown has been coming for a long time."

Mercury patted Sailor Moon on the shoulder. "You've got to have faith. Raye can take care of herself. Just look at her. She's running Jadeite in circles. She'll be fine."

Sailor Moon shook her head. "I wish I had never taken that stupid brooch from Luna. If I hadn't then maybe Sailor Mars would have never woken up and Raye would be at home safe and sound right now. We all would be."

"But what about the Dark Kingdom?" Jupiter insisted. "We have to defeat them. They'll take over the world if we don't."

"I don't care anymore!" Sailor Moon shrieked. "Let the military take care of them. Isn't that their job? They could probably roll up a bunch of tanks and take them out in five seconds. We shouldn't have to deal with this. We are only teenagers!"

Tears blinded her vision and her legs were so wobbly that she felt that she could fall to the ground at any second. She was about to give in to that weakness when she felt something warm wrap around her and she was pulled against a firm body. Deep inside she knew that she should pull away, but she was so upset that all she could do was wind her arms around his waist, close her eyes, and breath in that soothing scent of roses, chocolate, and coffee that was so uniquely him.

"Leave her alone for now," she heard as his chest rumbled under her ear. "She's been through enough the last couple of nights. Let's give her a break."

She opened her eyes and saw nothing but blackness. Then she realized why she suddenly felt so warm despite the freezing temperatures. Tuxedo Mask had wrapped her up completely in his cape like a cocoon. Between that and the body heat radiating off of him she felt like she was basking in the sun on a hot summer day.

'_Remember the princess,' _her inner Jiminy Cricket piped up. _'This is her prince that you're all snuggled up and cozy with. What happened to keeping your distance?'_

"Oh, to hell with the princess right now!" she muttered as she buried her face in the soft fabric of Tuxedo Mask's jacket.

She felt a draft and looked up to see that he had pulled a small hole open and was peering in at her. His dark blue eyes were concerned behind his mask.

"Did you say something?" he asked her softly.

She rubbed her stinging eyes with her gloved fists. "No, not really. I guess I was just talking to myself. I tend to do that when I'm having an emotional breakdown, and that seems to be happening a lot these days."

"Did you want me to take you home?" His arms tightened around her back like he was ready to jump away with her at a moment's notice.

"No, no!" she reassured him as she placed her hands on his chest and pushed lightly to put a little space between them. She liked being close to him, but this was a little suffocating. "I just needed a minute to pull myself back together. I'm not going to run off and abandon Raye when she's in the middle of a fight. How's she doing?"

He looked up and his face glowed orange in the light of the fire that was obviously still flying between the two. "She's still holding her own, but that has me worried. I think Jadeite is only playing with her. Maybe it's part of my buried memories or something, but I know he's capable of more than what he's showed so far."

She frowned a little. "Well maybe this Jadeite isn't. Didn't the girls say something about these generals not being the real generals and that it was just their bodies that had been reanimated by Beryl's magic?"

He nodded, but kept his eyes fixed on the fight. "That's the conclusion that Amy came up with. But she also said that these imposters still held all of the general's powers and abilities. So this guy should be able to fight exactly like the real Jadeite would, maybe even a little better since he also has Beryl's dark energy running through him."

"So you think that Raye could be in serious danger too," she whispered.

He glanced down and gave her a quick, and what he hoped was a reassuring grin. "I'm sure she'll be fine as long as she doesn't underestimate him. Besides, some of the best warriors in the galaxy came from Mars, and she was always able to take care of herself."

Sailor Moon's eyes widened in shock. "How do you know that?"

His brow wrinkled in concentration. "I have absolutely no idea, but somehow I do. The thought just popped into my mind while I was watching her fight. It's probably because I saw her fight in the past. From what I understand I seemed to have been a frequent visitor on the moon, so I'm sure I would have had the opportunity."

She grasped his lapels in her hands and forced his eyes to meet hers. "Are you getting your memories back from the Silver Millennium?"

He shrugged. "No. Not really. I've had a few flashes of things, but nothing that made any sense."

He cringed inwardly at the half-truth, but he didn't feel like he really needed to spill his guts to her right now. She had enough going on at the moment without hearing about his problems. Besides, what did he really have to go on: one crazy dream memory of him getting lovey-dovey with Princess Serenity while everything was falling apart around them and a confession that he was the prince of Earth and her soul mate by the same princess. She'd probably think he was insane.

Meanwhile Sailor Moon had bit her lip and buried her face in his chest once again. How much longer would she have the Darien she knew before his memories of the past returned, a day, a week, if she was lucky maybe a month? And what would happen when he remembered being Endymion and the relationship that they'd had together? Would he shove her away in disgust and run off to find Serenity, or would she be able to hold onto his friendship?

A sharp intake of breath had her head snapping back up to look at him. His lips were pressed together in a firm, straight line and worry lines creased his forehead as he watched something that she couldn't see.

"What's going on, Darien?" she struggled to turn around in his tight grip and clawed at his cape to pull it out of the way so she could see. A cry tore from her lips as she caught sight of the combatants. She tried desperately to break free of his grasp, but his arms tightened securely around her and held her in place.

Both Sailor Mars and Jadeite were clearly showing signs of the battle. They were both battered looking and their faces were streaked with sweat and soot.

It seemed that Jadeite had finally stepped up his game. Mars had a deep, nasty looking cut on both her right leg and left arm. They were blackened around the edges and oozed dark red blood. A good portion of her already short fuku skirt had been burned away and what was left swung in scorched tatters around her thighs. She limped heavily as she circled cautiously around her opponent.

The Dark Kingdom general was in just as bad of shape. Several spots on his dark gray uniform had been burned away to reveal patches of skin that were blistered, raw, and in some cases completely black. A shiny, pink burn covered his right cheek and when he took a few steps his left leg dragged like it had been injured.

"Are you ready to call it quits yet, Mars," he sneered at her.

She shoved her dark hair away from her face. "What's the matter, are you getting tired?"

He flicked his own wavy golden hair away from his forehead. "Not at all. I just thought you might be ready to throw in the towel. You're starting to look a little bedraggled."

"Then you need to look in a mirror because you're not looking so chic yourself, buddy!" she fired back. "And believe me, hell will freeze over before I ever give up to you! Mars Fire Ignite!"

She shot a string of flames at him. Instead of retaliating with his own fire, he just stood there and grinned. It was an evil, sinister grin. One that made chills run down Sailor Moon's spine even though she was several yards away from him. She had seen that twisted smile before, like on the day that he had blasted her in that department store. This couldn't be good.

"Mars! Look out!" Sailor Moon screamed and elbowed Tuxedo Mask in the stomach to make him let her go. She began running toward her friend, but it was too late.

Jadeite released a burst of dark energy that blew Mars's attack back at her and knocked Sailor Moon and the others to the ground. Though injured, he moved faster than anyone could blink to stand over the fallen Martian scout.

He pointed his flaming sword at her. "Well, well, Mars. I have to say that this has been…enlightening, but I'm afraid I need to end this now. I really wish we had more time to enjoy each other, but unfortunately duty calls. It really has been a pleasure playing with you though."

He was so busy gloating that he never saw the foot aiming for him until the red spiked heel slammed into his chest. He lost his grip on his sword and stumbled back several steps.

Mars shot a fistful of fire at him. He flung up a wall of his flames to protect himself, but at such close range a fair amount of hers still made it through. He collapsed to his knees; smoke curling up from his body, hair, and what was left of his uniform.

Sailor Mars jumped swiftly and efficiently to her feet and scooped up his sword. Now she stood before him and pointed the fiery blade at him.

He glared up at her through red-rimmed blue eyes that spit hatred toward her. "Go ahead, Mars! Do it! Kill me!"

"Don't think I won't!" she spat back at him.

That evil grin was back in place. "Oh, I'm sure you will. After all, you were well known in the Silver Millennium for your ruthlessness on the battlefield. So why the hesitation? Look into the face of the man you once loved and plunge the blade into me."

Mars raised the sword over her head and screamed, "You're not Jadeite!" She swung the blade down toward him.

But the killing blow never came. Before the flaming blade could slice into him, Jadeite flickered and vanished. A few seconds later the sword disappeared from Sailor Mars's hands.

She looked up at the sky and yelled, "You coward! Come back and fight me like a man!"

"Raye," a soft voice spoke behind her and she whirled around to find Sailor Moon there staring at her with sad, tear filled eyes.

The fight drained out of her, leaving her weak and shaky as she also felt the sting of tears. "Serena," she sobbed, and then her legs gave out.

Sailor Moon caught her and they both hit their knees. She felt hot tears on her neck as Mars cried on her shoulder. She held her friend tightly and stroked her frizzy, singed hair.

"You know, Raye," she said in a teasing voice to lighten the mood. "It's going to take a pair of scissors and probably a whole bottle of conditioner to straighten this mess out."

Mars made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob and raised her head to give her a trembling smile. "It's not as bad as you think, Meatball Head." Then she tugged on one of Sailor Moon's pigtails before picking it up and showing her the end of it. It had been burned and missing about three inches of length thanks to Jadeite only a short time before, but now it looked like nothing happened.

"My hair fixed itself!" she squeaked in surprise.

"Minor injuries and cosmetic damages can be repaired rather quickly as long as we stay transformed," Mercury informed her as she, Jupiter, and Tuxedo Mask joined them. "Our scout healing works when we are in our civilian forms, but it is accelerated when we take our scout forms. As you can see, Serena, all of those tiny little cuts you had from the shattered glass have already disappeared."

"Omigosh! You're right!" Sailor Moon exclaimed as she examined her arms and legs and saw no sign of the tiny nicks she had received when that crazy youma had hurled a frozen turkey into the glass door of a freezer. And the burns on her shoulder and hip from skidding across the linoleum floor were only red spots now.

"I wish I had known about that earlier," she grouched. "That little tidbit would have come in handy when I busted my knee at the gym that time and when I got blasted into a wall and jammed my shoulder."

"I'm sorry. I thought Luna would have remembered that fact and passed it on to you," Mercury muttered as she studied Mars critically. "At any rate, Raye, it's going to take you at least a couple of days to recover from those cuts and burns. And that will be if you transform every chance you get. Just count yourself lucky that no major arteries were severed or you would be bleeding out right about now and no amount of accelerated healing would be able to save you."

Mars sighed. "I'd sleep transformed if I thought I wouldn't get caught. Grandpa never comes near my room unless you guys are around, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Chad peeks in on me at night. I've woken up several times and found my door cracked open."

"Ooo! Sounds like somebody's got a crush on you, girlfriend!" Jupiter cackled.

"Oh, please! As if I would ever like him like that!" Mars scoffed and then winced as she moved her injured arm experimentally.

Tuxedo Mask heard sirens in the distance and said, "I think we should get out of here. Someone must have seen the fire and called the fire department."

Mercury and Jupiter helped Mars to her feet, each looping an arm around their neck.

"Come on, girl! You can crash at my place tonight so you can at least heal some," Jupiter told her.

"And I want to clean those wounds. They could still get infected," Mercury said.

"I'm coming too!" Sailor Moon announced as she jumped up.

Tuxedo Mask grabbed her arm. "Hold up, Serena! Weren't you supposed to be picking something up for your mom and heading home?"

She smacked a hand to her forehead. "Oh no, you're right! I was supposed to pick up some bread and sugar for her. What am I going to do? If I tell her that I got caught in an attack at the grocery store her and dad will never let me out of the house again!"

"Chill out, Serena!" Jupiter snapped. "There are plenty of other stores around. You go take care of business while Amy and I deal with Raye. We'll call you if we need you for anything."

"Okay! I'll talk to you later!" she agreed and ran to jump up onto the roof of a nearby building. Two roofs later she realized that she was being followed and skidded to a stop.

Tuxedo Mask pulled up short and narrowly avoided running into her. "Geez, Meatball Head! How about a little warning next time?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you," she apologized quickly. "Why are you following me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well you took off so fast. You were upset earlier. And I…I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"O…oh!" she stammered. "That's really nice of you. I'm worried sick about Raye, but I'm fine now. Sorry about having a meltdown all over you. I was just having a moment."

He grasped her chin and leaned down to stare directly into her eyes. "Are you sure?"

She pushed his hand away with a laugh. "I'm sure! I'm clumsy, not delusional, Darien."

His face lost that tense look. "Good! You had me worried there for a while. So where are you off to?"

She shrugged. "Back toward the arcade, I guess. Isn't there another grocery store a couple of blocks away from it in the opposite direction from my house?"

He grinned crookedly. "Sure is! In fact, that's where I do my shopping. Do you want some company?"

"Umm…sure. If you're not too busy?" she replied hesitantly, trying to give him an out if he needed it. The normal, Serena half of herself was screaming, _'YES!'_ while the serious Sailor Moon half was chastising her. _'What are you doing? You're only setting yourself up for disappointment.'_

He shook his head. "I don't have anything planned. How about we swing by the arcade and grab my car. Then I'll run you to the store and give you a lift home. It beats jumping over roofs in this weather."

* * *

Jadeite landed in a smoking heap on the stone floor in the middle of Beryl's throne room. He rolled over onto his back, gasping in pain as jeers and laughter came from the shadows where the youmas had assembled. A pair of hands grabbed him by the front of what was left of his uniform and jerked him to his feet.

"You idiot! What have you done?" Kunzite bellowed, his face only inches from Jadeite's. "Of all the stupid, suicidal things to do. What were you thinking?"

"Now, now, Kunzite," Beryl purred in a sickeningly sweet voice. "There's no sense getting yourself worked up over such a petty little thing."

Kunzite released him and he swayed, but somehow managed to stay on his feet. He turned to face his queen and bowed, gritting his teeth against the searing pain that tore through him at the movement.

"Your Majesty, why did you teleport me away from the battle?" he asked in a strained voice. "I was just about to deliver you the death of Sailor Mars."

"Silence worm! I have not given you permission to speak!" Beryl shrieked. Her fingers clenched around the crystal ball hovering in front of her in which Jadeite could see a frozen image of him on his knees with Sailor Mars standing over him with his own sword. "I warned you that I would tolerate no further failures from you, Jadeite."

"Please, my queen," he interjected. "Just give me a chance to explain myself. I know it appeared that Sailor Mars had the upper hand, but I had a plan. All was not lost. I was preparing to hit her with a blast of the dark energy that you granted me just as you teleported me away."

"This coming from the one that can barely stand on his feet in front of me? Don't make me laugh!" Beryl scoffed. "I doubt you have the energy to even move your pinky finger right now, Jadeite. And you thought that you would be able to bring down the warrior princess of Mars in your condition? I have no use for weaklings on my team." She reached for the staff that was leaning against the side of her throne.

His eyes widened in fear. "No, your majesty! Please don't! Ahhh!"

The blast of dark magic hit him and his body crumbled in seconds, leaving nothing but a pile of dust on the floor. The youmas cheered in the shadows while the three men that were standing next to Beryl's throne stared in horror.

"So you see, my lovelies. That is how I deal with those that disappoint me. But I don't have to worry about that with the rest of you, do I?" Beryl drawled silkily.

Kunzite, Zoicite, and Nephrite all dropped to one knee beside her and declared, "No, Queen Beryl," at the same time.

"Well you all have your jobs to do. Go! Do them!" she commanded, waving a hand around the chamber. "All of you, leave me!"

The generals were the first to exit the chamber; anxious to put some space between themselves an the enraged queen before they suffered the same fate that their comrade had. The youmas filed out after them, and in just a few minutes Beryl was left alone in silence.

She reached a hand down to a tiny wooden box that sat beside her throne and stroked a bright red stone that lay inside it. She pulled her hand back with a hiss as the smooth jewel suddenly flared with heat.

"So you don't like what I did to your body, huh?" she snarled at the offending rock. "Or perhaps it's your precious Mars that you're worried about. Well you may as well get over it General Jadeite, because now you are nothing more than memories of a life long gone locked up inside a prison. But if you behave yourself I may present you to Endymion as wedding present."

She smacked her lips maliciously. "Yes. That may prove to be a most fitting gift indeed to my king."

* * *

Serena entered her bedroom and leaned up against the door with a sigh. The last few hours had been almost impossible to get through.

After Darien had taken her to the store and dropped her off at the corner near her house for the second time that day, she had trudged down the snowy sidewalk toward home feeling tired and listless. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a week. She was still dragging from last night's events, and tonight's adventure certainly hadn't pepped her up any.

But unfortunately her family had different plans. She'd walked in on pandemonium as her mom, dad, and brother had rushed around getting ready for a movie night. Ken Tsukino had picked up the DVD of the latest American Hollywood blockbuster. Sammy had been running around arranging pillows and blankets while Ilene was in the kitchen putting together a feast of snack foods that would have normally made Serena's mouth water. But she just wasn't in the mood.

She'd tried to cry off, claiming that she was tired, but Ilene had put her foot down and had demanded her presence. The indignant, indigo haired woman had waved a spatula threateningly in her daughter's face before sending the teenage girl upstairs to change into her pajamas with the promise of coming up and dragging her down the stairs by her hair if she wasn't back in ten minutes or less.

"We are all so busy lately that we hardly have time to spend together as a family anymore," Ilene had declared.

Serena couldn't argue with that. Her dad worked long hours as a magazine editor and her mom was a member of several clubs and charity organizations. Sammy had seemed to fall off the face of the planet since starting middle school; choosing to either stay holed up in his room playing endless hours of video games or going out with friends.

Serena knew that she was barely home except to sleep nowadays, so she dragged herself to her room to change into a pair of fuzzy, pink flannel pajamas that were dotted with little white bunnies. They were her father's idea of a joke since her nickname had been Bunny when she was growing up. No one ever called her that now except her dad; because he refused to let her grow up, Asanuma; because he was just weird, and Andrew on occasion; just because old habits died hard. She tripped back down the stairs with fifteen seconds left to spare.

Though she detested English class at school, she usually didn't have any trouble following the English dialogue of American movies. But tonight the words had all run together and made little sense to her overtaxed brain. It was a shame too because it looked like a great movie. But she had sat there for the required two hours and kept her gaze riveted on the screen and tried her best to munch on the spread of food that her mother had laid out, though it had been without her normal enthusiasm. Finally the ending credits had rolled and she hurried to help her mom clean up and made her escape.

She stumbled sleepily over toward her vanity table, pulling hairpins out of her odangoes as she went. Her hair fell in a long sheet to hit just below her knees.

Then she heard a chuckle. "So that's how you hold up those meatballs. I always wondered."

She spun around with a hissed, "Shields! What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

He nodded toward her window from where he was standing by her closet. "You know, you really shouldn't leave your window unlocked and cracked open like that. Anybody could come in."

"Most _normal _people wouldn't be crazy enough to climb that monster tree outside to get in here," she retorted. "And I leave the window cracked open for Luna because if I don't she wakes me up in the middle of the night when she comes back from whatever it is she goes out to do. But that still doesn't explain why you are here invading my bedroom. This is my personal space."

He quirked a brow at her. "I let you invade my personal space last night."

Her mouth opened and closed several times before she muttered, "Touché. But in my defense I was unconscious at the time."

"Okay. I'll give you that one," he agreed and then laughed.

Serena flew across the room and slapped a hand over his mouth. "Be quiet!" she whispered harshly. "Do you know what my parents will do if they find you in here?"

She shuddered at the thought. Her father kept a shotgun in the closet under the stairs. He had gone so far as to paint the words 'Boy Repellant' on the barrel and had even brought it out on the few occasions that some poor, clueless male classmate of hers had dared to come near her house. Her mother on the other hand would probably clap her hands, go all starry eyed, and squeal like a fangirl. Darien had won Ilene Tsukino over from the first time that she met him with his politeness and intelligence and she had chided Serena several times for fighting with 'such a perfect specimen of a young man'.

Darien pulled the tiny hand away from his mouth and whispered. "Don't be so paranoid, Meatball Head! I'll be out of your hair in a minute. I just wanted to ask you something."

She stepped away from him with a huff. "You couldn't have called me?"

He rolled his eyes. "I did call you, but you weren't answering your phone. I was afraid that a stray youma might have wandered by and decided to carry you off, so I came to investigate. I was just wondering how Raye was doing."

"Oh, she's fine," she replied absently as she picked up the jeans she had been wearing earlier and fished her cell phone from the pocket. Sure enough she had several missed calls, all from Darien. "I called Lita earlier when I first got home and she said that Raye was resting comfortably. I was going to sneak out later to go see her, but they told me to stay here and get some sleep instead of freezing my fanny off for no reason."

"That's probably not a bad idea. You look bushed," he told her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Gee, thanks! That's what a girl always likes to hear. So if you would kindly remove yourself from my bedroom I'll get to work on fixing that problem."

He held his hands up in a placating gesture. "I didn't mean that in a bad way. I just meant that you look tired. You're dragging and you've got purple shadows under your eyes and…you know what, I'm going to shut up now!"

She glared at him darkly. "Good idea! I don't know how many more of your _compliments _I can take. Now can I please get some peace and quiet?"

"Yeah, yeah, I can take a hint." He pulled a rose from his jacket pocket and transformed into Tuxedo Mask before heading to her window. He turned around before he opened it. "I was just thinking. I don't know where any of the girls besides Raye lives. That was one reason why I took you to my place last night. I thought the shrine was too open and we'd be seen." He also hadn't wanted to face the scouts, but she didn't need to know that.

Serena picked up her hairbrush and began pulling it through her hair. "Oh! Well I don't have their addresses written down or anything. But Amy lives in that really tall building down near the hospital. You know, the one that looks like it's made out of mirrors. She and her mom have the penthouse on the top floor. It's pretty swank. And Lita only lives like three blocks away from you. It's a white building with a pretty name. Wind-something or other."

"Wind Song?" he asked, sounding just a little bit enthusiastic.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's it. Any way, she lives on the eighth floor, apartment C. She's got a great view of the park from her balcony." She smothered a yawn with her hand.

He pushed the window open. "That's cool. Now get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." He slipped out onto a tree branch before jumping to the roof.

"Goodnight, Darien," her soft voice followed him.

* * *

"So tomorrow's finally Christmas Eve. What are we going to do?" Lita asked as she sat a large bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in her living room.

"I'm game for anything as long as it doesn't require me to run a marathon," Raye said as she leaned over and scooped up a handful. She was still in her fuku, but she had retransformed so that it was whole again instead of in burned tatters. She had removed her gloves and tiara and kicked off her red high heels before lounging back on Lita's sofa. Her hair was almost back to normal and her scrapes and bruises were slowly fading away. She appeared fine except for the white bandages wrapped around her arm and leg.

"Just please don't anybody say the mall," Amy pleaded as she took a sip of tea. "That place will be packed with all of the procrastinators that put their shopping off to the last minute and I don't think my sanity could handle that. No offense, Mina."

The blonde girl waved a dismissive hand. "It's cool. I prefer to do my shopping leisurely without having to fight the masses anyway. But we have to do something. It's a special day. I just hate making plans without Serena here."

Lita threw a piece of popcorn up into the air and caught it in her mouth. "Yeah, I know. It doesn't feel right without the whole group. But there's no way that we could have explained you and her," she pointed at the fuku clad Raye, "being together in the same room without some heavy duty lying. That's why I told her to stay home. I'm sure she'll be cool with whatever we come up with anyway."

Raye settled back against the cushions. "Well you know we'll end up at the arcade at some point. I don't think I've gone a single day without going there since I met Serena."

"Same here," the others intoned.

"How about this," Lita proposed. "We'll have lunch at the arcade like we always do and then we'll come back here and have a little mini-party. I'll make up some cookies and cakes and we can sit around and exchange gifts and listen to sappy Christmas music."

"Sounds good to me," Mina agreed. "It will be nice, calm, and peaceful. As long as the Dark Kingdom doesn't decide to come along and screw it up."

Raye threw a handful of popcorn at her. "Hush, Mina! Don't jinx it for us. As much as I love a good fight I would like to have a couple of quiet days to enjoy the holidays."

Mina threw some right back at her. "Yeah, and to get over the pounding Jadeite gave you. Admit it girlfriend, he worked you over good. I almost died when he had you on the ground with that sword pointed at you."

Eyes widened all around. "You were there?"

She rolled her eyes at them. "Of course I was, at least Sailor V was. I didn't dare unmask Venus's aura in case Jadeite picked up on it. I come to all of the fights to help watch over you guys in case I need to step in. Serena almost busted me tonight when she left. She jumped right up onto the roof I was on and was barely ten feet away from me, and then Darien followed just a few seconds later. Luckily they were moving so fast that they didn't see me. I followed them for a while to make sure that Serena was okay."

"Did you see that little breakdown she had," Amy asked quietly.

Mina nodded. "It's to be expected, I suppose. Serena hasn't had the training or conditioning that we had in the past. She was brought up to be a princess, not a fighter. But as long as she has Darien beside her I think she'll do fine. She's picked up on things a lot faster than I thought she would."

"Serena's a tough girl," Lita snorted. "A lot tougher than Serenity was anyway. I trust her to have my back in a fight any day. And I've got a feeling once we hunt down those rainbow crystals and get the queen's Silver Crystal in her hands, we're going to see what our princess is truly capable of doing." She held up her teacup. "I say we have a toast to Serenity. May she be returned to us soon."

"To Serenity," the others chanted after her and they all clinked their cups together.

Mina took a sip of her cooling tea, but her eyes were fixed on Raye, who after her sip held her cup in her lap as she stared down into it morosely. She scooted over closer to her friend and whispered, "Are you okay, Raye? I know tonight had to be hard on you, and I don't mean just physically."

The injured girl plucked at the fringe of the blanket that was laid over the back of the sofa. "I'm all right. It was a little nerve-racking fighting against that…_thing_…while it was in his body, but I really didn't have a problem with it. I only regret that he left before the fight was finished. I felt like I owed it to Jadeite to see that his body was finally released from captivity. Does that make any sense?"

Mina nodded slowly. "Yeah, in a funny way it does. I would feel the same way if it had been me fighting against Kunzite tonight." Then she bit her lip and looked away. She knew she should tell her friends about her visit from Beryl's Kunzite, but she couldn't make herself say the words. They had so much going on right now with dealing with three generals and their attacks, and she really didn't want to drop this on them right here at Christmas. In fact, she was praying that those Dark Kingdoms idiots would take a few days off and give them a break so that they could enjoy their holiday. That wasn't asking too much, was it?

Besides, that demented Kunzite had told her that he still had Beryl believing that she may be the princess, and she believed him. That malicious gleam in his eyes had been too real to be fake. He may know that she was only pretending to be Serenity, but she was certain that Serena's identity was still safe, for now. But they really needed to hurry up and find those rainbow crystals before the shit hit the fan for all of them. Amy had been working hard at devising a tracking program to trace the crystals' whereabouts, but it was proving to be a difficult task for even her.

No, she would wait until after Christmas to drop any more bad news on her friends. Maybe there really was a Santa Clause out there and he would give them the gift of a small reprieve from fighting. She may catch hell later for withholding information, but if it helped give the others some happiness it was worth it.

A hand waved in front of her face. "Hello! Mars to Venus! Are you still on Earth?"

She blinked and turned to blow a raspberry at Raye. "Ha ha! Very funny!"

Raye blew one right back at her. "I was just making sure. You turned into a zombie there for a minute. I was afraid that your last two brain cells had finally decided to pack up and escape the Bahamas."

Mina shook her head. "Nope, they're still here for now, but a tropical beach does sound good right about now. The hot sun, white sand, a fruity drink with one of those little umbrellas in it, and tanned, bare-chested guys dripping wet from the waves…ah, paradise!"

"Amen, sister!" Lita cheered. "Sign me up for that trip. What time does the plane for Fantasy Island take off? I could picture myself in a string bikini while some hot cabana boy rubs suntan oil all over my body. Then maybe I would invite him to do a little skinny dipping."

Raye tossed a throw pillow at her. "Quiet! Remember Amy's virgin ears!"

"Please don't curb your hormonal fantasy on my account. I've gotten used to it by now," Amy muttered and buried her head in a book. But they could all see the brick red blush that stained her face.

They all shared a laugh and then decided to watch a movie. While Lita and Raye argued over several titles, Mina grabbed up her overnight bag and escaped to Lita's bedroom to change. She slipped into a pair of silky feeling, mellow golden-orange pajamas and then went into the adjoined bathroom to wash up.

A few minutes later she came out refreshed and headed for the door. She was reaching for the knob when the door flew open and a wild-eyed Lita flew in.

The auburn haired girl grabbed her arm and swiftly closed the door behind her. "Whatever you do, stay in here and don't come out until we tell you it's clear, okay," she warned in a whisper.

"What's going on?" Mina hissed back.

Lita shook her head. "I'm not sure, but Darien just showed up on my balcony. He claims that he came by to check on Raye, but he looks like he's got something on his mind."

"I didn't think he knew where you lived," Mina mumbled softly.

Lita shrugged. "I didn't either. So either the little punk hacked the school's computer to get my address, or he's been stalking me."

Mina huffed a breath. "More than likely he tricked Serena into telling him. That sounds like something he would do."

Lita blinked. "Oh yeah! That does make sense. The point is that you couldn't have picked a better moment to leave the room. If he'd found you with us while Raye's transformed…"

"It would have been a disaster," Mina groaned. "Well don't just stand there. Go find out what he wants and get him out of here."

Lita squeezed her arm and then slipped back out the door to join the others.

Mina slid over to the door and cracked it open to listen. For a few minutes there was nothing but Darien's polite inquiries about Raye's health and the girls asking him if Serena was truly okay after her earlier breakdown. Then a heavy silence fell.

Darien's tense voice finally spoke up. "I have something that I wanted to ask you. You all remember your past lives."

"Not completely," Amy interjected. "We can remember some people and events clearly, but others are very vague and hazy."

"I understand that," Darien said smoothly. "But you all told me before that you remembered me in the past and that the generals were my friends. I naturally assumed that I must have been one of them, but some new information has been made known to me."

There was a collective gasp before he continued. "Your responses lead me to believe that you knew all along that I was Prince Endymion of Earth."

"You remember?" Raye asked softly.

"No!" he snorted. "Serenity decided to drop that little tidbit on me last night when she paid me a visit in my dreams along with the fact that I'm supposed to be her fated soul mate, or something to that effect. I just want to know if it's true."

Mina pressed a hand to her chest. _'Oh, Serenity! What are you doing?' _she wondered.

"Well I guess the cat's out of the bag," Lita drawled. "Yes, you were the all powerful prince of Earth and the generals served under you the way we served Serenity. Does that answer your question?"

"Almost," Darien returned. "You said before that Serenity and I were close. Just how close were we?"

Raye laughed harshly. "How close were you? You two were almost inseparatable! Every time we turned around you were either on the moon or she was sneaking down to Earth to see you. It almost drove us crazy trying to keep up with you. I was relieved when your engagement became official."

"Engagement," Darien repeated woodenly. "So she was telling the truth." He dragged in a deep breath. "I guess that also explains why she's been hanging around in my head all of these years."

"Have you said anything to Serena about this?" Amy asked him quietly, although she and the other scouts knew from Luna that their clueless princess was already aware of his past identity.

"No. And I'd like to keep it that way for now," he answered. "You girls know that I've been working with her on her fighting skills, and we've gotten to the point where we are cooperating pretty well with each other. The last thing I need is any more awkwardness between us. Her tiara and that wand are useful, but she's got to learn how to protect herself physically or she could wind up getting hurt. That's one of my top priorities right now."

"Well she hear anything from me," Lita quipped. "You obviously must be a good teacher because she turned me down when I offered to help her train. But I agree that she needs to know these things. This fight's only going to get harder as we start closing in on the Rainbow Crystals and the princess. I know we've all got each other's backs, but we also have to be able to stand alone."

"Well I'm not saying anything to her either!" Raye snapped. "She's been moody enough lately as it is."

"I will also keep my silence," Amy replied. "But there is a chance that Serena will remember this on her own."

Darien sighed. "I'll deal with that when the time comes. In the meantime, I will still work with you girls to find those crystals and Serenity, but I don't believe in that fate crap. I'm sure Serenity's reincarnation is a very sweet girl, but I'm not going to fall into her arms just because we were an item in the past. I am in charge of my own life, and I will choose which path I take."

Comprehension hit Mina then and she had to cover her mouth to stifle a giggle. _'Why Serenity, you sneaky little devil! I see what you're doing now.' _she thought gleefully.

The princess knew her prince well. She knew that he already had feelings for her reincarnation, but knew that he may balk at the idea of being with her if he thought he was in love with her only because of their past. By revealing that they were soul mates she had known that he would cling to Serena even more out of denial and that would ensure that he fell in love with her because of who she was now and not who she had been. It was genius!

Mina hugged herself happily. It was times like these when it was easy to see that she and Serenity had been cousins in their past lives. Serenity's father had been a Venusian prince and younger brother to the queen of Venus, her past mother. So naturally Serenity knew how to play the love game well. It was in her genes.

"I don't think I could have done any better myself," she whispered with a smile. Things could get very entertaining soon.

* * *

"Good morning, mom!" Serena sang as she whirled into the kitchen on Christmas Eve. "Wow! It smells incredible in here."

Ilene looked up with a smile from where she was measuring ingredients for the pies she was making for the next day's Christmas dinner. "Good afternoon is more like it sleepyhead. It's already 12:30. But I guess the long sleep did you some good. You look ready to take on the world."

"I feel great!" Serena trilled. "It's Christmas Eve! I'm going to go meet up with the girls for a while, is that's okay. Mina called me and said that they wanted to meet for lunch and then go over to Lita's for a little mini-party and exchange gifts."

Ilene waved a hand. "It's fine with me. Just don't be out too late. But I did have a question before you go."

"What's that?" Serena asked as she looked in a small mirror on the wall and straightened one of the red ribbons she had tied around her signature buns.

"I was just wondering if Darien was coming with the Furuhata's tomorrow for dinner," Ilene said in an offhand voice.

Serena's heart stuttered for a moment and then began pounding like a drum as she thought back to the Christmas before when Darien had come to dinner at the Furuhata's and the disaster that it had been. This year's dinner would be at her house.

"Um, I'm not sure," she muttered uncertainly.

"Well make sure you ask Andrew and find out," Ilene commanded and pointed a spoon at her. "And if he hasn't been invited yet I want you to invite him yourself. And I don't want to hear any sass about what a jerk you think he is. This is the season of giving, and I hate to think of that nice young man spending the holiday all alone."

"Yes ma'am," Serena replied meekly, not thrilled at the thought of having Darien in her house for most of the day. It was hard enough to stay away from him as it was. At least Andrew would be around as a buffer.

That gave her a thought. "Hey, mom! Can I ask Lita if she wants to come over too? You know, I don't think she has anyone to spend the holiday with either." That would give her another layer of armor against the forbidden prince.

"Of course!" Ilene told her. "Any of your friends are welcome if they need a home for the holidays."

Serena thought about it. "Well, Raye has her grandfather and Amy's mom is off from the hospital unless there is a big emergency. Mina's mom came to town a few days ago and her dad is flying in tonight, so I think they all have plans. Lita has that distant cousin of hers that's been her guardian, but I don't think they really ever talk." Then she clapped her hands. "Ooo! If Lita is free can I invite her to spend the night tonight so she can have Christmas morning with us too? You can even take some of my gifts and put her name on them."

Ilene beamed a wide smile at her. "That's very thoughtful of you, Serena. Yes, Lita may spend the night if she wants to."

Serena bounced in excitement. "It'll be just like having a sister! I'm going to go to the arcade right now and ask her! Thanks, mom! You're the best!"

She flew into the entry hall and stomped on her boots as she pulled her heavy coat on. Then she wrapped her scarf around her head and grabbed her bag of gifts before dashing out the door. She slid on a patch of ice as she rounded the corner, and smacked right into someone.

"Of course!" she groaned. She didn't need to hear his chuckle or smell his scent to know who it was. After crashing into him a hundred and fifty million other times the last two years she was pretty familiar with how it felt when her nose rammed into his chest and the way he would grab her elbows to steady her whenever they both didn't get splattered all over the concrete.

"In a hurry, Meatball Head?" he teased.

"As a matter of fact I am, jerk!" she snapped back. "I happen to be on my way to a Christmas luncheon with my friends at the arcade. You know, you're really starting to worry me with this stalker routine. First you invade my bedroom and now I can't even walk down the street without you popping up."

His eyes twinkled merrily. "Just trying to be a good best enemy. I was on the phone with Drew when I heard the girls tell him that you were meeting them there. I was already in my car, so I decided to swing by and see if you wanted a lift." He nodded to the red BMW idling by the curb.

She forced a frown onto her face as her heart gave a glad little leap. "I guess it beats walking."

"Especially with your coordination," he snickered. "Oof!"

Serena had swung her bag of gifts into his gut. "Here, put these in the back for me." Then she slid into the passenger seat of the warm, cozy car.

Grumbling, Darien deposited the bag on the back seat and took his place behind the wheel. He rubbed his stomach and glowered at her. "I forgave you for that elbow to the gut last night because you were distraught, but that was just plain mean. What have you got in there, bricks?"

She smiled sweetly at him. "Nope, books. Aren't you surprised? I did a lot of my shopping at the bookstore this year. I bought Amy this really thick, boring looking book that I heard her say she wanted and I got Raye, Lita, and Mina some manga that they needed for their collections."

He put the car in gear and pulled away. "Impressive. I am surprised. So what did you get for me?"

She snorted. "What makes you think that I got you anything? Enemies don't normally get each other Christmas gifts, do they?"

But she had gotten him a gift. A few days before she'd overheard him complaining that his watch had quit working and that he felt lost without it. He'd tried replacing the battery and it didn't help. But then he said that he didn't want to deal with the crowded stores so he was going to wait until after Christmas to buy a new one.

She had been conflicted about what to get him up until then. She wanted something nice, but not too personal, and a watch was perfect. So she had run out and bought him a watch that was similar to the one that he'd had. It was just a simple watch with a nice black leather band. It had almost drained the last of her savings, but it was worth it.

"Best enemies are almost friends, so I think it's perfectly acceptable for them to exchange gifts. I got you something," he said with a grin.

Excitement got the better of her. "Really! What is it?"

He threw back his head and laughed.

"Keep your eyes on the road, idiot! Are you trying to get us killed?" Serena screeched.

He winced at the sharp sound and choked back his laughter. "Chill out, Sere! You're perfectly safe. My eyes never left the road. And as for your gift, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out."

"Fine!" she grumbled as she crossed her arms and stared out the window. On the outside she appeared to be pouting, but on the inside her stomach was doing flip-flops. The casual way he had tossed out the shortened version of her name just like the past form of himself in her dream had made her feel like blushing. Other people called her Sere all the time and it was no big deal. But the way he said it made it sound like an endearment.

Then she thought about what he'd said. "Wait! So you are coming over tomorrow?"

He grinned wryly. "Christmas dinner is at your house this year, isn't it? Mrs. Furuhata will filet me like a fish if I don't show. That's not a problem, is it?"

"No," she answered quickly. "My mom told me to ask if you were coming anyway. I'm going to ask Lita to join us too. If I don't I'm afraid she'll be all alone for Christmas."

"Yeah, I know what that's like," he sighed sadly. "Two years ago when I first got my own place and started going to Azabu I hid the fact that I was an orphan for a while. Not even Andrew found out until after we had been friends for several months. That first Christmas was rough. Then Andrew's mom found out and demanded that I join them for the holidays after that. And that woman won't take no for an answer. So it's nice that you want to include Lita. A word of advice though, you'll probably have to convince her to come. She'll try to wave you off and pretend like it's no big deal, so don't let her."

She nodded carefully. "I had already kind of figured that, but I'll talk her into it. I can be very persuasive when I want to be."

"Don't I know it," Darien barely muttered under his breath as he pulled up to the arcade. "Now let's get you to your party."

* * *

"Serena, are you awake?" a voice whispered in the faint light of the early morning.

The blonde in the bed rolled over and hung half off the mattress. "Merry Christmas, Lita!" she squealed softly.

"Merry Christmas to you too," Lita chuckled as she propped her head up on her hand while laying on the air mattress beside Serena's bed.

"I'm so happy you stayed over!" Serena gushed. "This is just how I thought it would be! It's like having a sister instead of that bratty brother of mine."

"Aw, he's not that bad," Lita scolded. "In fact he seems like a pretty decent kid."

"Hmph!" Serena huffed. "That's because you haven't seen the real him yet. Just hang around long enough and you'll see his dark side. He can only contain the evil of his demonic soul for so long."

Lita stretched. "Nah! He likes me. I think he'll behave as long as I'm around."

"That's only because you kicked his butt in _Call of Duty_ last night," Serena shuddered. "The way he followed you around after that was kind of creepy."

Lita laughed. "Hey, he challenged me. I warned him before we started that I was the Xbox queen and he didn't believe me."

Serena giggled. "The hero worship in his eyes was sickening. I thought I was going to puke."

Lita sat up and ran her fingers through her tousled auburn curls. "I think I'm going to go downstairs and surprise your mom by making breakfast to give her a break. She spent all day yesterday cooking and has more to do today. What do you think?"

"That's great idea!" Serena squealed lightly. "I'll come help you."

Lita looked wary. "No offense, Serena, but I'd rather you just sit and watch. You're sort of a disaster in the kitchen."

Serena pouted. "I'm not that bad. I can make great curry."

"And that's all you know how to make," Lita said decisively. "I'm afraid curry isn't much of a breakfast food, so you better stand back and let me handle it."

"Fine, oh great chef!" Serena sighed as she flopped over onto her back. "You go do your Emeril thing while I take my time getting up then."

She heard her friend chuckle and then the rustle of covers as Lita got up and went into the bathroom. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about what a great Christmas it was turning out to be.

Yesterday had been a blast. She had hung out at the arcade with the girls and had lunch with them. Andrew and Darien had joined them and then Asanuma and Kobyashi had shown up. They had been having so much fun that they decided to move the party from Lita's to the arcade since Andrew was stuck there working. Asanuma had driven Lita back to her place where they picked up the sweets that she had made, and the overnight bag that Serena had finally coerced her into, and had returned to the arcade where they spent hours gorging themselves, laughing, and singing off key to the Christmas songs playing on the radio.

Afterward Darien had driven her and Lita back to her house. He had insisted on dropping them off in front of her place instead of at the corner. Luckily, Lita's presence had stopped Ken Tsukino in his tracks and kept him from pulling out his shotgun. The girls had waved a cheerful goodbye to Darien and then trooped into the house where Ilene fussed over and mothered both of them. They sat down to a light dinner before scurrying into their pajamas and joining the entire family in the living room to roast marshmallows in the fireplace for s'mores and settled down to watch _The Santa Clause_ before bed.

Serena's phone beeped, signaling an incoming message. She rolled over and picked it up from the bedside table, wondering who in the world would be sending her a text this early, and on Christmas Day.

"It's got to be Amy. There's no way that Raye or Mina are up yet," she muttered.

It wasn't until she open her phone and saw his name that she remembered that Darien always got up before the sun. She was a little giddy, but also a little irritated that he was bothering her so early in the morning.

She opened the message. _'R U awake?'_

She smiled, but her fingers sent a different message. '_I am now. R U stalking me by text this time?'_

Her phone beeped less than a minute later. _'Go to your window if you want your present.'_

She flew from the bed and scrambled up onto the window seat to push the glass wide. Wedged between two limbs only an arms length from her window was a package wrapped in gold and tied with a green ribbon. A red rose had been carefully inserted in the center of the bow.

She squealed as quietly as possible and pulled the gift inside. She sat on the padded window seat and hurriedly tore the wrapping off. Inside was a box about the size of a shoebox. She opened the lid and reached inside. Her hand encountered something that was softer than a cloud and she pulled it out.

Her mouth fell open in shock and her eyes flared as she took a good look at her gift. Then her face flushed red and her expression turned angry.

Another annoying beep. _'Well?'_

Her fingers shook so badly that she could barely type. _'U R a dead man, Shields!'_

Lita came out of the bathroom. "Come on, lazybones. Get up and come keep me company…Hey! What's wrong?" she asked when she saw the dejected looking girl by the window.

"Darien got me a gift," she whispered shakily.

"Oh…well that was nice of him," Lita replied uncertainly.

Serena's head snapped up. Her eyes were shooting out furious sparks. "No it's not, Lita! Look what he got me!" She held up the abomination of a gift.

Lita doubled over, clutching her stomach as she roared with laughter.

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" the greetings were called as Mr. And Mrs. Furuhata, along with Lizzy, bustled through the Tsukino's front door. It was a madhouse for a minute while coats, scarves, hats, and gloves were removed and put away in the coat closet.

Ilene looked around bewilderedly. "Where are the boys? They're not skipping out on us are they?"

"No, no!" Mrs. Furuhata assured her. "They were following us in Drew's Christmas present and got caught by a light. They should be here any minute."

"Drew got a car?" Serena squealed excitedly.

Mr. Furuhata laughed. "Yeah. That boy has been working his tail off for over a year now and saving up for a car, so I finally took pity on him and bought him one. It's an older used car, but it's in excellent condition and I got a heck of a deal on it. I told him to save his money for college. I know he's banking on a basketball scholarship, but he will still have expenses."

"Whoopee! Drew got a car!" Lizzy moaned sarcastically as she stomped off to the living room where Sammy was engrossed in his video games.

Ken led Mr. Furuhata back toward his home office where the two men would indulge in a couple of pre-dinner drinks and cigars. It was the only room in the house Ilene allowed smoking in.

Ilene took some of the covered dishes that Mrs. Furuhata had brought in as the ladies headed toward the kitchen. "Serena, you stay there and let the boys in when they get here. Remember, you kids can hang out in your room, but keep the door open. Your father will have kittens if you don't."

"I should close the door," Serena snarled quietly. "Then maybe daddy will kill Darien for me."

Lita bumped her shoulder against hers. "Oh, Serena. It wasn't that bad of a gift. It was actually kind of cute."

"It's humiliating!" Serena insisted. "Leave it to him to come up with a gift like that."

"This must be them," Lita stated as she looked out the window and saw a sporty looking little black Honda pull up out front. Both girls ran out onto the front porch.

"Hey, ladies! What do you think of my new ride?" Andrew yelled as got out of the driver's side.

"It's wonderful, Drew!" Serena called back with a laugh as she avoided looking at the passenger. "I can't believe your dad got it for you."

"Neither can I," he said as he jumped up onto the porch and swooped his lifelong friend up into a bone-crushing hug. "I couldn't believe it when I saw it sitting out in the driveway. It had a big red bow on top of it and everything."

"Well did you give it a good maiden voyage?" Lita snickered.

Andrew laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders for a one armed hug. "As well as I could with the streets the way they are."

Serena looked up and smiled brightly as Darien stepped up onto the porch. "Merry Christmas, Darien!"

He eyed her warily. "Merry Christmas, Serena."

She shivered in the cold. "Brr! Let get inside where it's warm."

They trooped inside and Serena took their coats and hung them in the closet before telling them. "The moms are waging battle in the kitchen, the dads are holed up in the man cave, and the middle school video game brigade has taken over the living room, so mom said we could hang up in my room. So I say we all get a cup of hot cider and head up there."

A few minutes later they all filed into her room. Darien looked around cautiously, searching for booby traps as he set his cup on her empty desk. He couldn't help but grin when he saw Serena's gift lying on her bed.

All of his senses suddenly screamed red alert, and he turned and ducked with yelp as the shoe that had been aimed for his head flew over and bounced off the wall behind him.

"What the hell, Serena?" he cried.

She stooped and picked up another shoe from the floor. "This time I won't miss, Shields! Just stand still and take it like a man."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Andrew exclaimed and grabbed her wrist before she could let the second shoe fly. "What's got you so worked up this time, Sere?"

She let the shoe drop and wrenched her hand away from him to whirl around and pluck up the item that had sat her temper off. She held it up for him to see. "This is your best friend's idea of a Christmas gift!"

Andrew stared at it for a second, and then his mouth split into a wide grin. "Oh man! That is great! It suits you perfectly, Sere!"

"That's what I said," Lita said nonchalantly as she sat on the side of the bed and then leaned back on her elbows. "I do have to ask though, Shields. Where did you find it? I've seen some unique looking ones before, but that one takes the cake."

Darien shrugged. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Lita snorted. "Right! Like a scrawny nerd like you could take me on. Go ahead and guard your international secret. I'll get it out of you someday. I have my ways."

Darien took a hesitant step toward Serena, who was staring down at the soft bundle in her hands. Lita and Andrew started up a conversation, so they weren't paying attention when he asked her softly, "Do you really hate it that much? If you do I'm sure I can take it back. I couldn't help but think of you when I saw it. But if it offends you…"

"No," she whispered. "It's kind of grown on me actually over the last few hours. It's just…"

She took in the soft, plushy stuffed animal in her hands. It was a bright, golden yellow bunny that was almost the same color as her hair. It had a tiny pink nose and large blue eyes that were actually adorable, but the other little details were what had upset her.

The bunny had been made with ears that were just as long as its body, perhaps even a little longer. Darien had tied them up so that they resembled her unique hairstyle, but that wasn't the worst. The bunny was dressed in a tiny little pink miniskirt and had on a white shirt that depicted a plate piled high with spaghetti. Two giant meatballs were perched on top.

"Just what?" he insisted.

She tore her eyes from the stuffed animal to look up at him, uncertainty and a small amount of pain in her gaze. "Is this how you see me, a soft, helpless, meatball headed little bunny?"

His eyes widened in shock. "No! That's not it at all!" he exclaimed, causing Lita and Andrew to look at them curiously. He growled and took Serena by the arm to drag her out into the empty hallway and then led her down to the far end past all of the other rooms where they could have a semblance of privacy. He set her up against the wall and leaned forward with a hand braced on each side of her head, effectively trapping her.

"Listen to me!" he ground out between clenched teeth. "I know I may have made you feel like that in the past, but I never really meant any of it seriously. I always knew that there was another side to you, a giving, caring side. And I see that clearer the more time I spend with you. That bunny was nothing more than my vision of your pure soul. The meatball references were just a joke. If they bother you that much you can untie the ears and dress it in something else, or I can just take it back."

Suddenly the poor bunny was clasped in Serena's death grip. She shook her head. "No! You can't take it back! You gave it to me, so it's mine."

Darien sighed and closed his eyes. "Okay, are you saying that you like it now? I'm getting mixed signals from you, so I don't know what to think."

"I love it," she whispered, and his eyes popped open to meet hers. "I was just afraid that you saw me as being weak. I know I'm not the fighter that the other scouts are, but I'm trying to get better."

One of his hands moved to cup her cheek and her eyes turned wide and panicked. He was scared that she would bolt, so he leaned in closer to her. "You're perfect just the way you are, Serena. Don't ever let anyone tell you differently."

She licked her lips nervously. His mouth was only inches from hers. It would be so very easy to close that gap and kiss him. But no matter how much she wanted to do just that, her sense of propriety wouldn't let her. If she allowed her relationship with Darien to go any deeper than just friendship and camaraderie, then it would only mean more pain for both of them later when Serenity was found.

So she put a teasing smile on her face and pushed lightly against him. "Okay, Mr. Serious, now you're invading my personal space. I'm sorry I flipped out over the bunny. I obviously read more into its meaning than I should have. But now that we have everything straightened out, let's enjoy the rest of the day. Christmas only comes once a year."

For a moment she had the wild idea that was going to kiss her. He stared at her intensely for several seconds and leaned in just a fraction closer. And then he stepped back with a smile. "You're right. Let's enjoy our holiday."

* * *

Later that night Serena trudged up the stairs to her room. She was dead tired, but content. It had been a day of fun and laughs with her friends and family complimented by wonderful food. And the best part of all, there were no Dark Kingdom attacks to intrude on the merriment.

Her room seemed empty without Lita there. She had invited her friend to stay another night, but she had refused, claiming that she had to go home and check on her plants. So she had caught a ride with Andrew and Darien when they left.

She slipped into the bathroom, laughing to herself that she had beat Sammy to it and he would have to wait his turn, and quickly changed into her pajamas before washing her face and brushing her teeth. She couldn't wait to snuggle under the covers of her bed and go to sleep. Her dreams had been quiet since the one she'd had at Darien's apartment and she hoped the trend continued.

She left the bathroom and crossed to her bed after making sure her door was cracked open. Luna had showed up earlier in the evening and was currently downstairs curled up in front of the fireplace. She had told her advisor that she was going to bed, and the feline had whispered back that she would be up later.

She was pulling back her blankets when she saw something on her pillow. It was a small, shiny red gift bag with tufts of tissue paper sticking up out of it. A folded sheet of paper with her name written across it was propped up against it. Curious, she picked up the note and unfolded it.

_Serena – Thank you for making this the best Christmas of my life. My new watch is great. The bunny really was meant as a joke. This is your real gift. Merry Christmas – Darien_

Mystified as to why he'd left her gift here instead of giving it to her when they had been exchanging gifts earlier, she reached into the bag and pulled out a small white box. She opened it and found another note inside.

_I want you to have this. I knew from the moment that I saw it in your hands that it belonged to you more than to me. You seem to have the magic touch that brought it back to life._

Her breath caught when she saw what was in the box. Nestled on a bed of white cotton was the golden star locket that she had seen in Darien's apartment. She picked it up carefully and lifted the lid. That same, haunting melody from before began to play. There was something about that tune that seemed to draw her in. Like she'd heard it somewhere before but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

For some reason she began to cry, not knowing why. She scrubbed at her cheeks to wipe away the tears and then closed the locket before setting it on her table. She couldn't keep it of course. It was something that was special to Darien and she would have to return it to him. The gesture was sweet, but it was too sweet if she wanted to keep things impersonal between them.

"Damn him," she muttered as she felt a flash of irritation. She would almost be happy when he regained his memories of the past and realized that he should be with Serenity. It seemed the harder she tried to keep him at a safe distance; the harder he pushed back against her.

Deciding to deal with that later, she turned off her lamp and crawled into bed, pulling up the covers to her chin as she settled in to sleep.

**A/N **So Christmas is finally done for both us and the characters in the story. Now is where things are really going to start going topsy-turvy. It seems like everybody is keeping secrets now. Serena knows that Darien is Endymion, but also thinks she had a secret affair with her princess's man. Darien knows that he is Endymion, but doesn't want anyone to say anything to Serena about that or his past relationship with Serenity because it may scare her off. Mina's keeping quiet about Kunzite and what he knows. Ahhh! There are too many secrets flying around. Something's going to break soon. And the fireworks will fly when it does. To top it all off I had to kill off my favorite general. (sniffle) At least I have Jake to fall back on for the rest of this series. So coming up in the next chapters, the Rainbow Crystals will start appearing, Nephrite will meet his end, Sailor V will make her debut, and of course the tension between Serena and Darien will only get worse. Sounds like good, wholesome, angsty fun to me! Drop me a review and tell me what you think. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~

P.S. Chapter 19 of GT coming soon! :p


	13. Countdown to Midnight

**A/N **It's that time again! I seriously thought that I wouldn't be able to post this until later in the weekend because I've been so busy, but luck smiled down on me and gave me another snow day today. I've been having a lot of those here lately. I just love working at a school! It makes me feel like a kid again! So since I found myself with an unexpected free day, I was able to get this ready for you guys.

300+ reviews! I'm dancing in my seat even as I type this. You guys have been extraordinarily generous with your comments and I love each and every one of you to pieces! So with that being said, let me give out my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**Fedski**

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**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

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You guys are awesome! I always look forward to reading what you have to say. And now I'm going to stop rambling and let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 13

Countdown to Midnight

"You're angry with me," Serenity said softly as she trailed her fingers through the water of the fountain.

Darien clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. "No, I'm not."

He heard her sigh. "You are. I suppose I don't blame you. I would probably feel the same way if I were in your position and had someone from my past life that I couldn't remember telling me that we were soul mates when I was in love with someone else."

"Then why did you?" he ground out. "Did you think that I didn't have enough on my mind as it was?"

Another sigh. "I thought it was the right thing to do. Don't forget that I've known you your whole life and I have a pretty good idea what your personality is like. Now, don't take this the wrong way, but you are so much like Endymion. He was a straightforward man as well and liked to have all of the facts in front of him."

Darien tried his best to hold back a growl of irritation, but despite his efforts it still rumbled in his throat. He reached forward through the light mist toward the shadowy shape until his fingers brushed something soft and silky.

The ever present oppressive fog had retreated back a bit more than usual tonight, revealing that the fountain that Serenity was perched on the side of was surrounded by clusters of rose bushes…red roses. How ironic!

"You don't like being compared to the person you once were?" she asked in that maddeningly calm tone of voice that he had once found comforting. Now it grated on his nerves.

He gritted his teeth. "If you're trying to get me into a better mood you're doing a really poor job, Serenity."

There was a splash, like she had slapped her hand against the water. Then she muttered under her breath, "Insufferable, irritating man!"

Darien couldn't help the grin that appeared on his lips. There had been a time when he would have never dreamed of being short tempered with his dream princess, but recent events had changed his outlook. Perhaps it was juvenile to try to pick petty arguments with her, but to him she represented the main reason why everything in his life had been turned upside down. As long as she had remained the mysterious princess that he had pledged to help he had been fine with the double life that he had begun living. After all, that life included Serena. But the new revelations that he had once been the prince of Earth and the moon princess's fiancé and soul mate had thrown him into a tailspin.

He heard the slight rustle of her skirts and felt her presence approach him. A slight breeze stirred up, though how in the world there was wind in a dream was beyond him. Then again, his dreams with Serenity were anything but normal. He had never taken notice of the fact that all of his senses were in use when he was with her before, but now the differences between this experience and regular dreams was glaringly obvious. His vision was not hazy. He could feel the smooth rose petals under his fingers. His ears picked up on the tiny puffs Serenity's breath made as she breathed in and out. He could even smell the light floral scent that clung to her, so different from the tangy citrus that always followed Serena. And he was sure that if he was stupid enough to kiss Serenity that he would be able to taste her.

"So how are things going with Serena?" Serenity asked softly, her voice right next to him now.

His hand tightened around the rose he'd been examining and he felt the sting as the thorns on the stem dug into his palm. It hurt like hell, but it kept him grounded.

"Why do you want to know?" he bit out tersely.

Her tiny fingers were on his hand, gently unwrapping them from around the rose. She clucked her tongue softly when she saw the blood seeping from the puncture wounds. "There's no sense in getting so uptight. I was asking merely out of curiosity."

He jerked his hand away from her. "Is it curiosity or jealousy, Serenity? I already warned you, I'm living my own life. What happens between me and Serena is none of your business."

For just a fleeting moment he caught a glimpse of furiously flashing blue eyes in her fog enshrouded face. Then she said haughtily, "Don't forget, Darien, that Sailor Moon is one of my scouts."

He took a slow, measured step toward her. "You leave her alone! She is already out, fighting the Dark Kingdom and risking her life to help you and find your damn crystal! What more do you want from her?"

"I don't want anything more from her!" she snapped back and then whirled away, giving him a quick peek of sunshine colored hair before the mist enveloped her once more. "I can't talk to you when you get into such an irritable mood. You have been blocking me from your dreams for a week, so when I was able to contact you tonight I had hoped that we would be able to have a civilized conversation. But I see that I must have been mistaken. Goodbye, Darien!"

He felt like he was being sucked through a vortex as the dream garden and Serenity both disappeared. Everything went black for a moment, and then he jolted awake to find himself in his bed.

He rubbed his hands over his face and moaned, "Damn, temperamental woman! Her mood swings are worse than Serena's."

Though he said this in a grumbling tone, that didn't stop the smile that twitched his lips at the thought of his best enemy/friend and how amusing the last five days had been since he had spent Christmas at her house.

The morning after Christmas Serena had shown up at his door, surprising him almost to the point of speechlessness. In her hands she had held the locket that he had given her and she'd shoved it at him, thanking him politely for the thoughtful gift, but insisting that she couldn't accept it. He'd told her to keep it, but she had laid it on the table in his entry hall and hurriedly left.

Later that night, he had transformed and traveled quickly to her house, jumping up into her tree to slide the locket through her cracked window and onto her window seat with a note that told her that it was hers. That afternoon he'd found it in his car after he'd dropped her off after a practice session. He'd returned it again only to find it on his coffee table the next morning. The trend had continued like this for several days now.

It was a game between them. It was childish for sure, but it was fun. They never spoke about it when they were together, keeping to the easy camaraderie that had recently developed between them, but there were more smirks and smiles shared now as they constantly plotted their next move.

There had been one night where Serena had situated herself on her window seat in an attempt to catch him in the act, but she had fallen asleep before he'd gotten there. Since she was such a sound sleeper, he had been able to fasten the locket around her neck without waking her for her to find.

He had tried to bust her as well, sitting up on his couch one night in the dark, watching his balcony doors intently as he waited for them to open and admit the blonde super heroine in her short skirt. He had kept his vigil diligently until the wee hours of the morning and he finally lost the fight against sleep. He had always been a light sleeper, but when he had woken up from his doze on the couch he found the locket perched on his chest with a note that simply said _"Ha Ha!"_

That was when he's realized that Serena was more resourceful than he'd given her credit for. On the nights that he snuck over to her place to leave the locket and spend several minutes watching her sleep like the stalker she had accused him of being on many occasions now, he used the strange bond between them to sense when she was asleep so that he could transform without her sensing it and knew that it was safe for him to go without getting caught. Obviously Serena was using that link to her advantage as well.

He sat up on the edge of the bed and looked around, wondering where he would find his surprise this morning. He had slipped the locket into her coat pocket yesterday afternoon while they had been at the arcade. So the next move was hers. He didn't spot the glimmer of gold anywhere, but that wasn't surprising. Serena never ventured into his bedroom on her nightly trips to his apartment.

He stood and stretched before opening a drawer in his dresser and pulling out his jogging clothes. Serena had told him that he was crazy to continue his morning routine when Tokyo resembled the North Pole more than a bustling city, but jogging always helped him clear his mind so that he could think. Besides, he had usually warmed up by the time he had gone two blocks and barely felt the cold.

He put on the thick sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt. Over that he pulled on his Azabu High Basketball hoodie and then padded into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee from the programmable coffee maker. He flipped on the overhead light and grinned. There on the counter by the coffee pot was the locket.

So the little minx had found it in her pocket, and stubbornly she had returned it to him once again. He slipped it into the pocket of his hoodie. The ball was in his court now.

Twenty minutes later he had finished his coffee and a bowl of oatmeal. He'd caught the headlines of the early morning news and breathed a confused sigh of relief when there were no reports of any suspicious activity. There had been no attacks since Jadeite had hit the grocery store and his showdown with Sailor Mars eight days before. Instead of this comforting him, it made him concerned. He seriously doubted that the Dark Kingdom had given up, so this probably meant that they were scheming something.

He had seen the lines of worry on Serena, Raye, and Amy's faces as well, so he knew that they were thinking the same thing. Serena had confessed as much to him the day before when they had been practicing once again in the empty warehouse at the edge of the city.

He left his apartment and took the elevator downstairs. He crossed the lobby, already jogging to get a head start on the cold outside, and shot a grin and a wave at the doorman as the elderly gentleman held the door open for him.

He hit the sidewalk, his breath catching for a moment as the icy wind hit him, and headed for the end of the block. He stole a quick glance at his watch, unable to contain a grin as he thought about the girl that had given it to him, and saw that had left his apartment earlier than usual. He had at least twenty minutes before he was supposed to meet Andrew in front of his house, possibly longer if his friend had problems rolling out of bed. That gave him enough time for a side mission.

He picked up the pace, calling upon some of the speed and stamina of his alter ego as he ran toward the small residential neighborhood that sat on the line between Azabu and Juuban. As he approached the familiar white, two story house on the corner, he reached out tentatively with the link and sensed that Serena was sleeping…perfect!

He ducked behind the thick trunk of her tree and transformed in an instant before leaping up into the branches that were starting to feel almost like a second home to him. He crept along the large branch that stretched out toward her window and peered cautiously inside.

The sky had brightened enough that he was able to see the inside of her room clearly. Serena was sprawled on her stomach on the bed, arms flung out on either side of her while her blankets were half tangled around her legs and half hanging off the bed onto the floor. Her face was partially buried in her pillow and her hair was long and loose around her.

Her window was cracked open slightly like always, and he reached his hand through it to leave the locket on her window seat like he usually did. Then he paused with a mischievous grin before pushing the window wide open and slipping inside. Serena ventured inside his territory to leave the locket in different places. So why shouldn't he return the favor? It would definitely rattle her cage about the personal space rules she was always spouting about lately.

He tiptoed quietly across the plush carpet, being extra careful to make no noise until he confirmed the fact that Luna was nowhere to be seen. He was fairly certain that the feline would kick up a fuss if she found him sneaking around Serena's room at this early hour. For a cat, even a talking one, she seemed to be highly protective of Serena.

He set the locket carefully on her bedside table, picturing the look of shock she would have on her face when she woke up to find it there. He wished he could stick around to witness it, but he valued his skin too much to chance it. If she woke up and found him in her room there was no telling what she would do. She'd probably sic her father on him.

He took a moment to study her sleeping face, resisting the urge to brush back the hair that lay across her flushed cheek. He figured he had pressed his luck far enough.

He was turning away from her when she suddenly rolled over and mumbled something. He froze, afraid that she going to open her eyes any second and see him. But he felt out through the link and could tell that she was still sleeping.

He took two more careful steps before she let out a whimper that was so pitiful sounding that he spun back toward her. He was on his knees beside her before he could think.

Serena moaned in her sleep. Her head moved slowly from side to side and her face was tense. Whatever she was dreaming about didn't seem to be pleasant. Was she having nightmares again?

He wondered this as he gave in to his urges and reached out to lightly touch her face. His heart leaped hard in his chest when she turned her cheek into his gloved palm and sighed. Her agitated movements stilled and her face softened. Then she spoke.

"You came back," she whispered. "I missed you."

He sat there silently as she snuggled her cheek farther into his hand. A tiny smile formed on her lips. Okay, so maybe he was wrong. It didn't seem like she was having a nightmare after all. She seemed happy with whatever she was dreaming. Of course, knowing Serena and the way her mind worked, she was probably dreaming of a skyscraper-sized milkshake.

Then she did the unexpected. She rolled toward him and her lips brushed against the bare strip of skin of his inner wrist between the cuff of his tuxedo jacket and his glove. It was the lightest of kisses, but it was most definitely a kiss.

"I love you," she murmured.

Shock flooded through him, followed quickly after by rolling anger, then heartbreak. And then the jealousy set in, roaring up inside of him like a snarling animal. She was dreaming about a guy! He had been around her almost constantly for weeks and he had never picked up on the first hint that she was interested in anyone.

He extracted his hand as quickly and as smoothly as possible. If Serena was having a romantic interlude with some dream guy he definitely didn't want to be present for that. He didn't think his stomach could handle it.

He rushed to the window and scrambled back through it as quickly as he could, pulling it closed behind him before dropping to the ground. He let go of his transformation and then leaned against the tree for a moment as he tried to get his emotions under control.

"She's just having a dream. It doesn't necessarily mean anything," he told himself firmly. After wrestling internally with himself for a couple of minutes he was able to convince himself of that and jogged away from her house. Serena was just having a random dream, that was all. There was no reason to panic.

He ran briskly, letting the cold wind slap him in the face and clear his mind so that he could think rationally. After all, he of all people knew how strange dreams could be. Hadn't he just woken up from a dream about his long dead fiancée from another life?

That was definitely the wrong thing to think. He skidded to a stop on the sidewalk, the salt that had been scattered to melt the ice on the concrete grinding beneath his running shoes. He had read between the lines of some of the things that the scouts had said about the generals and had picked up on the tension between Mars and Jadeite that made him believe that there had been more than just professional courtesy between Serenity's scouts and Endymion's generals. He was pretty sure that there were some personal feelings involved as well.

So what if Serena had a boyfriend, or god forbid, a fiancé of her own from the past? If she did, and this guy was putting some moves on her while she was sleeping, it could seriously mess with his plans to pursue a relationship with the blonde.

"Hey, Dare!" a voice called out to him, and he looked up to see Andrew jogging toward him. He glanced around, shocked to see that he had unconsciously stopped in front of the Furuhata's house.

"Yo, man! What's the matter? You look like your dog just died," his sandy haired friend joked.

"I don't have a dog," he grumbled automatically.

"Okay, your cat then," Andrew shot back.

"I don't have a cat either," he growled.

Andrew laughed. "Chill, Dare! It was just a joke. But seriously, you look like you've got something pretty heavy on your mind. Is it Serena?"

A snarl built in Darien's throat. "Can we not talk about her?"

Andrew held his hands up. "Okay, okay! Talk about touchy! I was just trying to be a good friend."

Darien immediately felt contrite. "Sorry, man. I just had a rough night. It's no big deal. Now let's get to running. Coach will serve our asses to us on a platter if we put on so much as one ounce of weight over break."

Andrew groaned, but fell into place beside him as they began to jog. "I can't believe we go back to school in just a few days. This vacation has passed way too fast for my liking."

Darien made a wordless sound of agreement.

"So you're still coming to the party tonight, aren't you?" Andrew asked.

"Of course," Darien told him. It was New Year's Eve, and every year the Crown arcade hosted a big bash for it. Most of the school would be there, especially one blonde girl in particular. There was no way he was missing that.

* * *

She sat on a bench in a garden, surrounded by thousands of white and pastel colored flowers, looking up at the shimmering blue orb that hung in the dark sky. It had been a month since she had seen her beloved, and she missed him terribly. He had promised to return to her as quickly as possible, but he hadn't come back yet. The unrest on Earth had been increasing for the last few months, so she was sure that he was being kept busy. They also had to be very careful about when and where they met. If anyone were to find out that they were together it could spell disaster for the entire solar system.

Then she felt him. It was like the light trailing of fingers down her spine only nothing was actually touching her. She turned in her seat and saw him standing about twenty yards behind her, watching her with his deep midnight blue eyes. His raven black hair glinted softly in the starlight.

"Endymion!" she barely whispered as she stood up from the bench. She wanted badly to run to him and throw herself into his arms, but she was conscious of the fact that there were several gardeners around that would witness such a spectacle, so she forced herself to move slowly toward him.

He did the same. And when there were only a few feet between them they stopped. He looked at her with a smile. "Sere."

She returned the smile. "You came back. I missed you."

"Of course I came back," he said gently. "I told you that I would. I missed you too."

A gardener passed nearby and she forced her voice to sound normal. "So are you here on business, Prince Endymion?"

He fell into his role effortlessly. "Yes, I am. My father is wanting to work out further trade embargoes with the moon and sent me to confer with Queen Serenity about the specifics of the agreement."

The gardener walked by with barely more than a passing glance at them. Then Endymion leaned closer to hiss, "Is there someplace we can go where we can be alone?"

She smiled and nodded. "Follow me."

They walked toward the moon palace, careful to keep three feet of distance between them at all times as they kept up a mundane conversation of recent events. They crossed the grand foyer and strolled casually down an empty hallway. She looked around carefully to make sure they were alone before pressing a hidden button in the marble wall that opened the door to a hidden room. They both slipped quietly inside.

The door had barely closed behind them when she found herself lifted off of her feet. The hardness of the wall was at her back, but that compared little to the firm body that was pressed against her front.

His lips were at her ear, his hot breath wafting across it as he whispered, "Gods, Sere. I've missed you so much. I love you."

"I love you," she returned breathlessly just as his lips descended onto hers. She moaned as his tongue plundered her mouth, prying her lips open to twirl and dance with hers. She was swamped with a feverish feeling and all she could think about was being closer to him. Her fingers gripped his shoulders tightly as she pulled him even closer to her.

But it wasn't enough. She needed to feel him. Her hands slid down his torso, trailing over the hard planes of his chest and skimming his ribs until she reached the hem of the black tunic he wore. She was grateful that he wasn't in his armor. That always made things more time consuming. She began pulling it up, inch by inch.

Endymion pulled away from her mouth to place hot kisses on her neck as he chuckled. "You're impatient tonight."

She pushed him back slightly and whipped the tunic over his head. She ran her hands over his bare chest as she admired his masculine beauty. "Yes I am. You've been gone for a month. That is a very long time." She lowered her lips to his collarbone and suckled gently, reveling in his sharp intake of breath.

His hands were grasping her hips, and they slowly made their way up her ribcage until they rested right under the swell of her breasts. His mouth returned to her neck. "I guess I have some lost time to make up for then."

He turned swiftly with her in his arms and carried her to the double bed that rested against the wall. He laid her down gently. "Nobody will disturb us here, will they?"

She shook her head. "No. This is a safe room. Nobody ever comes here. It's only here in case the palace were to fall under attack." She reached up to him.

He let her draw him down until his body was resting completely on top of hers. And then she kissed him as if it were the last kiss they would ever share.

Serena clawed her way out of the dream, definitely not wanting to see it through until the end. She sat up in bed, gasping and sweating. Her body felt like it was on fire. She kicked her legs free of sheet and blankets that were twisted around them as she gulped in deep breaths and tried to calm her pounding heart.

"Not again!" she groaned and flopped back against her pillow. For the past week she had been haunted nightly by dreams of Darien Shields. No, not Darien, it was Prince Endymion who kept creeping into her mind and starring in what was fast becoming her nightly torture.

She sat up again and glanced toward the window seat, expecting to find the gold star locket there. On some nights the dreams were more vivid than others. It had taken her a few nights of this before she realized that her dreams became more graphic whenever that locket was nearby, and this one had been the most realistic one yet.

But the window seat was empty, and that made her feel half relieved and half horrified. She was relieved that Darien hadn't been creeping around outside her house while she slept, but she was mortified by the images that her unconscious mind kept conjuring up. Tonight's dream had crossed the line between PG-13 and R rated, but she was pretty sure that if she hadn't woken herself up that it would have slipped quickly into a totally different genre altogether.

She was sixteen, going on seventeen, so she was fairly knowledgeable about what went on between women and men, but she was still waiting for her first real kiss. Okay, so technically Darien had been her first kiss the night of the dance, but she meant she was waiting for a mind blowing, heart stopping, turn your legs to jell-o kind of kiss. The kind like the dream prince gave her.

She raised her fingers to her lips. They still burned with the feeling of what his had felt like against hers. It had been…wonderful. She sighed softly at the memory.

"No! Bad girl, Serena!" she chastised herself suddenly. "You can't have him! You can be his friend, but you cannot sit around having hot fantasies about him. Get over it already!"

But another wave of heat flooded through her as she envisioned Endymion's broad, smooth chest; strong, without being overly muscled, and covered by silky, tawny skin.

She groaned and lurched from the bed, stumbling to the window where she shoved it wide and let the cold morning air wash over her. She shivered violently, but felt refreshed as the frigid breeze cleared her mind and chased away the remnants of the dream. It was early, but she felt wide awake now, so she may as well start her day.

She had a full day planned. She had promised Andrew that she would help decorate the arcade for the New Year's Eve party that night. This was going to be their last big bash before school restarted in a few days and it was sure to be huge. It would also be their last chance to spend time with Asanuma and Kobyashi before they left to spend the next six months in America, so they wanted it to be special.

She was reaching to close the window when something odd caught her eye. It had snowed again the day before, covering everything in a fresh blanket of whiteness. All the branches of the tree sported a thick layer of snow, except for the one right outside her window.

She studied the windowsill, clearly seeing the footprints there. That wasn't surprising since she had gone out the window late the night before to go to Darien's to leave the locket that she had found in her coat pocket. But there seemed to be far to many for her comings and goings, and one in particular was way larger than her foot. She had also used the roof, not the tree, for her mission. So the snow should have been undisturbed.

She leaned farther out the window and looked down. Ah ha! He was so busted! There was a fresh path in the snow leading to the base of the tree. Sure, it was crisscrossed in a few places where it looked like a stray dog or two had wandered through the yard, but she recognized the path for what it was.

She pulled back inside and closed the window before checking the window seat and the floor around it, looking for the locket that she was sure was around here somewhere. Darien must have woken up early and found it where she had left it next to his coffee maker and decided to return it right away. Why else would he have come here?

But she couldn't find the distinctive gold star anywhere. Had he come all the way here only to change his mind? Maybe he had decided that the game had gone on for long enough. She fervently hoped that he had.

Just then the sun rose high enough over the buildings in the distance to send a shaft of light streaming through the window and into her room. Instantly something glittered on her nightstand, catching her attention.

She bit back a groan when she saw the locket sitting innocently at her bedside. Damn! He had brought it back after all. Now she was convinced more than she had been before that the piece of jewelry was influencing her dreams. She had been enjoying a peaceful, dreamless sleep until just a while ago. That must have been when he had come in and left it. It was just too coincidental.

Wait a minute! Her musing screeched to a halt. Normally Darien left the locket on her window seat when he returned it to her in the night. This time he had left it right next to her. That meant that he had come all the way into her room. He had been only a foot away from her as she slept!

Anger hit her hard. True, she ventured into Darien's apartment during her nightly visits, but she had never once gone into his bedroom. She was trying, so very hard, to keep a friendly, yet impersonal distance between them. And to her mind going into the space where he slept was just too…intimate. Darien had seemed to honor this rule as well, never going farther than her window in their little game…until now.

"I'm going to strangle him!" she growled. She stomped into the bathroom and turned on the shower to heat up before stripping off her pajamas and ducking under the hot water, slathering shampoo into her long hair. She rinsed, and then ran an ample amount of conditioner through the wet strands and let it set in while she grabbed her body wash and scrubbed herself down. She got back under the spray and let the waterfall of water wash away the conditioner and soapsuds.

Then she turned off the water and got out. She dried herself off and wrapped a towel around her wet head before reaching for her bathrobe hanging on the back of the door and pulling it on. Then she stormed back into her bedroom and headed for the closet. She pulled out a pair of faded jeans and a thick, cream colored, cable knit sweater. As she passed the dresser she pulled out fresh undergarments and a pair of thick socks.

Back in the bathroom she dressed quickly before tackling her hair. She dragged the comb through the long mane with more force than usual and then blasted it with the hair dryer until it was dry and gleamed like corn silk. With just a few flicks of her wrist she had it twisted up into her normal style. She studied her reflection for a moment and decided she had enough color in face that she could forego any makeup.

She grabbed the locket up and flitted down the stairs as quietly as she could, only tripping once as she neared the bottom. Luckily, she caught a hold of the railing and held herself upright. She hurried into the kitchen where she dashed off a quick note to her mother.

_Mom – I left out early to help Andrew at the arcade. I'll just have breakfast there. I'll be home later. – Love, Serena_

She pinned the note to the refrigerator door with a magnet where her mother would be sure to see it. Then she practically ran to the entry hall where she shoved her feet into her boots and pulled her coat on. She was still wrapping her scarf around her face as she let herself out the front door. Mr. Darien Shields had a few things to answer for!

She walked quickly, almost running in her haste to reach his apartment. She only fell down once on the way, a new world record for her. She covered the distance in less than ten minutes, and it wasn't until she was standing in front of the tall apartment building that she felt the first ripple of unease. What would she actually say to him?

The doorman spotted her standing on the sidewalk and opened the door in welcome. It was the same elderly gentleman that she had met briefly over a week ago when she had left Darien's apartment after spending the night there. She hurried inside.

"Good morning, miss," he greeted her. "You can go right on up. Mr. Shields returned from his morning jog about ten minutes ago, so he's home."

"Thank you," she mumbled and crossed the lobby to where an elevator stood open and ready to carry her up to Darien's domain. She stepped inside and pressed the button marked 20 with shaking fingers.

She thought hard as the elevator carried her steadily up. By the time the doors opened with a ding she had made up her mind. She would knock on his door and then hand him back the locket, asking him politely not to return it to her again. If she had to start locking her window at night she would. That may piss Luna off, but she knew that she couldn't handle any more dreams like the one she'd had this morning. Her sanity wouldn't be able to handle it.

She walked briskly down the hall and stopped at the last door. She knocked quickly before her nerves could get the better of her. She counted the seconds off quietly in her head until a minute passed. No noise came from behind the closed door. Perhaps the doorman had been wrong. Maybe Darien had slipped back out without him seeing.

She took a deep breath, swallowed the lump in her throat, and then tested the knob. It opened with no resistance. Feeling like she was crossing an invisible line, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"Darien," she called softly, peeking into the empty kitchen before tiptoeing toward the living room. It was empty as well. She heard the sound of water running coming from down the hall and realized that Darien must be in the shower.

Quickly she decided that she wouldn't confront him head on. She would simply leave the locket and a note, begging him to stop this ridiculous game. She looked around, searching for a pen and paper, when the thought hit her that with the exception of that one morning that she had bustled through on her way out, this was the first time that she'd seen Darien's place in the daylight.

She wandered over to the far end of the living room, taking in the plain, functional furniture and the walls that were bare except for a few framed prints. However the entertainment center was quite impressive, with a large, flat screen TV and surround sound system. A row of neatly lined up DVDs were on a shelf beneath it. There was a bookshelf full of the thick, boring books he seemed to prefer to read, but the room seemed bare for some reason.

It took her a few minutes to realize why it felt that way. The space didn't have the lived in look that she used to seeing in her own home and those of her friends. There were no knick-knacks on the shelves, no magazines or books thrown on the coffee table. Even the TV remote was sitting precisely on one of the end tables. The cushions of the matching couch and loveseat were perfectly straight and undented and there wasn't even a throw blanket tossed over the back of the recliner.

But what struck her most of all was the lack of identity. There were no pictures; nothing to show whom this home belonged to. It was cold, almost sterile in its simplicity. It made her heart ache as she thought of Darien living day in and day out in such an impersonal space.

With a start, she realized that the sound of the shower had stopped and she panicked. She darted into the kitchen and spotted a pad of paper with a pen dangling from a string stuck to the refrigerator door. A grocery list in Darien's neat handwriting was on the top page. She flipped to a clean sheet and scribbled off a quick note, her nervousness making her handwriting more scrawling than usual. She ripped the sheet from the pad and tossed it on the kitchen table along with the locket she had fished from her pocket. Scared of being caught, she whirled and ran for the door…and crashed face first into a bare chest. One she knew all too well from her dreams.

She bounced back and would have fallen if it hadn't been for the hands that grasped her by the arms. Her mouth went dry as her gaze fixated on the long expanse of lightly tanned skin that was right in her line of sight. It wasn't until she heard the sound of his voice that she jerked her wide eyes up to meet his amused ones.

"So, I finally caught you in the act," he said with a chuckle.

"In the act?" she squeaked.

He grinned and nodded toward the table. "Our little breaking and entering game. I wasn't expecting you to retaliate so quickly. I figured you would stick to the routine and do your cat burglar thing tonight like you usually do. I definitely never thought that you would sneak in here during the day while I was here and awake."

She swallowed her rampaging emotions and shoved against his shoulders as she adopted her usual attitude with him. She pulled her face into a carefully controlled expression as she tried to ignore the smoothness of his skin against her fingers. She scowled at him. "Well maybe you don't know me as well as you thought you did. I didn't come here to continue the game. I came here to end it. Don't you think we're a little old to acting like this?"

His grin widened. "Acting like what?"

"Like elementary schoolers!" she exclaimed and pushed against him again.

He frowned as she broke free of his arms. Then moving swiftly he captured her hands in his as he examined how red they were. "Your hands are like ice! Did you come all the way over here without your gloves?"

"I…I guess I did," she giggled nervously. "I left the house in such a hurry I didn't realize that I'd left them until I was already halfway here."

He shook his head. "Only you would do that! How did you get in anyway? I know you didn't come in the way you usually do."

Her cheeks flushed red. "Your door was unlocked. I did knock. But when you didn't answer I tried it, just to see."

"Ah," he sighed. "So this was a different visit than our normal cloak and dagger visits."

She nodded, but kept her eyes averted from him. "Yes."

"Well now that you're here, would you like a cup of cocoa or something?" he asked in a friendly tone.

She felt her face growing hotter. "Um…well… actually…"

"Oh, come on!" he insisted. "It's early. What else do you possibly have planned besides sneaking into my apartment? I won't take no for answer." He crossed the kitchen to the sink and filled a kettle with water before setting it on the stove.

Serena had a hard time keeping her eyes from watching the muscles of his back as they flexed smoothly under his skin. She sighed in resignation. "Fine! I'll just go take my coat off." She backed toward the door.

He turned around and pinned her with a serious gaze. Then he glanced down as if he suddenly realized that he was standing in front of her in the middle of his kitchen wearing nothing but a pair of jeans that rode dangerously low on his hips.

"Yeah, you do that," he muttered. "I'll be right back. Promise me that you'll still be here when I get back."

"I promise," she said, hoping that he was leaving to go put a shirt on. She escaped into the entry hall and heard his footsteps walking down the hallway as she unwound her scarf.

He was back almost before she had gotten her coat off. Thankfully he was now wearing a sweatshirt with the jeans. It made her feel somewhat normal again. She wandered back toward the kitchen door and watched as he fixed two mugs of cocoa.

She smirked. "I never pegged you as being a hot chocolate kind of guy. I thought you stuck with coffee and Mountain Dew."

He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. "Hey! You're the one that said I smelled like chocolate. I thought you would have realized by now that it was one of my secret indulgences.

Serena forced herself to act casual as she strolled to one of the kitchen chairs and sat down. "So the infallible, perfect honor student admits that he has a fondness for something sweet. I never want to hear you tease me about my weakness for milkshakes ever again."

He laughed as he turned around and set the two mugs on the table and took a seat. "I guess my secret is out. I'll share another one with you, I'm not opposed to a good chocolate milkshake myself on occasion."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're just full of surprises, aren't you? But that isn't the reason why I came here."

Now he rolled his eyes. "Right! You came here to return this." He reached for the locket and her note. He glanced over her hastily written words and sighed. "You seem determined to reject your Christmas present no matter how many times I give it back to you."

"Darien," she groaned. "Please don't take this personally, but I really don't feel comfortable accepting the locket from you. You've had it for a long time, and I know it's special to you."

"That doesn't make a difference," he growled. "The damn thing never worked until you touched it. It's almost like it was waiting for you. I really think it belongs to you."

"I don't want it!" she almost yelled as she banged her hands down on the table. "I know you meant well, but I really don't want it. There's something strange about that locket. I think it's giving me dreams."

He froze. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just noticed that I seem to have some really confusing dreams whenever that locket is near me. And I don't like it."

"What kind of dreams?" he insisted.

She clenched her jaw. She wasn't about to tell him the details. "I'm not sure. It's mostly just garbled images. None of it makes sense." She winced inwardly at the bold faced lie, but managed to keep her face unemotional.

Darien was quiet for a moment as he mulled this over, remembering what he had heard her whisper in her sleep earlier. "Are you regaining your memories of the past?" he finally asked quietly.

This question took her off guard. "No!" she denied vehemently. "Are you?"

He shook his head slowly. "No. I was just wondering if you were." He wasn't exactly lying. He didn't remember anything about the past that Serenity kept going on about, but just knowing that the past existed irritated him.

Serena lifted her mug and drained half of the cooling cocoa in just a few gulps. Then she turned pleading eyes on him. "I'm not trying to be cruel, Darien. But I'm begging you, please, to keep the locket."

He looked into her glistening blue orbs and nodded reluctantly. "If it means that much to you."

"It does," she confirmed quickly. "I really do appreciate the gesture. It was very…sweet of you to offer up something that you've had for so long, but I don't think it belongs to me." She choked up for some reason.

Darien felt desolate as he looked at her miserable face. He had hoped in some way that his gift would break down some walls between them. Evidently he had been wrong. He backpedaled quickly, fixing a crooked grin on his face. "Okay, I'll keep it. I didn't know it unsettled you so much."

He felt lighter as a bright smile appeared on her face. "Thank you. That makes me feel much better."

She was praying hard that his agreement would keep her from having such detailed dreams about the relationship she'd shared with his past self. She was tired of feeling dirty because of what had happened between them a thousand years before. She was determined to not mess things up between them this time. She wasn't sure exactly when Darien had become a constant in her everyday life. Maybe it had been that first day she had walked into the arcade to find him talking to Andrew. She only knew that she had to have him near, at least as a friend.

Darien leaned back in his chair and looked at her curiously. "So what do you have planned for the day?"

She grinned back at him impishly. "I'm going to help get things set up for the biggest party of the year."

He smiled at her. "Do you need some help?"

Her heart thumped so loudly it was amazing that Darien didn't hear it. Then she opened her mouth and said the stupidest thing she could have. "Probably all I can get."

* * *

"Welcome! Welcome!" Andrew called jovially as the doors of the arcade slid open and three girls walked in.

Raye, Lita, and Amy looked around in amazement. At least a hundred balloons bounced against the ceiling. Streamers were hanging everywhere. Colorful plastic tablecloths covered every table in the place. Horns and other assorted noisemakers blared loudly over the pounding music.

They pushed through the throng of dancing teenagers to where three blonde boys were behind the counter, bobbing in time to the music as they kept up a steady stream of sodas going across the counter.

"Good grief, Andrew! Is this a party or a jungle?" Lita grumbled after she had glared menacingly at three freshmen and sent them running so that they could take their place.

The sandy haired boy laughed. "It's great, isn't it? I couldn't rein Serena in. She was here most of the day putting all of this stuff up. I didn't think she would go so overboard, but she dug around in the storeroom until she unearthed every decoration that has been used in this place for the last twenty years. My mom told her to go wild. I think she took her literally."

"Serena did all of this!" Raye exclaimed in surprise. "I guess that explains why I couldn't get her to answer her phone today."

Kobyashi slid over to join them. "Serena said that she wanted to make this special since it's kind of doubling as mine and Numa's going away party."

The third boy shouldered his way into the conversation. "That's my Bunny-chan! She's so kind and sweet. I'm thinking that maybe I ought to marry her so I can keep her forever."

Andrew snorted. "You better not let Darien hear you say that."

"Let me hear him say what?" a deep voice growled.

Asanuma paled and backed away as their dark haired friend pushed his way behind the counter. "I was just commenting on what a wonderful job you and Bunny-chan did on decorating this place. It's very festive."

Lita looked to Darien and raised a brow. "You spent the day with Serena and helped her decorate?"

He returned her look blandly. "She decorated. I just stood around to keep her from breaking her neck. That girl is an absolute menace on a ladder."

Kobyashi nodded eagerly. "It's true. I wasn't here all day, but I know when I came by for lunch I saw you catch her at least four times."

Asanuma snickered. "Sir Darien, the gallant knight, saving damsels in distress. It suits his dark, mysterious personality."

Darien's eyes narrowed. "Keep it up, Numa, and I'll show you dark and mysterious. And if you want to keep that pretty boy face of yours intact I would suggest that you stop calling Serena by that childish nickname. She's a young woman, not a little girl."

"Ooo," Kobyashi cooed. "I guess Dare is the only one that's allowed to have pet names for Serena."

"Okay! That's enough out of you two!" Andrew quickly intervened when he saw the shadow of dark anger cross his friend's face. Darien wasn't one to lose control of his emotions often, but when he did he could be brutal. Andrew had seen it.

"Why don't you guys go find some girls to flirt with?" he suggested. "You won't have another night like this for a long time."

Kobyashi's face fell. "You're right." Then he brightened. "And I think I see my target right now." He danced away through the crowd, heading toward a girl that sat in front of him in his Trig class.

"Hmph!" Asanuma huffed. "I'm hoping for a little bit more than just some light flirting. The Love Doctor will have a willing female in his arms at midnight. I guarantee it!" He pulled a bottle of some clear liquid from under the counter and added a splash of it to the soda in his hand. He looked mischievously at the girls. "Cocktail, ladies?"

Raye and Lita both looked away and sniffed while Amy stared at him in horror. "Asanuma! Are you drinking alcohol?"

The blonde boy just laughed as he took off.

"Depraved pervert!" Raye grumbled. "I feel sorry for whatever girl falls under his charms tonight."

Lita nodded. "Oh well, we can't save them all. If they're stupid enough to fall for a devil with an angel's face then that's their problem."

"Man, are you okay?" Andrew asked as he gripped Darien's shoulder tightly. "I thought you were about to rip Numa and Koby's heads off. You know they didn't mean anything by what they said."

"I know," Darien sighed. "I guess their teasing just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm over it now."

Andrew nodded, and then walked away to serve some drinks to a panting couple that had just stumbled up to the counter.

Lita leaned across the counter to speak to Darien. "So…you and Serena, huh?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "It's not the way it sounds. I'm just trying to be her friend."

"Sure you are," Raye drawled. "You can lie to yourself if you want to, but we can all see the way you feel about her. It's written all over your face."

He stared at them warily. "And you aren't mad at me?"

Lita shrugged and popped a pretzel into her mouth. "Why should we be? I'll only get mad if you hurt her."

"But…but…" he stammered. "Just the other night you got a kick out of telling me that my past self was engaged to Serenity and that we were soul mates."

"Darien," Amy sighed. "You said it yourself that just because you were with someone in one life didn't automatically mean that you had to be with them in this life. If Serena is the one you have chosen then go for it. But like Lita said, if you hurt her we will deal with you. I don't care if you were a prince in your past life."

"Speaking of the Meatball Head, why isn't she here yet?" Raye grumbled. "I know she's not skipping out on this party after she spent all day working on it."

"Nah! She'll be here," Lita told her. "I talked to Mina earlier and she said that she was going to kidnap Serena and drag her to her place to get ready. And you know how it can get when you have two airhead blondes together."

"That's just great! I bet they won't make it here before midnight," Raye snapped.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you, Raye," Amy said in amusement. "I think they just walked in."

Darien spun toward the door. Sure enough there were two golden blonde bombshells standing just inside the door. They looked enough alike that they could be twins with their long sunshine hair and wide light blue eyes. But his gaze skipped right over the one that was a few inches taller and wearing a slip of a dress in bright tangerine to the petite figure in white.

He forgot to breathe for a moment. Serena looked just like an angel. There was nothing fancy about her dress; it was just a simple white affair with a scoop neckline and long sleeves that gradually widened all the way to the wrists. The bodice was closely fitted and the skirt flared out slightly to fall to her knees. Her hair was in its normal style and her face was so naturally beautiful that it was hard to tell if she wore any cosmetics at all. But her simplicity was enough to steal his breath away.

"Mina! Serena!" Lita called out loudly over the music and waved over the crowd to get their attention.

Mina broke into a big smile as she spotted them and returned the wave. Then she tugged on Serena's arm lightly and pointed in their direction. She walked across the crowded floor confidently though she was wearing a pair of lethal looking black stilettos.

Serena followed at a more sedate pace. She stumbled once when an enthusiastic dancer jostled her, and Darien's gaze flashed to her feet. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had been sensible enough to wear flats.

"Hey, hey! What's up?" Mina chirped as she squeezed in between Raye and Lita.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Raye grumbled.

Mina waved a casual hand. "We would have been here a little sooner, but Serena and I butted heads over what she was going to wear. She didn't like my choice."

Serena slipped into the space between Raye and Amy, muttering, "Sorry if I don't have your fashion style, Mina. But there was no way in the world that I was going to wear that dress. Not to mention that it would have been suicide if I wore those shoes."

"But it would have looked so perfect on you!" Mina pouted. "It was flashy, short, and fun; all of the ingredients you need to ensure the ultimate party experience. And you wouldn't have had to worry about falling in those shoes, there would have been enough guys buzzing around you that I can guarantee that you would have had somebody to hold on to."

"I'll pass," Serena sniffed. "Hey, Drew, can I get a coke, please?"

"I've got it," Darien said, cutting off Andrew as he reached for a glass. His friend winked and grinned before backing away. He filled the glass with soda and turned to set it in front of the blonde.

"Thanks," she said with a smile as she took a sip. "So is Andrew putting you to work now?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nah! I'm just hiding back here because it's better than being crushed by the crowd."

She nodded. "I know what you mean. I knew this party was going to be huge, but this surpasses even my expectations."

He grimaced a little. "It's borderline claustrophobic."

She swirled her straw through her drink. "I guess crowds aren't high up on your list of favorite things."

"Uh, no," he confirmed. "I prefer smaller groups with people that I actually know. This is just madness."

The song that was playing ended and the beat of a current club favorite began pounding through the room.

"Ooo, that's our cue!" Mina squealed. "Come on, girls! Let's go get our groove on!"

Raye and Lita jumped up to join her, grabbing Amy to drag her along. Mina looked questioningly at Serena. "Aren't you coming?"

Serena eyed the close packed, gyrating bodies dubiously. "Ah, no. I think I'll take a rain check on that. You really don't want to see the disaster I would cause out there."

"It's your loss," Mina quipped as she danced off in pursuit of the other girls.

"You don't dance?" Darien asked her in surprise.

She rolled her eyes. "I can barely manage to walk ten feet across a flat surface without falling on my face. What makes you think I could keep up with that?"

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "I think you would do alright. I've seen you execute some pretty impressive moves recently."

She pulled back, flushing a little. "That's different. Dancing, especially fast dancing, is an unknown world to me. I was actually grateful that you pulled me away the night of the school dance before I had a chance to embarrass myself."

Andrew walked up in time to catch the end of her statement. "It's true. Sere is quite a menace on the dance floor. I remember this one time when we went to a dance in middle school…"

"If you tell him that story I will personally kill you!" Serena growled.

He looked at her with wide-eyed innocence. "I was just going to say how you took out twenty people on your own before crashing into the table where the deejay was set up."

"Why you…!" she lunged across the counter at him.

Darien laughed and grabbed her before she could inflict any harm on their smirking friend. He took one short second to relish how soft her body felt against his before pushing her gently back toward her seat. She blushed madly when she realized that she was practically on top of the counter.

"Ooo, is Serena giving counter dances now? I hope your parents have got that thing insured, Drew, because you know that it will never survive," an amused voice teased.

Serena slid onto a stool and groaned, "Buzz off, Melvin!"

An arm flung around her shoulders as her shaggy, brown haired friend appeared beside her. "Aw, Serena, you know I didn't mean anything by that. You can't help it if you're…how do you usually put it…vertically challenged?"

A hand slapped his shoulder. "You're going to be vertically challenged in about two seconds if you don't quit picking on her!" his red haired girlfriend threatened.

Serena's face brightened. "Hey, Molly! I wasn't sure if you were coming tonight."

Molly grinned. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss the Crown New Year's party for anything."

Andrew and Melvin started catching up and Serena and Molly wandered a short distance away to have what they termed "girl talk", leaving Darien to lean against the counter where he watched the object of his affection intently. He didn't even notice the blonde that danced up to the counter beside him until a hand waved itself in front of his face.

He started and then blinked hard. "Oh hey, Mina."

She laughed lightly. "Hey yourself! Is it possible for me to get a soda? I'm about to die of thirst."

"Sure thing," he replied politely. "What kind do you want?"

"Anything's fine," she returned.

He filled another glass with coke and slid it across the counter to the girl. All the while he kept glancing at Serena every few seconds.

Mina watched him thoughtfully for a moment as she took a drink. Then she said, "She looks good tonight, doesn't she?"

Darien looked at her, startled. "Who?"

She sighed and set the glass back down. "You know exactly who I'm talking about, Darien. I mean Serena, of course. You've barely taken your eyes off of her since we walked in. I still think she would have looked good in that little black number that I had picked out for her, but in the end I suppose the white suits her better."

"She looks perfect," he whispered, and then jumped when he realized what he had just said out loud and whom he had said it in front of. Mina was a nice girl, but she did have a tendency to gossip.

She smiled and reached over to pat his hand that was resting on the counter. "Don't worry, I won't say anything. I don't have to anyway. I think it's pretty obvious to everyone how you feel about her."

His face slid into the impersonal mask that he had perfected over the years. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She rolled her expressive blue eyes. "Of course you don't. But I'll let you in on a little secret." She leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially to him, "Serena is just as much in love with you as you are with her, but she's got some crazy idea in her head that you don't belong together. She'll try to push you away. Don't let her."

He pulled back to look at her skeptically. "And you know this how?"

She gave him an almost sad looking smile. "I just do. Look, Serena is my best friend, and I want her to be happy. I think you are the one that can make her happy. Don't let the history you guys have come between you. You two could be very good for each other."

His eyes narrowed at her wistful tone. She gazed fondly at Serena for several seconds. He could have sworn that there was the shine of tears in her eyes as she did so. Then she seemed to shake herself out of a reverie.

"Well that was deep!" she giggled, but not quite meeting his eyes. "I'm off to tear up the floor some more. Thanks for the drink!"

He watched her as she spun and walked away. She hadn't gone far when she turned to look back at him over her shoulder. There was a serious look in her eyes now; a look that he had only seen there once before when she had jumped him weeks ago for picking on Serena when she had been sick. She had given him an ultimatum then; treat Serena right, or stay away from her. That warning was still there in her gaze. Her eyes met his for one long, slow second before she jerked her head back around, sending her hair fanning out around her.

A shiver raced down his spine. Her movements reminded him exactly of when Serenity had whirled away from him in a fit of temper; the same glimpse of blue eyes and flash of gold hair. Perhaps he had jumped the gun when he had dismissed his earlier suspicion of Mina being Serenity's reincarnation so quickly.

But if the former moon princess's soul was now residing inside Mina, why would she be pushing him to pursue a relationship with Serena? It didn't make any sense. While the Serenity in his dreams didn't condemn his feelings for her head scout, she certainly hadn't encouraged him the way Mina had. Was this because she hadn't regained her memories of the past yet? Would she turn on him and Serena once she did remember?

The questions spun around inside his head until he felt dizzy from it. He closed his eyes and leaned heavily against the counter. It wasn't until he felt a hand touch his arm that he opened them again. Another pair of blue eyes stared at him from a worried face.

"Are you okay?" Serena asked gently. "You looked like you were about to pass out or something."

He watched the way she nibbled nervously on her bottom lip and felt a surge of love and fierce protectiveness flow through him. Maybe Mina was Serenity, and maybe it was someone else. It didn't matter to him one way or the other. All he knew was that he would protect Serena from getting hurt by his choice to live his life the way he wanted to. And if that meant having to protect her from her own princess, then so be it.

He smiled down at her concerned face. "I'm great! Don't look so serious. This is supposed to be a party, isn't it?"

She studied him for a moment longer, and then an answering smile appeared on her face. "You're right! We're supposed to be having fun!"

* * *

"Why isn't he doing anything?" Mina growled under her breath. "Honestly, how thick can a man get? If it wasn't for the fact that it would blow my cover I swear I would plant a Crescent Beam right in his ass!"

"Okay! What gives?" Raye demanded. "You have spent the whole night glaring at Darien. Did he do something?"

"No, he hasn't done anything. That's the problem," Mina grumbled back.

"Uh oh, I know that look," Lita drawled from across the table. "Venus, the love goddess, is up to something."

Amy sighed and shook her head. "Oh no! What did you do this time, Mina?"

"Nothing bad enough for all of you to be looking at me like I'm a pariah!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"Like we believe that!" Raye retorted. "You forget that we know you too well, my meddling friend."

Lita snuck a quick look toward the counter where Serena had gone to get a refill on her drink. The petite blonde was doubled over, laughing at something that Asanuma had just told her. Andrew and Kobyashi were in hysterics as well. And Darien, who stood with them, was even laughing some. But his eyes were firmly fixed on Serena, as they had been all night.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Lita stated in a bored tone. "Serena and Darien seem to be getting along great together. I haven't heard either one of them snap at each other in days. Isn't that what we wanted, for them to become friends?"

"It's not enough!" Mina almost wailed. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I told you guys that I figured out why Serenity told Darien about the past. I'm trying to help her out."

Amy's eyes flared wide. "By trying to push them together? I'm not sure that is such a good idea. Serenity's plan has already worked. Darien is head over heels in love with Serena. Even a blind person could see that. Now all we have to do is wait until we complete the Silver Crystal. Then their memories will be restored and they will be together again."

"And driving us crazy with all of their lovey-dovey bull crap just like they used to," Lita inserted.

But Raye was watching Mina's face carefully and could see that something was bothering her. "There's more to this than you just wanting to play matchmaker, isn't there."

Mina nodded glumly. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to reveal myself soon, at least my undercover self. How do you think the two of them would react right now if I suddenly walked up to them and announced that I am Princess Serenity? It would be a disaster! Darien's pretty irritated right now over the whole soul mate thing and Serena is beating herself up because she feels like she's in love with someone else's man. I want the two of them to be as tight as possible before then. I want to know that they are going to stand together no matter what. Honestly, I'm secretly hoping that they both tell me to go to hell when I do come forward. It will make the deception easier to bear."

"Are you sure your plan to take Serenity's place is still a good idea?" Amy asked in a chilling tone. She was still a little peeved about the fact that Mina had kept the news about Kunzite's surprise visit from her and the other girls for several days. When she had come clean a couple of days after Christmas they had raked her over the coals for keeping such important information to herself; especially the fact that Kunzite was well aware of the fact that she was Sailor Venus and not Princess Serenity.

"I really don't think he'll say anything," she said softly. "He has his own plans to overthrow Beryl and Metallia, so he'll keep up the ruse that I am the princess just to keep Beryl running in circles. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only lead he has on the princess's identity, so Serena is safe for now. But I'd feel better if I knew for a fact that Mr. High and Mighty Prince of Earth was solid by her side. I bet all he needs to do is kiss her socks off one good time and they'd both be hooked."

Lita looked at a clock on the wall. "Well maybe we won't have to wait too long. It's almost midnight. If the boy has any active brain cells working Serena will be his New Year's kiss."

Just then, Andrew jumped up on the counter and called out to the crowd, "Okay, everyone! Midnight is almost here. So get your noisemakers and grab your significant other if you have one, and let's get ready to welcome the new year!"

Cheers went up all around as people scrambled around, boyfriends and girlfriends searching for each other. Mina slid a speculative glance toward Andrew before sighing and settling back into the booth. None of the other girls moved either. They didn't have anyone there they wanted to kiss. Lita had been going to invite her longtime friend, Ken, to the party, but had discovered when she called him that he was seeing someone. Amy was still pining over her secret crush and fellow bookworm, Greg, moving away. Raye claimed that none of these immature high school boys interested her. And Mina figured that now was not the time to try to start a relationship with Andrew. She had a lot on her plate right now.

Darien came pushing through the crowd toward them. Lines creased his forehead when he saw the four girls sitting there. "Where's Serena?" he asked.

Raye arched a brow. "We thought she was with you."

He shook his head. "She was, but she disappeared when all of the commotion started, so I figured she came back here."

"Haven't seen her," Lita quipped nonchalantly.

"I'm sure she's around somewhere," Amy said, trying to sound helpful.

He looked at all of them exasperatedly, his gaze lingering on Mina for just a second longer than the others. She had remained quiet since he had approached them, but she looked at him in wide-eyed innocence.

"Damn it!" he growled and turned away.

The blonde girl smiled smugly. "Go get her, Endymion."

* * *

Serena stomped her feet as she tramped down the sidewalk. The shoes she was wearing were not exactly the best for walking in cold weather and she was hoping to keep the circulation going in her feet and keep them from going numb before she got home. She would have never worn them if she'd known that she'd be hiking, but Mina's dad had given them a ride to the arcade and she'd figured she could beg a lift home from Andrew.

She hadn't planned on leaving the party early, but as midnight had drawn closer and the excitement had started building she'd felt the party spirit leak right out of her. It seemed like everywhere she turned tonight Darien was right there, watching her with a strange expression on his face. It had been hard to be near him so much and try to keep the friendly, yet impersonal façade going. She was mentally drained and just wanted to go home and to bed.

She'd barely rounded the corner when she heard footsteps behind her and a voice calling to her. "Hey, Serena! Wait up!"

She closed her eyes and bit back a groan. She just couldn't catch a break tonight. She fixed a smile on her face and turned. "Darien, what are you doing out here?"

He ran up to her. "Looking for you, of course. Why did you leave so suddenly?"

She shrugged. "I got tired. I figured I'd go home and hit the sack."

"Without saying goodnight?" he asked in a teasing tone. But his eyes were serious.

She forced out a laugh. "I'm sorry. Goodnight, Darien."

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed and grabbed her arm as she turned away from him. "It's freezing out here. At least let me give you a ride home."

She looked as if she was going to refuse, but then she nodded. "All right."

She followed him back to his car that was parked right in front of the arcade and slid quickly inside when he held the door open for her. He got in on the other side and started the car, cranking the heat up to full blast while they waited for it to warm up.

They sat there in silence for several long moments before she chanced a glance at him. His expression was pensive. "Darien, is something wrong?"

He turned toward her so quickly it shocked her. "No, Serena. Nothing is wrong. I just have a lot of stuff on my mind right now." His eyes roved over her face intently. "Can I ask you something?"

"Su…sure," she stammered.

He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. "Am I still your best enemy?"

She giggled nervously. "Of course you are! Who else would it be?"

"I'm being serious," he insisted in a low voice. "I can honestly say that you are not my best enemy anymore, Serena. The time that we have spent together has shown me that I can never think of you as being my enemy again. You are my friend, one of my best friends. And I want to know if you feel the same way."

She opened and closed her mouth twice, unable to get her voice to work. Her heart banged against her ribcage like a drum. This was what she wanted, a friendship with him. Maybe she was masochistic, but the thought of him not being in her life at all hurt worse than the thought of him being with Serenity. Perhaps in time she would get over the sick obsession that her past incarnation seemed to have with him. She could handle that.

"You're one of my best friends too," she was finally able to whisper. "How could you not be after you've saved my life as many times as you have?"

A jubilant grin lit up his face and he reached across the center console to pull her into a fierce hug. She stiffened at the contact for only a moment before she allowed herself to return the embrace.

A roar loud enough to be heard through the walls of the arcade and the car erupted as the partygoers began counting down to midnight.

"10…9…"

He pulled back to look at her. "Serena I…"

"8…7…"

He shook his head, "The hell with it!"

"6…5…"

His face lowered toward hers.

"4…3…"

It was just like her dream. She gave into the moment of weakness and closed her eyes.

"2…1…"

She whispered his name.

"Happy New Year!"

Instead of his lips on hers she felt his fingers tighten almost painfully where they gripped her shoulders. Her eyes flew open to find his midnight orbs only inches from hers, staring at her with a mixture of shock, disbelief, and something else. It took her a second to realize that it was pain.

"Darien, what…" she began.

His eyes flared wide and he let her go quickly to scoot back over into his seat. He wrapped his hands around the steering wheel so tightly that the joints cracked and his knuckles turned bone white. The expression on his face was so feral that she cringed back against the passenger door behind her.

The seconds seemed to drag out forever. Finally, after a minute had passed, he spoke. His voice was barely a whisper and cracked with emotion.

"I can't believe I didn't see it," he said. "But now that I look back it is so obvious. One day you were an open book to me, and the next you began pulling away. I'm such an idiot!" He banged his head against the steering wheel.

"What are you talking about?" she asked tremulously.

He lifted his head, his eyes blazing at her. "You know. You called me Endymion."

Crap! She must have been so caught up in the moment that she hadn't been able to tell the past from the present. She certainly hadn't meant to slip up. Hold the phone for a moment!

Her eyes widened. "Wait just a minute here! You know who you were in the past?"

He nodded bleakly. "I found out the night you stayed at my place. Serenity came into my dreams and told me."

Nausea rolled in Serena's stomach. If he knew his past identity, then he must know who he was to the moon princess. But he had still flirted with her. He had almost kissed her! Was history destined to repeat itself? She gave herself a mental shake. No! She wouldn't let it!

She flung open the car door and jumped out, slamming it behind her as she took off running. She heard him yell after her, but she didn't stop. She ducked into the first alley she came across and transformed. As Sailor Moon she would be able to reach her house quickly.

It only took two short minutes to reach home. Her parents were out at a party and Sammy was spending the night at a friend's, so she didn't bother with the front door. She landed on the windowsill and pushed the window open. She dove inside and closed and locked it behind her barely a second before the branch right outside the window shuddered.

She squealed and backed away from the window and the black crouched shape that was just on the other side of it. A white gloved hand pressed against the glass. She had been so caught up in her emotions that she hadn't realized that he had transformed and followed her.

"Serena, open the window!" he demanded. His eyes narrowed behind his mask as he watched her back away until she was on the opposite side of the room with her back pressed up against the wall.

She clamped a hand over her mouth to hold back the sobs that were clawing at her throat, but she could do nothing to stop the tears that were pouring from her eyes. She shook her head violently.

"Damn it, Serena!" he bellowed, and then pulled up short when he saw her eyes widen in what looked to be fear. She wasn't afraid of him, was she?

"Please let me in," he tried in a calmer voice. "I just want to talk."

That tone seemed to work better on her. At least she came back to stand in front of the window. "Darien, I…I'm sorry. I really don't feel like talking right now. I need to think."

Now both of his hands and his forehead were pressed to the window, as if he could crawl right through the glass and be beside her. "What is there to think about, Serena? What the hell difference does it make if I was a prince a thousand years ago? That has absolutely nothing to do with the here and now."

Her eyes flashed angrily to his. "Are you crazy? It has everything to do with it!"

Rage tinted his voice. "Oh yeah! Give me one reason."

She stared at him for a long moment, her eyes shimmering pools of sadness. "Serenity," she finally whispered. And then she pulled her curtains closed to shut him out.

**A/N **Ahh…the angst monster bit me hard here at the end. I don't guess that's a bad thing. Everybody needs a little angst every now and then. So the cat's out of the bag now. He knows that she knows his past identity and she knows that he knows that he was once with the princess. What is that going to mean for our unhappy couple? (Sere-chan rubs her hands together in anticipation) Why more angst of course! I'm so cruel to my poor characters. It's a miracle that they haven't all banded together and lynched me yet. (Gasps and runs to computer to quickly look over rough drafts waiting to be edited) Oh crap! They probably will kill me before all is said and done! Maybe I should leave now and find a safe place to hide. LOL! Well thank you for reading. And don't forget to drop me a review and tell me what you thought. Lots of love and hugs to you all!

~Sere~


	14. The First Day Back

**A/N **Hey guys! It's update time! I know the last chapter went straight into angst hell, and I have to admit the first part of this chapter still carries a heavy vibe of it, but it evens out a little bit later on. Oh there's still tension for sure, but it's not quite as thick. So let me give out my hugs and you can get on with it. BIG HUGS TO:

**sabina21**

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**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

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Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. And now I'm going to let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 14

The First Day Back

He groaned low in his throat as he kissed her. He rolled until she was beneath him, his mouth never breaking contact with hers. Her fingers trailed up and down his back, light as a feather one second, urgent and grasping the next. He pulled his mouth away from hers only to drag his lips down her neck.

She moaned in his ear. "Darien…"

He pulled back slightly to stare down into her big blue eyes and gently swept away the long golden strands of hair that clung to her flushed cheeks. "I love you, Serena."

She smiled her beautiful smile up at him as her hands came around to cup his face. "I love you too, Darien."

He began lowering his head, but before his lips could meet hers again a fog fell across her face and soft voice whispered, "Endymion…"

Whoa! He jerked awake so quickly that he rolled out of the bed and landed on the floor. Thank goodness he had thick, plush carpet or it would have hurt a lot worse than it did.

He ground the heels of his hands against his eyes and growled, "Damn it, Serenity!"

Was it too much to ask for him to get one decent night's sleep? School was starting back today and he was going to have a hell of a time getting through his classes at the rate he was going.

He had stayed in Serena's tree New Year's Eve, hearing the sound of her muffled sobs and begging her through the glass to talk to him until Andrew had called him. His friend had been concerned when he had gone outside and found Darien's car running and the driver's side door wide open. He had gone and retrieved his car and taken it home before transforming and hurrying back to Serena's house. He had barely landed on the branch when she had ripped the curtains open and had screamed at him to go away.

It had been all he could do to keep from smashing that damn window and going in anyway when he saw her red, swollen, tear streaked face, but her emotions had rushed through the bond they shared and hit him like a sucker punch to the gut. Surprisingly there had been no anger, except for what she directed at herself. Instead her predominate emotions had been hurt, disgust, and a deep self-loathing.

Sensing that his presence was only making things harder for her, he retreated. He had gone home and sat up until dawn, trying desperately to come up with a way to make things better between them. If he could just get her to talk to him, he was sure that they could work things out.

He had finally dozed off, intending to nap for only a few hours. Then he would go to the arcade and hope that she would show up like she always did. But once he fell asleep, it was a constant battle to make it restful. Serenity constantly hovered at the fringes of his mind, crying and begging for his forgiveness. Every now and then she would manage to infiltrate his dreams, and he stubbornly redoubled his efforts to push her out again. When he woke up he found that he had slept for much longer than he'd wanted to. The clock was pushing noon.

He had taken the quickest shower of his life and thrown on the first clothes that he found before running the few blocks to the arcade, hoping against hope that Serena would show up. But when he got there Andrew told him that Serena had come in early that morning and helped with the after party clean up. Then she had claimed to be feeling bad and had left.

The girls had come in then for lunch and they all shot him venomous looks as they silently took a seat in their favorite booth. He sat there for several minutes, nursing a cup of coffee and waiting for one of them to tear into him so that he would have an excuse to ask about Serena, but when none of them approached him he made up his mind to go to them. He didn't care that Mina was with them at that point. If she was whom he was seriously starting to suspect her of being, she probably already knew all about everything anyway.

But Andrew had saved him the trouble by asking first. He eavesdropped shamelessly as he heard the girls say that they had gone by Serena's house and had been told by her mother that she was sick with the stomach flu and wasn't up to receiving any visitors.

"Mrs. Tsukino said that she's been holed up in the bathroom for hours tossing her cookies," Raye had said snidely and looked at him for a moment with burning eyes.

Lita had glared at him too. "Yeah, she must be pretty bad off. She's not opening the door for anyone."

Amy's gaze had stabbed into him like icicles. "She probably got a hold of something _bad _at the party last night."

Mina had said nothing, but her eyes had smoldered like blue flames as she turned a contemptuous look on him.

Unable to handle the accusing atmosphere any more, he'd fled back to his apartment where he paced restlessly for the better part of the day. Once he tried the sense Serena through their bond and the wave of sick nausea that hit him almost sent him running for the bathroom as well.

That night he had returned to her window to find it closed up just as tight as the night before. As he sat there on the tree branch he could hear her moaning and crying in her sleep. She had woken up with a muted shriek and had stumbled to the bathroom where his sensitive hearing picked up on the sound of her being violently sick.

Luna had appeared at the window and asked him quietly to go. The feline hadn't been rude. In fact, she'd seemed to feel genuinely sad for him. But she'd said that Serena needed time to process some things and that he should leave her be for now.

The next day he had actually caught a glimpse of her. He had jerked awake from another uneasy nap in which Serenity had been screaming in the background of his dreams of Serena to a horrible pain in his chest and a ball of dread sitting in his stomach like a lump of concrete. As soon as he realized that it meant that Serena had become Sailor Moon he transformed and hurried toward where he felt her.

He'd arrived just in time to see Sailor Moon using her wand on a crazy looking youma that had surprisingly turned into a teenage boy before he fell unconscious to the ground. Sailor Jupiter had been at her side. As soon as the light of her power had faded she had begun staggering away. He'd tried to follow her, but found his way blocked by Jupiter.

"Not a chance, Shields! She doesn't need to deal with your shit right now!" she'd snarled.

Piss off, Lita!" he'd growled back. They had both been so angry that they might have started exchanging blows if Mars and Mercury hadn't chosen that moment to show up.

Jupiter launched into an explanation of what had happened. He had only been half paying attention to what she was saying as he contemplated ways to get away from the scouts so he could go after Serena. But he pulled up short when he heard the words "rainbow crystal".

"What did you say?" he'd demanded.

Jupiter had rolled her green eyes at him. "I said that the Dark Kingdom has gotten their hands on the first rainbow crystal, Mr. Genius. Weren't you paying attention? I was following him," she gestured to the unconscious boy on the ground, "because I got some really strange vibes off of him. He was at the arcade earlier and he was doing some weird telekinetic thing to scam prizes from the machines. But something didn't feel right so I decided to figure out what he was up to. Then Zoicite showed up and zapped him with some dark crystal and the red Rainbow Crystal came flying out of his chest. I tried to stop Zoicite, but that boy turned into a youma and attacked me, so he got away. Then Serena showed up and did some kind of Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo thing with her wand and the dude turned back to normal."

"So the Dark Kingdom is one up on us. That's not good," Mars muttered.

"No, it's not," Mercury agreed. "We have got to find a way to get it back from them and we have to locate the other six before it's too late. If Beryl manages to get her hands on the Silver Crystal…" her voice trailed off meaningfully.

"On a different note," Jupiter drawled. "What happened between you and Serena, Shields? She hasn't left her house or answered her phone in two days. I thought you were supposed to be making nice with her, not sending her into hiding."

He had pinned the three scouts with a glacial glare. "I was until she let something slip. Which one of you told Serena about Endymion? When she found out I knew my past identity she ran away from me. I haven't been able to get her to talk to me since."

The three girls had surprisingly sympathized with him and assured him that Serena had discovered that information on her own. Mars had even gone so far as to touch him on the arm, something she hadn't even done during the short time that they had dated, and told him softly to not lose hope that Serena would come around.

He had felt a little bit better that he still had the scout's encouragement and when he left them he had even been bold enough to go by Serena's house and knock on the front door. A surprised Ilene had answered and told him that Serena was doing much better and had even started eating again. She felt confident that she would be able to go to school when classes resumed the next day.

He had stayed away from her window last night, not wanting to upset her and possibly set back her recovery. Serena might be able to avoid him during their free time, but she wouldn't be able to when they were both in school.

Finished with his reminiscing of the last few days, he pushed himself up off the floor and looked at his clock. It was almost time for his alarm to go off anyway, so he may as well start his day.

He decided to forego his morning jog this morning and headed straight for the shower instead. This was one of the mornings that Andrew had to go in early and help his parents open the arcade, so he would have been alone for his jog. And if he was alone he knew that the temptation to go by Serena's would be too much to bear.

But that did give him an idea. He would just head to the arcade early and hang out with Andrew for a while. He could have breakfast there while he waited. The girls always passed by on their way to school, and if Serena were going to school today she would be with them.

'_And what if she doesn't go to school today?' _his inner voice asked as he stepped under the hot spray of the shower.

He thought about that for a second before he made up his mind. If she didn't show up for school today then he was going to skip. He would transform and go hang out by her bedroom window all day if he had to. He didn't care if Ken Tsukino came out and tried to shoot him down with a sub-machine gun. He had to get Serena to talk to him somehow.

His decision made, he hurried through his shower. When he was done he quickly dressed in his school uniform, brushed his teeth, and tried to comb his stubborn hair before throwing the comb down in disgust. Then he grabbed his coat and backpack as he headed out the door.

He and Serena would be back on speaking terms before the end of the day, even if it killed him.

* * *

"Come on, Serena, or we're going to be late!" Mina shrieked as she sped down the sidewalk, dragging her friend behind her. "I've seen fat, lazy hippos move faster than you are right now! I know you can run faster, so pick up the pace!"

"Have some pity on me, Mina. I've been sick," Serena pleaded as she was jerked along.

A delicate, ladylike snort erupted from her friend. "Sick, my Aunt Frannie's Fanny! You weren't sick. That was just your nerves getting the better of you because of whatever's going on between you and Darien Shields and we both know it."

Serena dug her heels in and ground to a halt. Mina screeched as the sudden stop nearly wrenched her shoulder out of socket and sent her slamming backward into her friend. For once Serena kept her balance instead of falling down. In fact, she stood as firm as a brick wall as she stared at the ground.

"What makes you think that there is something between me and Darien?" she finally muttered after about ten seconds of silence.

Mina rubbed her shoulder with a grimace. "Are you kidding me? A person would have to be blind to not see how things are between you two. You always sit together at the arcade, I've seen you riding around with him in his car, and when neither of you think that the other is looking you watch each other with goo goo eyes. You guys are hot for each other. It's as plain as the nose on my face."

Serena visibly recoiled at her friend's impassioned words. She knew it was true, at least on her part. She took every opportunity she could to watch Darien. She never grew tired of watching the way his eyes crinkled up at the corners when he laughed, the tiny lines that would crease his forehead when he studied, the way his throat moved up and down when he took a drink…

Whoa! She mentally slammed the brakes on her rampant thoughts. She shook her head. "It's not like that between us, Mina. Darien's an okay guy, but he's not for me. There's someone else that I think he belongs with anyway. I know she likes him a lot and I think they'll be perfect for each other."

"What!" Mina screeched. "Some other girl is trying to move in on your man and you're just going to give up? Have you lost your ever-loving mind?" She seized Serena by the front of her coat and shook her. "Who is it? Just tell me who it is and I'll sic Lita on her. There is no way that I am going to stand by and let some hussy trespass on my best friend's territory!"

"Geez, Mina! Don't have an aneurism!" Serena exclaimed, a little swirly-eyed from the shaking. "What does it matter anyway? I don't have any claims on Darien."

"It does matter!" Mina insisted. "You saw him first, so you get first crack at him."

Serena chewed on her bottom lip. "Actually, this other girl has known him a lot longer than I have, practically his whole life. It's like they're supposed to be together."

Mina's nose wrinkled. "Ew! You mean like an arranged marriage or something? Look girl, I don't know what century your brain is stuck in, but nobody does that sort of stuff anymore."

"That's not what I meant!" Serena snapped, her nerves beginning to fray. "I just mean that I think she's better for him. He's smart and sophisticated. What do I have to offer him?"

Mina's whole body jerked and her eyes glittered as she pinned Serena with a hard stare. "You did not just say that! What do you have to offer him? Do I really have to point out the obvious to you? You listen to me, Serena Tsukino; you are a beautiful person, both inside and out. So you may not be the top student in the class. Who cares? It's your loving heart and personality that makes people want to be around you. You can have any guy you want. So if the guy you want is Darien then I say go get him!" She panted as she ended her tirade.

Serena put a hand on her shoulder. "Wow, Mina! How much caffeine have you had this morning? You're more worked up than a hyperventilating antelope!"

Mina's eyes stayed firm for another two seconds before they melted back into their usual softness. She put a gloved hand over her mouth and giggled. "Hee hee! I guess I lost it there for a minute. But seriously, Serena, I wouldn't give up on Darien if I were you. So what if some other girl is crushing on him. It's his decision who he wants to be with, and right now it's pretty obvious he's interested in you. Just have faith. Love can conquer any obstacle."

Serena's head whirled and for just a moment she thought she was going to pass out. The slightest glimmer of a vision flitted through her mind. She saw Mina in a long, light orange dress sitting on a bench in the middle of a garden full of pale flowers. She looked up at the dark sky above her with a shimmer of tears in her blue eyes and whispered, "Love can conquer any obstacle."

"Oh my god!" Mina's shriek snapped her out of her reverie. "We are so going to be late if we don't move it now!" She grabbed Serena by the hand again and began running like a pack of rabid raccoons were chasing them.

Two blocks later, at the corner just before the arcade, she finally stopped. She peeked around the corner and grinned when she saw Darien and Andrew just stepping out of the arcade to greet Raye, Amy, and Lita. A big smile appeared on her face as she smoothed her rumpled hair down and then turned to Serena and did the same to her windblown pigtails.

"We finally caught up to the others," she told Serena as her friend looked at her like she had lost her mind. "I guess we aren't running as far behind schedule as I thought we were. There! Now you look perfect!"

"I better!" Serena grumbled as Mina dragged her around the corner. She hadn't slept well since the night before New Year's Eve when she had woken up from that steamy dream about Endymion. Since then not only was the stubborn prince constantly making appearances in her dreams, but also her nightmares had returned. She had almost forgotten about the horrifying images of blood and Endymion lying dead before her, but now they were back with frightening clarity. After waking her parents up twice that first night, she had learned to muffle her screams whenever she did manage to fall asleep. But the ravages of her sleeplessness was clearly showing on her features, and remembering how bad her friends had freaked out when she had gone through this before she had made sure to use the Luna Pen to make herself appear normal. So she better look like she was in tiptop shape or she would have a serious bone to pick with Luna.

She blew around the corner behind Mina and almost stumbled and fell when she saw Darien standing with Andrew and the girls. She wasn't ready to face him yet. What could she say to him? _"I'm sorry I almost let you kiss me when I know you and Serenity belong together?"_ Or how about, _"Look, Darien. I know there's some kind of an attraction between us. It was the same way a thousand years ago when you and I decided to make whoopee behind the princess's back."_

Oh yeah, that would go over really well. It did make her wonder for about the hundredth time in the last few days whether or not he knew about the affair they'd had together in the past. It would certainly explain his sudden interest in trying to kiss her. But she was far too chicken to ask him?

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Darien spin on his heel and began walking away from the others. She had run away from his presence the day before when Zoicite had attacked that boy, and she knew that they were going to have to talk at some point. But now she could put off coming face to face with him for a little while longer.

That was until Mina opened her mouth. "Hey guys! Wait for us!"

Darien stopped and turned around. Serena almost moaned aloud when his eyes locked with hers. His gaze was serious, but there was a flash of something else in his midnight depths that made her feel like every bone in her body had just turned to jelly. He walked briskly back to the others and got there at the same time she and Mina did.

"There you two are!" Raye snapped. "We were wondering whether you two airheads had finally managed to float off into the stratosphere when you didn't meet us at our usual spot."

Mina's characteristic giggle pealed out. "Serena had a little trouble getting motivated this morning. And then Mrs. Tsukino had made these cinnamon rolls that were to die for. She offered me one and I would have been crazy to turn her down. So we were running a few minutes behind. Right, Serena?"

Serena had finally torn her eyes from Darien's and was looking down, but at Mina's words she looked up and pasted what she hoped was a natural smile on her face. "Yep! You guys know me. I'd lose my head if it weren't attached to my body. Besides, who wants to go back to yucky old school anyway? I wish they would outlaw it."

Andrew tossed an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "So how are you feeling, Bunny? Your mom told my mom that you were tossing your cookies left and right."

She scrunched her nose up at him. "Thanks for that wonderful imagery, Drew! That's exactly what I want to remember, how I spent a whole day lying on the bathroom floor so that I could have easy access to the toilet."

"But you're over it now, right?" Lita asked quickly.

Serena waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah! It was just a little twenty-four hour bug. It's all gone now."

"I don't know," Amy muttered. "You still look a little pale to me. Perhaps you should have taken another day to rest."

Serena shuddered. As much as she didn't want to go back to school where she knew that she would have to face Darien, it was almost preferable to staying at home in bed where she knew that she would fall asleep and the dreams would come. "Don't be silly, Amy. I feel like a million bucks!"

Darien finally spoke up. "She's right, Serena. You do look a little paler than usual."

Andrew jumped at the sound of his voice behind him. "Whoa, Dare! How about a little warning when you sneak up on a guy? I thought you were going back to your place because you left your Chemistry book at home."

He shrugged. That had only been an excuse because he thought that Serena wasn't coming. "I double checked my bag and found out that I had it after all."

Serena forced out a shaky laugh. "Ha ha! Only Darien would have his schoolbooks out over vacation. I haven't even opened my backpack since the last day of school."

Darien opened his mouth like he was about to say something, and then closed it as he sighed and shook his head. Then he muttered, "We should get going before we're late."

As they began walking down the sidewalk, Serena made sure to keep herself between Andrew and Mina. She knew that if Darien managed to get beside her that he would start bombarding her with questions. So he walked on Andrew's other side. And even though she forced herself not to look at him, she felt his eyes cut toward her several times.

She felt better once they reached the school. Now they would have to split up. The guys' lockers were downstairs while the girls' were on the second floor. She quickly told Andrew goodbye and scurried toward the stairway. She had barely taken five steps when a hand grabbed her wrist. Awareness flowed through her. She didn't need to turn around to know whom the hand belonged to.

"Not right now, Darien," she pleaded softly.

His voice was low, but she could easily hear it even over the noise of students talking and lockers slamming. "We have to talk, Serena."

She shook her head, still refusing to turn around. "Maybe later. I have to get to class. Haruna will land me in detention for sure if I'm late."

His fingers tightened minutely. "Look at me, Serena!"

She sighed and turned, reluctantly raising her eyes to meet his.

"We _are _going to talk about what's going on," he stated firmly, but gently. "We have to work together and you can't keep avoiding me forever."

She nodded slowly. "I know. Just not right now, okay."

He let her go. "Okay. But later, all right?"

"Later," she promised, and then practically ran for the stairs.

* * *

The cafeteria was crowded and loud, providing the perfect cover for the four girls that sat with their heads close together having a whispered, but intense conversation.

"So what is up with Serena and Darien?" Lita demanded. "The two of them barely acknowledged each other this morning."

Mina sighed. "It's Serenity of course. Darien has decided to throw caution to the wind, but Serena is fighting him. She's still convinced that she can't make a play for him because he's supposed to be with Serenity."

"That's just like that Meatball Head," Raye growled. "This isn't the stinking Dark Ages. In this time boy and girl meet each other, boy and girl fall in love, and then boy and girl hook up. It's not rocket science."

"But Serena takes this mission seriously," Amy interjected. "I know exactly what she's thinking. She knows that we have at least part of our memories back, and she knows that eventually Darien and Serenity will too. Then she figures once they remember their love for each other they'll fall back into each other's arms."

Mina nodded. "She's pushing him away now thinking that she'll save herself a broken heart later."

Lita cracked her knuckles. "All the more reason why we have to hurry up and get our hands on those Rainbow Crystals so we can get the Silver Crystal restored to her. I don't know how long I can take her fake smiles without spilling the beans."

"Same here," Raye agreed. "I don't want to compromise her safety, but her happiness is important to me."

"If only Zoicite hadn't gotten away with that crystal," Mina muttered.

"I wish I'd had a chance to pound that little snot!" Lita snarled. "No offense, Amy."

Amy waved a hand. "None taken. I wish I'd had a crack at him myself. It does make me wonder how he tracked that one down so easily. I've been trying for weeks, but I can't get any accurate readings."

Raye twirled a straw with her fingers. "It's probably because the shadow warriors are locked inside them. Beryl probably has a way to track them since they are her little pets. But since it took them so long to find the first one it makes me think that it may not be as easy for them as we think."

Lines furrowed Mina's forehead. "But if that's true, shouldn't that also be true for Serena? The Silver Crystal is inside of her. It may be dormant, but the Rainbow Crystals are part of it. Isn't there some way that she could sense where they are?"

"I've thought about that," Amy confessed. "I think she might be able to, much like how she can usually tell whenever there are youma around, but she would probably have to be in fairly close proximity to it. And Tokyo's a big city."

"Maybe we'll get lucky," Mina sighed. "Selene knows we need something to go right for us."

"Hey! What's with all of the glum faces?" Andrew's voice asked as he joined them. Then he looked around at all of the empty chairs. "Where's Serena and Darien?"

* * *

Serena picked at her lunch as she sat in the quiet stairwell. She knew that she'd probably get the third degree if a teacher happened along and found her spending lunch here instead of in the cafeteria, but she didn't care. She knew she was a coward.

Her morning had gone smoothly enough. She had dashed from class to class, thankfully not encountering Darien in the hallways in between. She had only caught sight of his dark head once next to Andrew's blonde one as they had left their English class together. Luckily she had ducked into her Literature class before he had seen her.

But when lunchtime had rolled around she knew that it would be hard to avoid him. They always sat together in the cafeteria. And while she didn't think that he would do any heavy questioning in front of their friends, she knew that he would find some way to interrogate her just a little.

She popped a potato chip into her mouth and chewed mechanically, not even tasting it's salty flavor. Then she leaned her head against the wall beside her and closed her eyes, wishing that she could turn back time. She knew that she couldn't give up being Sailor Moon; they had to save the world from Beryl. But if she could just go back to before she'd found out about Endymion. Her life had been so nice then.

If she had a choice of when and where she could go back to, she would go back to that first day that Darien had taken her that empty warehouse to train. Things had been easy and lighthearted between them as he had instructed her and she had been able to touch him and let him touch her without this overwhelming feeling of guilt. She wished that she could return there and freeze that time forever.

"There you are."

The sound of that smooth, husky voice had her eyes flying open. She should have known that she couldn't hide from him. He had that uncanny ability of being able to track her down. It wasn't as easy to do when they weren't transformed, but leave it to Darien to be good at it anyway.

He stood at the bottom of the stairs staring up to where she sat at the top. He began climbing up, one slow step at a time. His gaze staying locked with hers.

She sat frozen in panic. Half of her demanded that she jump up and run away. She was just the teensiest bit faster than he was. He wouldn't be able to catch her, unless she did something stupid like trip over her own feet, and that was highly probable. The other half of her wanted to drag him down on top of her and kiss him senseless until they were both nothing but a puddle of goo on the floor. But she did neither and sat there motionless until he sat down on the step beside her.

Then he did the unexpected. He bumped her shoulder lightly with his and asked gently, "Are you okay?"

She turned a blinding smile on him. "I'm fine. I just wanted to have a quiet lunch without a hundred voices jabbering away around me."

His eyes narrowed as he took in the too bright smile. Serena couldn't lie to save her life. "You don't have to pretend with me, Serena. I know you're not fine."

The smile turned brittle and then disappeared. "What do you want me to say, Darien?"

He ran an agitated hand through his hair. "You can start off by telling me why you ran away from me the other night."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "You know why. Things were getting way too intense between us and I had to get away."

"Do you know what that did to me?" he growled. "You ran from me like I was a youma out to steal your energy and then shut me out without listening to what I had to say. I thought you said we were friends."

She felt a flare of irritation. "I thought we were too. But friends don't go around trying to kiss each other."

"You wanted me to!" he fired back. "Don't sit there looking all innocent, Serena! You wanted it as much as I did. I could see it in your eyes. They were begging for me to kiss you. If I hadn't been stupid enough to point out your little slip up with my name you would have let me."

Her face flushed dark red. "Yes, I would have. And it would have been the worst mistake of my life."

"Because of Serenity," he sneered.

"Yes!" she almost shouted. "Because of Serenity! I knew that you belonged to her, and yet I let things go farther between us than I should have. Do you know how dirty I feel knowing that I came within inches of betraying my princess?"

Anger snapped in his eyes. "Serena, I don't give a…" he said a really bad curse word that made her gasp, "about Serenity! She and I may have been together a thousand years ago, but that has nothing to do with now. The only reasons why I am trying to help her is because we need her to defeat Beryl and I feel like I owe it to her since she has helped me out over the years. That's it!"

"You can't mean that," she whispered. "You two are supposed to be together."

"Why, because we were, once upon a time? Because we're suppose to be some kind of star crossed soul mates?" he demanded. "I don't believe in any of that destiny crap! I am the only one that makes decisions in my life."

He leaned forward and Serena shrank away from him, back into the wall behind her as he slapped a hand on either side of her head. "I don't love Serenity, Serena. And I'm going to prove it to you."

Just as he dipped his head down, she looked up at him, tears pouring from her eyes. "Please don't kiss me," she begged brokenly. "I don't think I could live with myself if you did."

Her words sent him reeling back from her. Rage bubbled up inside him at her rejection. "You are more maddening than Serenity! What exactly do you want from me, Serena? I'm tired of all of these mixed signals I'm getting from you."

She sucked in a shaky breath. "I won't deny that there is a certain…attraction between us, but we can never be anything more than friends. And I want that, Darien. You've become too much a part of my life for me to cut you out of it."

Resentment flowed through him and he shook his head. "I don't know if I can do that, Serena. Feelings can't be turned on and off like a light switch. It would be hard to spend time with you and try to think of you as just a friend. It would be easier to go back to fighting with each other."

Her heart shattered in her chest, but she nodded. She had known that the severing of their newfound closeness could be a casualty in this whole fiasco and she was prepared to accept it. But it still hurt. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe being friends is too much to ask of either one of us."

He jerked like he had been slapped and then jumped to his feet. "I've gotta go cool off!" he growled and stomped up the next flight of stairs toward the roof.

Serena managed to hold in her sobs until she heard the roof's door bang open and then slam shut. That was when the dam burst. Tears poured in constant rivers from her eyes and deep, gut-wrenching sobs tore from her chest until she could barely breathe. She fell over sideways until she was lying on the landing she had been sitting on and buried her face in her arms.

If she had bothered to look up she would have seen that she had an audience to her emotional breakdown. Darien had stopped just before going out onto the roof and had slammed the door in disgust at himself before going over to the railing and looking down at the girl he had just walked away from.

When the first sounds of her cries reached him he steeled himself against them. He wanted to hate her. He wanted her to hurt just as much as she had hurt him. Maybe that would make the painful, aching hole in his chest easier to bear. But when the sounds of her sobs grew more hysterical and she fell over in a boneless heap, he felt himself crack. His hands tightened around the metal railing until he actually felt it begin to bend and mold into the shapes of his fingers.

He couldn't hate her. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't. Now that he thought about it, he could almost respect her refusal to betray her princess. Her loyalty was one of her many qualities that had drawn him to her in the first place. He just wished that she would let go of it this one time.

Mentally calling himself a sucker and a glutton for punishment, he went back down the stairs and knelt down next to Serena. He took her by the shoulders in order to sit her up, but the moment he touched her she shot up on her own and batted his hands away.

Her face was red and tear soaked and what little air she was managing to draw in hiccupped in her chest. "Don't…_hic_…touch me…_hic_!" she shrieked. "I know…_hic_…that you hate me now…_hic_! So please…_hic_…go away!"

He closed his eyes for a moment as more pain swept through him. How could he have ever thought for one second that he wanted to see her hurting? The burning ache in his heart was worse now than it had been when she'd rejected him.

He reached for her and she tried to struggle away, but he easily overpowered her and pulled her against his chest. He buried his face in her hair and whispered, "I don't hate you, Serena. I could never hate you. I just wish that you weren't quite so stubborn. If it means that much to you, we'll try it your way. I can't take seeing you like this."

She sniffled hard and then raised her head from his chest. A little glimmer of hope was beginning to shimmer in her eyes. "You…you mean…"

"I mean we'll try being friends," he told her as he used his fingers to wipe away her tears. Then he smirked. "You're a mess, Meatball Head!"

"Ooo, you…" she fumed though she was now smiling. She used the sleeves of her shirt to scrub at her face.

He laughed. "Yeah, you better try to clean yourself up. There's only about ten minutes left until lunch is over."

"What! Only ten minutes!" her shriek echoed in the stairwell. "But I haven't finished eating yet!" She fell on her abandoned, untouched lunch and began inhaling it like it was the last food she would ever have.

"Easy there, Meatball Head," Darien cautioned and patted her back as she choked on a cookie. He popped the top on her unopened soda and handed it to her.

"Jerk!" she muttered once her coughing had subsided.

He crossed his arms and pouted. "Hey! Is that any way to talk about your friend? Especially one that goes around saving your butt from youma attacks."

She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled, feeling like things were going back to normal for the first time in days. Well, normal for them anyway.

* * *

"I'll see you after class," Molly Osaka said as she kissed her boyfriend, Melvin, on the cheek and ducked into her 5th period Science class. A quick look around told her that the teacher hadn't arrived from lunch yet as she took her seat in the middle of the room.

Over the next few minutes the rest of the class filed in, most of them noisily grumbling about how this first day back to school was dragging like it was never going to end. Just as the bell rang the teacher stepped in.

Their regular teacher must not be back from her trip yet, Molly thought when she saw that it was the same substitute that they'd had before the holidays. His eyes roamed the room until they landed on her.

A shiver ran down her spine as a tiny smirk appeared on his face. She had a quick flash of a vision of him smirking at her like that before he grabbed her arm and everything went dark. She didn't know why she thought that; she just knew that his presence unnerved her.

Panic fluttered in her chest and she raised her hand to ask to be excused to the nurse's office. She wouldn't be lying, she really felt sick and all she wanted was to be as far away from this man as she could get.

But before she could speak a fog seemed to wrap around her head and the vision disappeared. _'You will remember nothing,' _a voice echoed in her head. All anxiety fled her body and she settled back in her seat as she pulled her supplies out in preparation for the class.

Nephrite grinned as he saw the fear and uncertainty fade from those cobalt blue eyes. It had taken time, and a lot of memory modification and hypnosis, to get the faculty and students of this school to forget his involvement in the disruption of the winter dance. But he had thought that it might prove useful to reassume the same cover that he had used before.

He wasn't sure if the sailor scouts were in this school or not. They could be cloaking their auras now that they knew he was around. All he knew was that the scouts had shown up quickly the night that he had attacked the dance. And Sailor Moon in particular had seemed to be frantic to save Molly. She could be a friend of hers. If so, then Molly may be able to lead him to Sailor Moon, and then she in turn could deliver the rest of the scouts and the moon princess right into his hands.

Queen Beryl would be pleased if he was successful, and he definitely planned on this being a victory. He sure didn't want to go out the way Jadeite had.

So for now Molly would be his unknowing pawn.

* * *

The next period was PE, which the whole group had together. Serena groaned when she and Darien walked into the gym to find a volleyball net set up across the middle of the court. She stunk at most sports, and volleyball was no exception. The ball never seemed to go the way she hit it. It usually ended up out of bounds. And if she was lucky she didn't take someone's head off with it.

"What's the matter?" Darien asked in concern.

"Of all the things they could have pulled on us the first day back, they choose volleyball," she moaned in despair.

"It won't be that bad," he replied, trying to sound encouraging.

She arched a blond brow at him. "Have you forgotten what happened last year when we covered this? I almost gave that poor guy sitting in the bleachers a concussion."

He winced at the memory of Serena smacking the ball and it shooting like a rocket into the head of one of their classmates. In fact, the boy in question was staring at Serena in fear as he made his way into the boy's locker room.

Then Darien smiled. "Maybe it will be different this time. You've changed a lot in the past year."

She rolled her still slightly red and puffy eyes. "Oh it'll be different all right. With my luck I'll be able to separate someone's head completely from their shoulders this time instead of only braining them."

A whistle shrilled and the PE teacher yelled. "Okay people, let's move it! I want everybody dressed out and in line for roll call in five minutes!"

"Goody, goody!" Serena muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Darien gave her a sympathetic look before heading toward the boy's locker room.

She slipped inside the girl's where she found Mina, Amy, Raye, and Lita already in the process of changing. They all shot her curious looks, but none of them asked her any questions. This surprised her a little since she had expected them to be crawling all over her and demanding to know where she had been during lunch."

She shimmied out of her uniform and into her PE clothes, grateful beyond all relief that they were allowed to wear sweats during the winter months instead of shorts and t-shirts. Playing sports was bad enough in her book, but if she had to freeze to death while doing it…she shuddered to think about it.

She grabbed a few bobby pins from her locker before she slammed it and followed her friends out. She began twisting her long tails of hair up and pinning them in place as she listened to their chatter.

"I mean honestly, what was that woman thinking?" Mina was complaining. "How could she give us that much homework on the first day back? Aren't they supposed to ease us back into things slowly?"

"I don't know," Raye grumbled. "But somebody must have pissed in her Corn Flakes for her to be in such a bitchy mood."

"I heard that somebody in her third period class complained out loud about the assignment and she doubled it for the entire class," Lita told them.

Amy shook her head. "Really, you guys, it's to be expected. The workload is always heavier in the second semester than it is in the first."

"Not on the first day back!" Mina, Raye, and Lita exclaimed together.

Serena stifled a giggle at their antics as she slid the last bobby pin into place and then gave her head a shake to make sure her hair was secure. The last thing she needed was for it to come down in the middle of a game and get in her way. She was going to have a hard enough time as it was.

Darien and Andrew were at the other end of the gym tossing a basketball around and shooting baskets with a couple of members from their team that had this class with them. Serena took a moment to admire the way Darien moved when he played. He made it look so easy as he turned and jumped up to shoot the ball. It sailed through the air and whooshed through the basket without even bouncing of the rim.

She was so caught up in watching him that she didn't even realize that Mina had fallen back to her side until she whispered. "Goo goo eyes alert!"

She started and then smiled guiltily at the blonde. "It's not like that, Mina. We are just friends."

"Do my ears deceive me?" Raye butted in. "Did I actually just hear Serena admit that she and Darien are friends?"

"I believe you did," Lita said with a grin.

Amy took pity on Serena when she saw her face go pink with embarrassment. She put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Leave her alone guys. Serena needs to have her head together to get through this class so we don't have a repeat of what happened last year."

Raye immediately sobered. "Oh yeah! That's right! I'd almost forgotten about that."

"Why, what happened?" Lita and Mina asked in unison. Neither one of them had been at this school the year before, so they didn't know Serena's disastrous history with volleyball. Raye whispered the story to them quickly.

They had reached the other side of the gym now. The teacher blew his whistle and yelled for everyone to line up. Darien and Andrew had stopped their impromptu game and came toward them.

"Hey, Tsukino!" a voice called out.

Serena turned and saw that two members of the football team had come out of the locker room with their pads and helmets on.

"We're ready for you!" they called out together.

Serena slapped her hands over her burning face. "Somebody, please, just shoot me now!" she moaned.

"That's enough horsing around!" the teacher bellowed. "Now everybody on their numbers now before I start handing out detentions."

Everyone scurried into place. Serena dragged herself to her assigned spot and stood there mortified, knowing that everyone in the class had their attention focused on her and were wondering what kind of a catastrophe she would pull off this time.

She felt the weight of someone's eyes on her and looked up to find Darien looking at her in concern. Since their last names were relatively close together in the alphabet, his spot was only a few places in front of her.

"Are you okay?" he mouthed to her.

She shook her head vigorously. In all actuality she felt sick again. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth she would lose her lunch. Oh why had she scarfed down that food so quickly after having a breakdown? Curse her and her emotional eating habits! She would have never touched a bite if she had known what torture awaited her. Somebody up above seemed to really hate her nowadays.

"Okay everyone!" the teacher said loudly. "As I'm sure you all can see we're playing volleyball today. It will be full court, so I want you break up into teams of nine. No exceptions! If you yahoos can't handle that then I'll assign teams myself."

People began scrambling around to hook up with their friends. Serena stood there staring down at the floor until she felt someone take her arm.

"Come on," Darien told her and began leading her over to where the girls and Andrew had clustered together.

She pulled away from him, her stomach still rolling, and ran toward where the teacher was picking up a clipboard from where he had set it on one of the bleachers.

"Coach," she gasped. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

The man looked up and visibly flinched as his eyes passed over her. "I know what you're going to say Tsukino, and the answer is no. Despite your past…accidents, you will participate in this class."

"Please, Coach!" she wailed as she hadn't in the last few months. "You can't seriously turn me loose out there. Think of everyone's safety. I could concuss the entire class in less than five minutes and you know it."

The tall, beefy coach folded his arms. "I'm sorry, Tsukino, but rules are rules. Everyone must participate in order to be graded. Now go join a team before I assign you to one."

Coach turned and walked away from her, leaving her to stare after him for a long, hopeless moment before throwing back her head and screeching, "This is so not fair!"

She trudged back over to where her friends were with her head down, her cheeks and her eyes both burning.

"Geez, Meatball Head, did you have to blare like an air horn? My ears are still ringing," Raye complained.

"Go stuff yourself, Raye!" Serena muttered back.

Andrew put an arm around her and hugged her close to his side. "It won't be that bad, Sere. You were always good at dodge ball when we were kids. Just treat it like that."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Lita mused.

Serena sniffled and looked up. "What do you mean?"

Darien chuckled. "What they mean is if the ball is coming at you then get out of the way and let somebody else get it. That way nobody becomes your victim. You move fast, so I bet you can avoid the ball."

His eyes twinkled and he grinned mischievously. Of course he would know exactly how fast she could move, he had witnessed it dozens of times over the last three months.

She met his gaze boldly. "I can do that."

The coach stepped out of his office wearing a goalie mask and carrying what looked like a police riot shield. "All right! Let's get the hard part over with. I want Tsukino's team on the court. And you will be playing against, hmmm, that team." He pointed toward a group mostly made up of football jocks and cheerleaders that groaned at his proclamation.

"Let's just do it," Serena grumbled and stepped onto the court. With her, Darien, Andrew, Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy, they had seven people. Darien and Andrew had roped their two teammates that they were playing with earlier into joining them. She felt pretty confident in the team. They had four basketball players, one of whom moonlighted as a super hero, and, not including her, three sailor scouts. She also knew from the trophies that she had seen in Mina's room that she was an experienced player. So as long as she stayed out of the way they may have a shot.

The first several minutes of the game passed without too many incidents. For the most part Serena darted around, to the left, to the right, any way she had to go to steer clear of that ball. The moment she would step out of the way someone else would take her place.

The only iffy moments they'd had were when it had been her time to serve. She had been so scared to touch the ball that she had barely tapped it and it never made it over the net. They had ended up forfeiting control back to the other team, but at least no one died.

But the good luck had to run out at some point. The score was tied 15-15. Whoever scored the next point would win. The tension was high as the other team served the ball. It sailed toward Andrew, who bunted it straight up. Lita was beside him and she smacked it over the net. A member of the other team dove for it and hit it back to their side where Raye volleyed it into perfect position for Darien to send it back.

Then a guy in the front row of the opposing team jump up and spiked the ball, right at Serena. She didn't have a chance of getting out of the way so she threw her hands up over her head. She felt the ball smack against her palms and then bounce away.

"Perfect!" a triumphant voice declared and looked up just in time to see a flash of gold beside her as Mina jumped up and hit the ball with a closed fist and sent it plummeting to the ground on the other side.

"Ooo, it looks like the famous Sailor V might actually be able to do something without the aid of cameras and a production studio after all," one of the football players taunted. "I figured you always had a stunt double fill in for you whenever it came to anything physical so that you wouldn't take the chance of breaking a nail."

Indignation on her friend's behalf welled up inside of Serena, but before she could say anything a hard voice spoke up from behind her. "Why don't you back off, Jackson? I thought you usually stuck with bullying freshmen for their lunch money, not picking on teenage girls just because they happen to have talent and you don't."

The broad boy turned and fixed his beady brown eyes on Darien. "So Mr. Science Fair has become the protector of his little harem of sophomore girls. I never thought you had it in you, Shields."

A growl ripped from Darien's throat and he started forward. Serena stumbled back a few steps at the sight of the feral look on his face. She had seen him mad before, but right now he looked furious enough to rip someone's head off.

She shoved aside her shock and rushed forward to grab him by the arm. She dug her heels in to hold him back before he could tear through the net and punch the smirking senior right in the nose. "Darien, stop!" she cried. "He's not worth it!"

"She's right," Mina backed her up. "Let's just get back at him by beating his team of goons and floozies."

Darien sucked in a calming breath as he shot a disgusted look over the opposing team of snickering jocks and twittering cheerleaders. Then he looked down at the girl still clinging to his arm with a smile. "You can let go now, Serena. I'm not going to beat him up."

"Oh!" she squeaked and dropped the arm that she had forgotten that she was holding.

Coach blew his whistle. "You boys can the testosterone drama and let's finish this game!"

Amy took the ball and served it. It sailed smoothly over the net and right to Jackson. He volleyed it off his forearms back to their side. Just as it cleared the net, Mina was there. She jumped at least three feet into the air and spiked the ball sharply. It sped back toward the jock, catching him unprepared. It slammed into his gut and he fell over as the ball bounced to the floor.

"That's the game!" Coach announced.

Mina walked right up to the net and stared down at the groaning boy with a superior look on her face. "Before you go around passing judgments on people you should get your facts straight. For your information I led my school in London to three back-to-back regional volleyball championships. And furthermore, I performed every stunt in my movies myself. So if you don't want to take the chance of running into Sailor V in a dark alley some night, I would suggest you keep your mindless comments to yourself!"

With that being said she spun on her heel and walked away regally with her head held high, just as gracefully as a queen. As she passed an open mouthed and completely flabbergasted Serena and Darien, she gave them a sly wink and flashed her V sign.

"All right!" Coach yelled. "I need my other two teams out here. Those of you that already played can go ahead and change."

"Wasn't she amazing!" Serena squealed and then hurried off to follow the girls.

Darien stood there for a minute, watching Mina as she disappeared into the girl's locker room. A confused and troubled look marred his face. "Yeah, amazing," he finally muttered.

* * *

Nephrite snarled quietly under his breath as he peeked around the edge of the newspaper he was hiding behind to watch the russet haired girl he had been following through the window of the shop she had entered almost twenty minutes before. She had seemed to know what she was after and had picked it up fairly quickly, but she had struck up a conversation with the girl behind the check out counter and had been there ever since.

He had followed her around all afternoon and had delved into the aura of every female she had come in contact with. He had yet to come across anyone whose essence even came remotely close to that of a sailor scout.

He forced himself to calm down. He couldn't expect miracles on his first day of looking after all. And if the scouts were cloaking their energy signatures that would make them ten times harder to detect. Mars would most definitely be hiding hers, and would be the most adept at it as well since she was a spiritualist. Jupiter would be a little easier to find since he was most attuned to the feeling of her aura, even if she was trying to keep it suppressed. But Sailor Moon, she was a mystery. He had only caught a glimpse of her aura the night of the dance, right before she had destroyed his energy absorbing crystal, and it had been a snapping, brilliant silver.

He was so wrapped up in his musings that he didn't see when Molly stepped out of the shop into the path of five girls. Nor did he see the way she greeted one of the blonde girls enthusiastically and take her by the hand as they split from the other four girls at the corner to go in a different direction. All he knew when he looked up was that Molly was gone.

He cursed roundly and threw down the newspaper before taking off at a brisk pace down the street, his eyes sweeping from side to side as he searched for his prey. He finally found her several blocks away, standing outside the jewelry store her mother owned as she waved goodbye to a blond girl.

Nephrite's heart pounded as he took in her friend's long blonde hair that was done up into a style exactly like Sailor Moon's. But he told himself not to jump the gun. This was the third girl that he had come across that day with the same hairstyle. Apparently there were quite a few girls out there that thought it was fun to imitate the young super heroine. But this was the first blonde that he had encountered.

He reached out quickly with his powers to read the girl's aura, but he was disappointed when he discovered it to be a calm, soothing pink instead of raging silver. It looked like he had struck out yet again. But he would have to come up with something soon or Queen Beryl would blow him away just like she had done Jadeite.

Resigning himself to the fact that he had done all he could do for the moment, he spun around and headed down the crowded sidewalk in search of a place where he would be able to teleport. He never noticed that Molly's friend, who was hurrying in the opposite direction, had turned to look back over her shoulder with a concerned expression on her face. Her aura flared blinding silver for a brief moment before settling back into pink. Then she took off running at a blistering pace.

* * *

"The guy is nuts!" Andrew exclaimed as he slammed a Mountain Dew down in front of Darien. "I don't see why he's ranting and raving about regionals for, we have to get through the district finals first."

"Uh huh," Darien mumbled robotically.

Andrew snorted. "Okay, so the district playoffs probably won't be that big of a deal since we've already beaten all of those teams this season, but anything can happen."

"Uh huh," Darien muttered again.

Andrew continued, "I mean really, he kept going on and on like he's completely forgotten that we have to get through the district games first."

"Uh huh."

"And I can't believe he made use run all of those drills and then run laps on top of that. I thought my ass was literally going to fall off."

"Uh huh."

"Dare, are you even listening to me?"

"Uh huh."

Andrew heaved a sigh of irritation before saying, "Well look at that. Serena just came in with some guy and now they're making out in the back booth."

"Uh huh," Darien replied automatically. Then his eyes widened and his head swiveled around. "What?" His gaze landed on the back booth, but all he saw were Raye, Lita, Amy, and, he shuddered, Mina.

"Glad to see you're still alive in there. For a while I thought I was talking to a dead guy," Andrew grumbled sarcastically.

Darien turned back to his friend with a guilty expression. "Sorry. I guess I was just lost in thought."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "That much is obvious. Look, I know you get a little broody when Serena's not around, but she'll probably be blowing in here any minute. The girls said that she met up with Molly and decided to walk her home so that they could catch up a little."

"I wasn't thinking about Serena," Darien insisted. Okay, so that wasn't completely true, but she wasn't the only person that he had been thinking about.

"Hold that thought. I'll be right back," Andrew told him and then moved down the counter to wait on a group of middle school kids that had walked up.

Darien swirled the straw in his soda idly as he sank back into thought. Today had been a roller coater to say the least. Not only had he gone through all of the emotional drama with Serena, but also he'd had to deal with that disastrous gym class.

He wasn't the type of person to lose his cool so easily, but anger had bubbled to life inside him when that stupid jock had made those demoralizing remarks about Mina. He didn't understand why. He told himself that he probably would have acted the same way if it had been Raye, Lita, or Amy, he considered them all his friends and he would help look out for them. But when Jackson had made that comment about them being his harem he lost it. It had been a good thing that Serena had been there to calm him down or he would have stomped that slimy slug into the ground.

But what had him most confused of all were his thoughts about Mina. When she had spiked that ball into that overblown jackass and then walked away with her head held high he'd felt proud of her. It wasn't so different from the feeling he felt when Serena mastered a new punch or kick that he had taught her.

And this only made him feel more perplexed. Did his pride in her actions of her taking up for herself stem from a friendly nature, or was he correct about her true identity and a part of his soul recognized her as being Princess Serenity?

"Darien?" a quiet voice spoke close beside him.

He looked up and found Mina standing next to him. Her bright blue eyes bore into his for a moment before he pulled himself together enough to mutter, "Yeah?"

She adjusted her backpack strap on her shoulder and he realized that she had her coat on as well. "I'm on my way out, but I just wanted to thank you for sticking for me today. You didn't have to do that."

His lips quirked up in a grin on their own accord. "Yeah, I figured that out about the time you took that asshole down. You have a mean spike."

She laughed softly. "Thanks. I've had years of practice. It was still nice of you to step in like that, but I'm glad Serena was there to hold you back. I would have felt awful if you had gotten into fight and been suspended."

His anger sparked a little again. "I wish I had bashed his face in! He had no right to say those things about you or to refer to any of you girls that way."

A tiny giggle bubbled in her throat. "Whoa! Down boy! I didn't mean to strike a nerve or anything. I just wanted to say thank you."

He inclined his head to her. "You're welcome."

She shuffled her feet nervously for a moment before saying quietly, "I couldn't help but notice that you and Serena seemed to be on better terms this afternoon than you were this morning."

His fingers tightened around his glass. "Yeah. We had a talk during lunch."

A bright smile lit up her face. "That's good! At least it's progress. I told her this morning that she was being an idiot, but she's got some crazy idea in her head that there's some perfect woman out there that's in love with you and that she thinks would suit you better. I tried to tell her that it was absolutely insane, but you know how Serena can be once she gets a thought in her head. She can be so stubborn sometimes. Honestly, I think I would have a better chance trying to carry on a conversation with a cocker spaniel than I would her on some days. At least a dog would pretend to pay attention to what I am saying, even if it doesn't actually understand the words that are coming out of my mouth, instead of ignoring me like I haven't said anything at all. But I still think you can get through to Serena. I have faith. Oh no! Am I rambling too much? People always tell me that I talk too much. But I can't help it sometimes. When I get excited the words just seem to pour out of me like they have a mind of their own. I'm sorry!"

"No, it's okay," Darien gasped, feeling a little dizzy from her flurry of speech. He had heard her go on her rants before, but this was the first time that he had been on the receiving end. It was a little overwhelming.

His slightly bleary mind tried to assimilate her words, and at the same time he was making comparisons between her and the Serenity he knew from his dreams. She had gone off on tirades a few times herself. Nothing quite as long winded as what Mina had just done, but it wasn't enough proof to cast a shadow on his suspicions.

He made a decision right then that he was going to flat out ask her if she was Serenity. What was the worst that could happen? She would look at him like he was crazy. "Hey, Mina…"

Suddenly she grabbed his wrist and looked at his watch. "Oh no! Is that the time? My parents are leaving for the airport in an hour and I promised that I would see them before they left. I've gotta run! Thanks again for everything, Darien! I'll see you later! Bye!"

She was gone in a blur of golden hair, leaving behind dust trails that would have almost done Serena justice. Darien sat there with his mouth still hanging open in shock for several seconds until Andrew chuckled.

"That girl sure is a bundle of energy," the sandy blonde said in amusement. "I never thought I would meet anyone that could rival Serena when it came to bubbliness, but Mina could give her a run for her money. I even asked them one time if they were long lost sisters or something since they both look and act so much alike. They could almost switch places with each other. And if someone didn't know them well enough to know the little differences to look for they would never be able to tell the difference."

This gave Darien more food for thought. His suspicions were starting to make more and more sense. The resemblance between Serena and Mina was uncanny. That only supported his theory. If Serena was the scout of the moon and Mina was the princess of the moon, then there was a possibility that they could have been related in their past lives. Then again, maybe all people that came from the moon looked alike. He really had no way of knowing.

His head was beginning to hurt from trying to figure it out, so he took out his chemistry book in hopes of escaping from it or a while. He had made it about halfway through the new chapter that they had started today in class when he heard the doors whoosh open. There was the clacking of about ten running footsteps, and then the sound of a skid and then a thump.

He sighed and looked over the edge of his book, but Serena was already scrambling up from where she had fallen on the linoleum floor and running toward the back booth. She didn't sit, but stood at the end of the table panting slightly. Her cheeks were pink from exertion and her eyes burned with some emotion he couldn't identify. She was whispering something to Amy, Raye, and Lita in a low voice that caused them to all look immediately concerned.

Unable to stand the suspense, he got up from his stool and went over to them. He put a hand on Serena's heaving shoulder and asked quietly, "What's going on? You look like you've been chased by a pack of hungry wolves."

Her head whipped around and she stared up at him with wild eyes that were almost impossibly large in her tiny face. Then he felt the anxiety that was rolling off of her in waves.

"I wish it had been wolves," she gasped.

"Come on, Serena. Sit down for a moment and try to compose yourself," Amy said, tugging on her friend's sleeve. "Darien, do you think you could maybe get her a cocoa? She had a bit of a shock and something warm would do her good."

Now his concern shot off the chart. "Yeah, sure. I'll be right back."

He returned to the counter where Andrew already had a steaming cup waiting. He was busy waiting on a new flood of customers, but he shot Darien a questioning look. Darien shrugged in return before picking up the drink and hurrying back to the booth.

Amy had moved to the other side next to Lita and Raye, leaving him a spot next to Serena. He slid into the seat and set the cup in front of her. "Here."

She wrapped trembling fingers around the cup. "Thanks."

"So what's going on?" he demanded.

"Yeah, and try to make sense this time," Raye interjected. "I only caught bits and pieces of that garbled mess you were spouting before."

Serena took a long sip of the cocoa and then drew in a fortifying breath. "Okay, so you were all with me when I ran into Molly after school and she asked me to walk home with her because she wanted to talk. You see, her father died when she was little and tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of his death. I go with her every year when she goes to put flowers on his grave and she wanted to make sure that I was still willing to go with her. So after we cleared that up we started talking about first day back to school and all, and she mentioned that her science teacher had been out since before the holidays and still hadn't come back yet. Then she started going on about the substitute and what a hottie he was and how every girl in the school was gaga over him."

The glass Lita was clenching in her hand cracked. "No way! It can't be him again!"

Serena nodded. "I'm afraid it is. When I asked her what his name was she said it was Max Stanton. And that's the same name he used last time. She described him to me; tall, broad, long chestnut hair, and blue eyes. It has to be Nephrite."

"But how is he still posing as a teacher?" Amy wondered. "Doesn't anyone remember what happened at the dance?"

Serena shrugged. "Evidently not from what I can tell. When I mentioned something about thinking that he was in on the attack at the dance she just laughed at me and told me that I had an overactive imagination. Somehow he made everyone forget about what happened."

"That's not impossible," Raye mused. "Since whoever this Dark Kingdom flunky is has retained Nephrite's spiritual powers, he would have the power to erase people's memories and hypnotize them into believing whatever he wants."

"So Molly could be a target again," Darien said.

Serena shook her head. "I don't know. But when we were saying goodbye I got this weird feeling, like we were being watched. I looked around, but there were so many people that I couldn't spot anyone in particular."

Lita crossed her arms. "We have to assume that she's being targeted. That means we need to keep an eye on her in case he tries something."

* * *

Her eyes were so heavy. She felt them drooping further and further closed. Sleep was calling out to her, and it sounded so appealing right now. Her head nodded, her chin almost touching her chest. Then her body pitched forward.

"Whoa!" Sailor Moon came awake with a start. She sucked in burning lungfuls of freezing air as she tried to bring her pounding heart back under control. She stared down at the cold, hard pavement five stories below her.

"Way to go, Serena! You almost splattered yourself right into the morning news!" she grumbled to herself.

She pushed herself back from the ledge of the building she had been sitting on across the street from Osa-P Jewelry Store and stood up, groaning as her muscles protested the movement. She chafed her gloved hands against her upper arms as her teeth chattered in the cold night.

Mars had taken the first watch around dinnertime and stayed until about nine when Mercury had relieved her. Then Sailor Moon had taken over at midnight to keep an eye on things. Jupiter would be coming at around 3 AM and would stay until dawn.

That had been perfect for Serena. She had been able to keep herself busy enough to keep from falling asleep until then. Well, almost. She had attempted to do her homework after faking being asleep for her parent's benefit, but had found herself dozing over her Algebra book. She had jerked herself awake at the first glimpse of Endymion standing in the middle of a riotous rose garden and decided to go relieve Mercury early.

But unfortunately she had knocked her desk chair over as she had gotten up clumsily and that had brought her light sleeping father running to investigate and make sure that no one was attempting to break into his only daughter's bedroom. She had laughed it off, saying that she had tripped over it while going to get a drink. He had bought the excuse, but had insisted on walking down to the kitchen with her and escorting her back to bed to make sure she didn't have any more accidents. Then she had sat in bed for nearly twenty minutes until she heard his rumbling snores before transforming and slipping out her window. She had arrived right on time to take her turn.

She sensed his presence before she heard his almost silent footsteps and turned to look over her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

Tuxedo Mask steeped from the shadows with a wry grin on his face. "I got tired of feeling the sensation of you freezing to death, so I thought I'd bring you something to warm you up." He held up a thermos. "It's hot chocolate."

"O…oh…thanks," she stammered through clacking teeth. "You didn't have to do that."

"What else are friends for?" he asked as he unstacked a couple of Styrofoam cups from the top of the thermos and filled them with the steamy chocolate.

"Thank you," she said as she accepted a cup from him. She took a big sip and almost sighed as liquid warmth trickled into her body. She watched him as he took a drink from his own cup, wondering about the strange undercurrent she'd heard in his voice when he'd referred to them as friends. Was he still bitter about her insistence that they remain only friends?

She tried to lighten the mood by saying, "So you decided to come all the way out here in the middle of the night just to bring me a hot drink."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Like I said, I could feel you shivering and it was getting on my nerves. And since you and the other scouts decided to shut me out of this little mission by not giving me a shift, I thought you might like some company."

"Hey! You heard me try to convince them to give you a turn, but they outvoted me!" she exclaimed, and blinked. "Wait a minute! Did you just say that you could feel how cold I was?"

He shrugged again. "It shouldn't be that big of a surprise to you. I'm sure you've realized by now that this strange link that we have with each other can allow us to feel what the other is feeling."

"I suppose," she mumbled as she looked away from his eyes. Then she gasped as she was swamped with a heavy emotion. It felt almost like love, but it was tinged with hurt, anger, and disappointment.

Her head snapped up and she glared at him. "Stop that!"

He shook his head. "I'm not doing anything. When you open yourself up to the link the feelings get stronger. That's how I knew you were suffering out here. I broke out in goose bumps even though I was warm inside my apartment."

"It's an invasion of privacy!" she fired back as she pushed away his emotions and tried to slam a mental door on them. "You shouldn't gallivant around inside people's heads to find out what they're feeling. You should just ask them!"

She set her now empty cup on the building ledge and moved a few feet away where she tried to focus on what she was supposed to be doing, watching Molly's place.

He stepped up behind her and spoke softly. "Okay, you're right. What are you feeling right now, Serena?"

She snorted and looked over her shoulder at him in disbelief. "Be serious, Darien!"

He took a step closer. "I am being serious; very, very serious. I want to know what you're thinking right now."

She sighed and looked away again. "Fine! You want to know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking that I'm tired and turning into a human ice burg even as I speak. I'm pissed at Nephrite for dragging Molly back into the middle of all of this and how much I would like to break every bone in his body. And I'm irritated because I've got so many conflicting things between you, the Dark Kingdom, crystals, and the princess running through my head that I can hardly figure out which way is up anymore. There! Are you happy now?"

A violent shiver racked her body and he stepped forward until he was right behind her. He pulled her back against him and wrapped his cape tightly around her. When she began struggling he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Shh, Meatball Head. I'm not trying to put any moves on you. I'm just trying to share some warmth. You're so cold your lips are turning blue. So don't read more into this than there is."

She stopped fighting against him and relaxed. The top of her head was several inches below his chin, and he couldn't resist the urge to lean down and press his lips to her soft golden hair.

They stayed that way for several minutes, neither one speaking, and he allowed his imagination to run away with him just a little. He imagined what it would be like if they were up here keeping watch together and Serenity wasn't standing between them. He knew for a fact that he would find a much more pleasurable way to warm her cold lips,

"Ahem!" Serena huffed, snapping him out of his daydreams. He wondered what was making her so uptight until he realized that he had his arms around her waist and his fingers were drawing tiny circles on her hips. He immediately stilled the fingers so she wouldn't get mad and move away.

He closed his eyes and soaked up what contentment he could from the moment. They flew back open a minute later when she gasped, "What is she doing?"

He leaned forward to see what had caught her attention and was surprised to see Molly slipping out the door of the jewelry store and heading down the street.

"Does your friend make it a habit of sneaking out for walks at two in the morning?" he asked.

Sailor Moon shook her head. "No. I have no idea what she could be up to."

"Then I guess we better find out," he said, scooping her up in his arms, careful to keep the cape wrapped around her, and took off across the rooftops.

"Put me down! I can follow her myself!" she protested.

"Just shut up and let me do this!" he snapped back. "If we find ourselves in a fight you'll have an easier time if you're warm."

They followed the girl to the park where they hid behind some bushes to watch as she greeted somebody sitting on a bench. When they saw who it was Sailor Moon wasted no time pulling out her calculator-sized communicator and pressing a button on it.

When three sleep clouded voices answered she whispered loudly, "I need all scouts at the park, now! Nephrite's somehow managed to lure Molly here!"

**A/N **The following is a transcript of an actual conversation that took place when I finished writing this chapter.

**Serena : **Oh noooo, Sere-chan! You're not actually going to end this chapter with a cliffhanger like that, are you? It was about to get all actiony!

**Raye : **(groans) Actiony? Is that even a real word, Meatball Head?

**Serena : **(blows raspberry) It is if I want it to be. Right, Muffin? (turns to Darien with puppy dog eyes)

**Darien : **(removes reading glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose) Sure sweetheart. Whatever you say.

**Rini : **(popping up out of nowhere) Ha! See, Pyro! My mommy is smartest mommy in the world. That's why she gets to become a beautiful queen that everybody loves.

**Serena : **(squeals and hugs Rini tightly) Oh I knew there was a reason I loved you so much. You're the best daughter ever!

**Rini : **(gasping and turning blue) Can't…breathe…

**Darien : **(sighs) Serena, let her go. She's gone through every color of the rainbow.

**Serena : **(blushes and let's go) Oops!

**Sere-chan : **(claps hands to get attention) Anyway! To answer your question, Serena, I ended the chapter here because it was getting long and I knew if I put the whole next sequence in that it would probably put the chapter over the top. Besides, you and Darien provided enough drama in this installment.

**Serena : **(nods thoughtfully) That's true. But just tell me one thing. Is Nephrite going to die in the next chapter?

**Sere-chan : **(grins evilly) Maybe.

**Nick : **(comes screaming in from out of the blue) Whhaaattt? You're going to kill me?

**Lita : **(rolls eyes) Not you, you idiot! This is season one. She's talking about the evil thing that possessed your past dead body.

**Nick : **(sighs in relief) Thank goodness! I was worried for a second. (pulls Lita into his arms) How about a kiss? I haven't seen you in a while. Our slave-driving author has been keeping you over here while I've been whiling away over in season three.

(Smooching noises)

**Mina : **(hearts in her eyes) Aww…isn't that sweet!

**Raye : **(steam coming from her ears) Hey, no fair! How come the rest of us don't get to see our guys too?

**Amy : **(nodding vigorously) Yeah! This is discrimination!

**Kyle, Jake, and Zack : **(burst in loudly) Did someone call for us?

**Mina, Raye, and Amy : **(squeal loud enough to raise the roof)

(Lots and lots of smooching noises)

**Darien : **(slaps hands over Rini's eyes) Do you guys mind? You're practically having an orgy in front of my young daughter.

**Rini : **(sniffs haughtily) Please! Like I'm not used to them and the way they act. I live with them you know. Besides, you and mommy are worse than they are sometimes.

**Serena and Darien : **(blush madly)

**Sere-chan : **(yells) ENOUGH! (points at Kyle, Nick, Jake, Zack, and Rini) All of you, get back over to _Stolen Hearts _right now or I will delete every bit of that story that I have written and it will never see the light of day.

(Mad scramble as Rini and the guys scurry away. The scouts grumble plaintively.)

**Sere-chan : **(turns back to Serena, Darien, and the girls) Okay you six, back to work. This story isn't going to write itself. The sooner we can get it finished the sooner we can move on. Got it?

**Everyone : **Yes ma'am.

So now you see what I have to put up with. It's amazing that I have any hair left on my head. Anyway, coming up; Nephrite's on his way out, more Rainbow Crystals appear, and I'm not sure yet if Sailor V will appear in the next chapter yet or not, we'll have to wait and see how it plays out. And to those of you that have asked about when Andrew will be let in on the secret, it's coming up soon. Don't be shy guys! Leave me some feedback! Reviews are what help keep this going. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	15. The Cat's Out of the Bag

**A/N **So I find myself off of work once again because of snow, and it gave me a chance to finish up what I needed to do to get this chapter ready for posting. Yay! Now I just hope that all of you feel the same way. I don't really have a lot to say because I don't want to spoil anything for you, but there's quite a lot going on in this chapter and I hope you like it. Let me get my hugs out of the way and I'll let you move on. BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**GoldenDragon326**

**Chibi Kitt**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**samsox**

**SlackerDee**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**YingYing**

**sabina21**

**jade2nightwing**

**sailor cyanide**

**Boston Bill**

**Fedski**

**anime-lover10**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**afallenblackrose**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**KatanaPrincess**

**BreeCheese**

Tremendous thank yous, as always. And now I'm going to let you get on with it!

_**ENJOY!**_

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 15

The Cat's Out of the Bag

"You know what we need to do. Right, Zoicite?" the platinum haired general growled menacingly.

"Yes, Kunzite," the dark blonde replied. "I managed to secure the first Rainbow Crystal. Now that the first one has surfaced, I'm sure the others will be appearing very soon. Nephrite could prove to be a liability if he is still around when they all have been gathered. He would never support us in our mission to overthrow Beryl and take over the Earth ourselves and would only be in the way. He needs to be eliminated."

"Yes, he does," Kunzite mused. "He really isn't serving any purpose anyway. All he's doing is chasing a teenage girl around in hopes that she'll somehow lead him to the scouts and then to Serenity. It's pointless really. Once we manage to round up the Rainbow Crystals both the Silver Crystal and the princess will be revealed. As long as we make sure the Silver Crystal doesn't fall into the moon princess's hands we should be able to take care of her and her scouts easily enough. And then we'll get rid of Beryl."

Zoicite nodded. "Would you like for me to take care of Nephrite? I'm sure we can convince Beryl that he was going to betray her if we show her the footage of him fraternizing with the human girl."

Kunzite waved a hand and a vision appeared of Nephrite sitting on a bench next to the russet haired girl that he had seemed to be so fascinated by since the night of his failure at the high school dance.

They were talking together and both Kunzite and Zoicite froze when they heard Nephrite say the words _"Silver Crystal"_.

"That's it!" Zoicite crowed. "He just hung himself. He was supposed to be concentrating on finding the scouts and the princess. If he received any leads on the crystal he was told to bring them to me. Now we will be able to convince Beryl that he was attempting to steal the Silver Crystal for himself. She will commend us for destroying a threat to her plan."

"Hmm," Kunzite mused. "That she will. Of course she would kill us if she knew that we pose a much bigger threat than Nephrite ever could." Then he sighed. "Very well, Zoicite. Take Nephrite out. I will present the evidence to Beryl and let her know that we had no choice."

Zoicite's green eyes gleamed maliciously. "Excellent! I'll see to it at once." He teleported away.

* * *

Nephrite stopped pacing in front of the bench and sat down, but his leg still jiggled nervously. He wished that Molly girl would hurry up and get here so he could find out whether he was wasting his time on this unexpected lead or not.

After following Molly to her home earlier he had left, only to turn around and come right back a few minutes later. He was loath to let her out of his sight lest he miss something in his absence. He had been surprised when he turned onto her street and bumped right into her.

A paper that she had been holding in her hand fluttered to the ground and he had stooped to pick it up. It seemed to be an advertisement for her mother's shop and he paused when the words _"Silver Crystal" _nearly jumped off the page at him.

"Oh! Mr. Stanton!" Molly had exclaimed. "I'm so sorry for running into you like that. My mother wanted me to run down to the office store and run off copies of this flyer and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

He'd smiled at her. "No harm done. So, crystal jewelry, huh?"

She'd nodded. "Yes. It a very exclusive collection of jewelry made from rare crystals found all over the world. We are very lucky to be able to carry it in our shop. Now this one here is extremely rare. It's a silver crystal," she pointed to a necklace that had what looked to be a fairly large round diamond hanging from it.

His pulse had begun racing. Had he inadvertently stumbled onto Queen Serenity's Silver Crystal without trying? He had to know. Queen Beryl might even give him a promotion if he were to deliver the Silver Crystal to her. He could picture to look on that slimy weasel Zoicite's face if he found himself booted out of his coveted second position.

"Well, good luck with everything," he'd told her jovially as he handed her back the flyer. As his fingers brushed her hand he'd planted a subliminal message in her head, _'Meet me at the park at 2AM. And bring the Silver Crystal with you.'_

So here he was, waiting to see if this silver crystal was _The Silver Crystal_. He would be a Dark Kingdom hero if it were.

His head snapped up at the sound of a scuffed footstep and he grinned as he saw Molly approaching. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were blank. She was completely under his control.

"Good evening," he greeted smoothly as she sat down on the bench next to him.

"Good evening, Mr. Stanton," she replied in a flat voice to match her eyes.

He waved a hand. "Now, now, there's no sense in being so formal. You won't remember any of this in the morning anyway. Call me Nephrite."

She blinked her eyes hard, and for a second they shown with clarity. He felt her mind buck against his control and tightened his grip on her consciousness. She was stronger than he'd thought. He needed to work fast.

"Did you bring the silver crystal?" he demanded.

She nodded and reached a hand into the pocket of her coat where she pulled out the necklace with the crystal hanging from it.

He held his hand out. "Give it to me."

She went to hand it over, and then she hesitated.

"Just give me the damn Silver Crystal!" he shouted.

* * *

"Let me go, Darien!" Sailor Moon whisper screamed as she struggled in Tuxedo Mask's arms.

"Calm down, Serena!" he grated in her ear. "The other girls will be here any minute. Let's wait on them."

"Screw you, Darien!" she hissed. "I can't afford to wait on the others. Nephrite's here and he's got Molly right now!"

Then she froze as she heard Nephrite's outraged bellow, "Just give me the damn Silver Crystal!"

"Oh god, the crystal!" she gasped.

Tuxedo Mask had gone still at those words as well. He didn't realize that he had loosened his hold on Sailor Moon until she slipped free from his arms and darted out from behind the bush they were hiding behind.

"Damn it!" he growled and went after her.

"Hold it right there, Nephrite!" Sailor Moon demanded as she burst through the trees and bushes. "There's no way that I'm going to allow the Dark Kingdom to get their hands on the Silver Crystal! It belongs to Princess Serenity!"

"Sailor Moon, how nice of you to join us," Nephrite sneered. "And Tuxedo Mask; I should have known you'd be around as well. After all, Sailor Moon never goes anywhere without her protector. How sweet! Well since the two of you are here, you may as well witness this moment as I look to see if I have found the artifact that will lead to your demise. Because if this is the real Silver Crystal I can promise you that it will never land in the hands of your precious moon princess!"

He turned and swiped the necklace out of Molly's still outstretched hand as she stared off into space with a blank expression on her face.

"No!" Sailor Moon screeched and tried to leap forward. But Tuxedo Mask snagged her around the waist and held her back.

Nephrite cackled gleefully as he pulled a small black crystal from his pocket. "Now let's take a peek and see what we've got. If this is indeed the famed Silver Crystal then this dark crystal will let me know. And if it is I will hand deliver it to Queen Beryl."

Just then a bunch of what looked to be sharp vines shot from the shadows and speared through Nephrite's shoulder. Black blood spurted out as they broke off, leaving a clump of them impaled in his body as they crackled with dark energy.

Three youma that strangely resembled belly dancers stepped from beneath the trees. Their skin was the same pale, sickly looking blue that most youma seemed to have and each of them was dressed in a revealing, gauzy, almost see through outfit with veils covering the bottom halves of their faces.

Nephrite groaned as he dropped to his knees, clutching his injured shoulder. The crystal necklace fell from his now limp hand. "How dare you attack me, a Dark Kingdom general, you worthless youma scum?"

One of the youma, it was impossible to tell which one with their mouths covered, spoke. "We only take orders from Lord Zoicite. General Nephrite, you have been accused and found guilty of attempted treason against her majesty, Queen Beryl. We have been sent to eliminate you."

"Treason!" he roared. "What sort of treachery is this? I have been nothing but loyal to her majesty! Everything I have done, I have done for her. I was about to see if I had procured the Silver Crystal for her before you interfered."

"What's going on?" Sailor Jupiter demanded as she, Mars, and Mercury arrived on the scene. Her dark green eyes darted around, taking in the injured Nephrite, the youma, and the now unconscious Molly.

"I'm not sure," Tuxedo Mask replied. "There seems to be some tension between the members of the Dark Kingdom."

"He was using Molly," Sailor Moon ground out. "Evidently there was a crystal in her mother's shop that he believes may be the Silver Crystal and he put some kind of a spell on her to make her bring it to him."

"Is he that stupid?" Mars scoffed. "How could he think that the crystal would just be lying around in a jewelry store where anyone could pick it up? What a moron!"

Mercury sniffed delicately. "It is quite ludicrous for him to believe that. Evidently the spirits that Beryl used to possess these bodies don't have anywhere near the level of intelligence the real generals had."

Sailor Moon looked frantically between her unconscious friend and the crystal lying on the ground only ten yards from her. "You can't say for sure that the crystal is not the real thing. For all we know, it could be it."

Jupiter tore her gaze away from Nephrite long enough to roll her eyes and huff a laugh. "Come on! My memories of the past may be really fuzzy to nonexistent in some places, but I do remember enough to know that Queen Serenity would have been very careful about where she put the crystal when she sent it with us."

Mars and Mercury both nodded their agreement. They all knew very well where the dormant Silver Crystal was resting at the moment, and it sure wasn't the necklace on the ground.

"So what's with the mutant strippers?" Jupiter growled as she turned her attention back to Nephrite and watched as he staggered to his feet. "I was hoping to get a chance to tear into Nephrite myself, but it looks like they beat me to it. I thought they were all on the same side. So what gives?"

Tuxedo Mask shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. The youma showed up right before you did and said something about Nephrite being guilty of treason and that they worked for Zoicite."

"That is quite right, Tuxedo Mask," a low voice said as a portal swirled to life and Zoicite stepped from it. "Nephrite here disregarded his orders and attempted to locate the Silver Crystal for his own personal gain. Queen Beryl does not take kindly to traitors."

"Zoicite, you bastard!" Nephrite snarled. "That's not what I was doing and you know it! I know that you and Kunzite are up to something, and this is your way of making sure that nobody stands in your way. But I'm not going to go out like Jadeite did!"

Zoicite flipped his ponytail back over his shoulder. "Yes. Jadeite did make a spectacle of himself when Queen Beryl killed him, didn't he. I had never pictured him as being the type that would die, screaming and begging like a woman. He was pathetic."

A strangled sound caught in Sailor Mars's throat, causing Zoicite to turn his bright green eyes on her.

A smirk twisted his lips. "Ah, yes, Lady Mars. I'm afraid Jadeite's body is nothing more than dust scattered to the wind now. Of course you had already done quite a number on him yourself, but my queen wanted to be the one to finish the job so she summoned him from your fight so that she would have the pleasure of killing him herself."

"Don't let him get to you, Mars. He's just trying to rattle you," Mercury said softly to the shaken scout of fire.

This wasn't missed by Zoicite. "And my dear Lady Mercury, it has been a long time, hasn't it?"

Her blue eyes flashed as cold as ice. "Don't you speak to me, you abomination! I have no interest in what you have to say."

He chuckled. "Still as prim and proper as you always were, eh, Mercury. Even in battle you always conduct yourself with the utmost decorum. It's a very admirable, if somewhat useless trait."

Nephrite had taken advantage of Zoicite's distraction and had gathered together as much dark energy as he could. He shot a blast at the dark blonde general while his back was turned.

There was no way that Zoicite could have seen it coming, but he must have sensed it because he disappeared out of the attack's path and rematerialized less than a second later behind Nephrite.

The dark haired general let out an agonized scream as a shard of ice as long and as thick as his arm was plunged through his uninjured shoulder.

"So you would shoot a man in the back, Nephrite? What a cowardly thing to do!" Zoicite hissed. Then he motioned to his youma. "My lovelies, come hold this traitor for a moment while I take care of some unfinished business."

"Yes, Master," they said obediently and surrounded Nephrite.

Zoicite bent down to pick up the crystal. "Now let's see if Nephrite actually got something right for once."

Sailor Moon jerked free of Tuxedo Mask's hold and ripped off her tiara. "Oh no you don't, Zoicite! Moon Tiara Magic!" She flung the spinning gold disc at him.

The general barely glanced up at her screamed attack. His eyes appeared bored as he gave a lazy flick of his hand, and Sailor Moon's tiara burst into a cloud of glittery gold.

"What…No!" she whispered past trembling lips. "My tiara…how did he..?"

"Let me try," Mars growled, flames already snapping at her fingertips. "Mars Fire Ignite!"

Jupiter jumped forward as well. "I'm with you too! Jupiter Thunder Crash!"

The attack of electrically charged fire sped toward Zoicite, but he merely teleported out of the way of it to reappear ten feet away from where he'd been standing.

He clucked his tongue at them. "We can do this all night, scouts. Now be good little girls for a minute and let me do my job." He held the small black crystal over the necklace in his hand.

Sailor Moon chewed her lip and stomped her foot in agitation. She had no way to attack. Her tiara had been her only weapon, and now it was gone. The crescent moon wand wouldn't be any help here. It seemed to mostly have healing magic, and there was nothing to heal.

A loud laugh suddenly erupted from Zoicite. "It seems you've wasted your time and your life for nothing, Nephrite. This is not the Silver Crystal. It is simply a rock, nothing more."

Nephrite looked up weakly from where he was being held on the ground by the youma. "It's…not the crystal?"

Sailor Moon felt a rush of relief. Although the other scouts had reassured her that the necklace couldn't be the Silver Crystal, she'd still had her doubts about it. A thousand years was a long time and the crystal could have been moved from whatever hiding spot the moon queen had placed it in.

Zoicite tossed the necklace to the ground. "I'm tired of playing these games. It's time for you to die, Nephrite." A large spear of ice appeared in his hands. "Stand back, my dears," he told the youma. "In fact, why don't you go bash around the sailor scouts a little while I clean up this mess."

Jupiter let out a snarl and tried to lunge for the gloating general, but Mars and Mercury held her back.

Sailor Moon panicked. This was about to turn ugly. They had never taken on three youma at one time before. Plus they had a general to contend with as well. Somebody could get killed. And here she was, helpless.

She felt a burning sensation on her forehead and reached up to rub it, only to be surprised when her fingers encountered cool metal with a smooth oval stone in the center. Her tiara was back! But as she felt the intricate engraving around the stone she realized that it wasn't the same tiara. This was a new one!

She started to take it off to prepare her attack, but then stopped. There was a phantom voice, whispering instructions in her ear, telling her that there was another way for her to attack, a way that she could end this quickly.

She looked up to the night sky at the moon and felt like the tiara was absorbing the gentle light. Then her mouth opened and she called out, "Moon Twilight Flash!"

The whole area lit up in a flash of white light, making everyone close their eyes. When it faded, Zoicite and the youma were gone.

"Geez! How about a little warning next time, Meatball Head!" Mars screeched. "You almost burned my retinas out!"

Sailor Moon giggled nervously. "Sorry! I didn't know it would do that."

Mercury had her computer out and was typing furiously. "It seems that you have received an upgrade. This tiara is much more powerful than your old one."

"Obviously," Tuxedo Mask chuckled. "That thing packs quite a punch."

Sailor Moon stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, did it do any good? Did I get them all?"

Mercury shook her head. "You got the youma, but Zoicite got away. He opened a portal to the Dark Kingdom and slipped through before your attack could reach him. And as powerful as your new attack is, it probably isn't strong enough to take out a general." She nodded to a body lying on the ground.

As if in a daze, Jupiter stumbled over to it. Nephrite lay in a pool of black blood with Zoicite's giant ice spear embedded in the center of his chest and pinning him to the ground.

His slate blue eyes were barely slits as he looked at her. More black blood bubbled at his lips as he spoke. "Well, Jupiter, this isn't exactly how I pictured my end this time. I had hoped to face you in battle again."

She managed a smirk. "Yeah, me too. It would have been nice to kick your ass again."

He tried to chuckle, but it broke off into a racking cough. His body was beginning to turn translucent. He rolled an eye in Sailor Moon's direction. "You better take care of your princess if you want to have a chance to beat Beryl, Jupiter. She's the only one that can defeat her."

Jupiter's mouth fell open. "How did you know?"

He closed his eyes. "I didn't. Not until this very moment. But now I see her for who she truly is. Her and the prince…"

His voice trailed off as he expelled one final breath. And then, he faded away.

Jupiter stood there for a long moment, staring down at the spot where he had lain. She knew that the person that had just died in front of her hadn't been the general that she had once loved; her Nephrite had died centuries before. But she still felt a tiny ache in her chest.

At the same time, though, she felt a buoyant happiness. Her once beloved's body had finally been freed from the servitude that evil witch had forced it into. She hoped that wherever Nephrite's true spirit was that he sensed this and could rest peacefully.

A small hand touched her arm. "Lita, are you okay?" Sailor Moon asked softly.

She smiled genuinely at her petite friend. "I'm fine, Serena. I guess I was feeling nostalgic for a moment. Kinda out of character for me, isn't it?"

The blonde returned her smile. "Not really. You always try to appear to be so strong, but I know what a softie you really are on the inside. If you ever need to talk…"

Jupiter waved a hand. "Nah! I'm cool. So what's next?"

Sailor Moon shrugged. "Darien and I are going to take Molly back home. Her mother sleeps like the dead, so we shouldn't have a problem sneaking her back inside. Amy says that she'll sleep it off and won't remember a thing in the morning. After that I guess I'll head home. There's no reason to keep watch on Molly now that Nephrite is gone."

Jupiter stretched and yawned. "Sounds like a plan to me. I could use a little more shuteye before school. I wasn't looking forward to babysitting duty anyway."

Sailor Moon pulled her into a surprisingly strong hug. "Okay, Lita! You get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow!"

She nodded and waited until Tuxedo Mask had gathered up the sleeping Molly and he and Sailor Moon had left to take the girl home. Then she said, "You can come out now, Venus. The coast is clear."

Mina, in her Sailor V disguise, dropped from a tree branch with Artemis clinging precariously to her shoulder. She flipped her long golden hair back and sighed. "Whew! That was a close one! It got pretty intense there for a few minutes. I thought for sure that I was going to have to jump in and join you guys. Thank goodness Serena powered up, even if I did almost fall out of the tree when she almost blinded me. I'm still seeing spots."

"We have bigger problems than that," Jupiter growled. "Nephrite recognized Sailor Moon as being Serenity right before he died. He recognized Endymion too."

Mars and Mercury both gasped, but Sailor V just shook her head. "I don't think that will be a huge problem. Nephrite was much more spiritually attuned than the other generals, except for Jadeite, and I was surprised that he never made the connection, but Zoicite and Kunzite won't figure it out as easily."

"So you believe that Serenity is safe for now?" Mars asked her.

She nodded. "From the Dark Kingdom, yes. From herself," she shrugged. "All we can hope for is for the rest of the Rainbow Crystals to hurry up and appear so she can get her head back on straight before she lands herself in the loony bin."

* * *

A grim smile twisted up Beryl's lips as she felt the surge of power and the green stone in the box next to her flared brightly. She reached down to stroke it, only to snatch her hand back as it sparked angrily.

"You brought it on yourself," she chastised. "Of all of my generals, I had thought that you were the most loyal. But you just had to try and do things your own way, didn't you? I gave you simple instructions and I expected them to be followed. Now you must pay the price for your actions."

There was a knock at the door before it opened slightly and a youma poked her head in. "Lord Kunzite is here, your majesty."

"Show him in," she demanded.

The platinum haired general strode in a moment later and knelt before her throne. "You summoned me, my queen."

She tapped her chin with a long, curved fingernail. "Yes, Kunzite. I want a status report. Since you and Zoicite are now the only two generals remaining, more responsibility will fall on you. How is the search for the Rainbow Crystals coming?"

He bowed his head respectfully. "Zoicite believes that he has found leads on two more that he is going to investigate today."

"Very good," she purred. "And how is your investigation into the prince proceeding?"

Kunzite flinched internally at this question. The truth was that he had invested very little time in searching for Endymion. While having the prince around would mean that he would no longer have to play a role in Beryl's sick, twisted fantasies about Endymion, he really had no interest in having the little earth prince's reincarnation hanging around either. It would just mean another person to possibly get in the way of his plans. Besides, hopefully Beryl wouldn't be around much longer anyway.

"It is proving to be…difficult, your majesty," he finally answered her slowly. "I had assumed that inhabiting the body of Prince Endymion's former head general would make it easy for me to identify his reincarnation. But the prince's generals were bonded to him through the power of the Golden Crystal, and I have not sensed its presence anywhere. So with that being said, we have to assume that either the prince doesn't have the crystal, or that it has been sealed away, or…"

"Or what?" Beryl demanded.

Kunzite made sure to make his face expressionless before he looked up. "Or we may have to assume that the prince wasn't reincarnated along with the others that were on the moon that day. Queen Serenity may have decided that her daughter would be better off without him in her life and chosen to let him remain dead."

Beryl jolted at his words. "I can't believe that, Kunzite. I won't! While I agree that Queen Serenity may have blamed the fall of her kingdom on her twit daughter's relationship with Endymion, I don't think she would have reincarnated the princess without the prince. Princess Serenity was a spoiled little girl who was given everything that she ever wanted. The moon queen would have known that the brat would be miserable if she was made to live without Endymion, so she would have reincarnated him just to keep the little slut happy. He's here somewhere on this planet, Kunzite. I know he is. And I want him found!"

"Of course, your majesty," he replied smoothly. "I will redouble my efforts to find the prince."

She looked appeased. "Very well. What about the whereabouts of that girl that you believed to be the moon princess? Is there any word on her?"

Kunzite cast his eyes down again to hide the malevolent gleam he was sure was shining in them. He was extremely glad that Beryl never paid attention to the news that went on in this modern world. If she did then she would know that Minako DeLune had appeared in Tokyo.

"She has not resurfaced since her disappearance from London. But I believe that if she is still alive that she will eventually show up in Tokyo where her scouts are," he told her, smirking a little to himself as he thought about the day that he had cornered the fair Sailor Venus and had confronted her about her attempt to deceive the Dark Kingdom by pretending to be the moon princess. She was aiding him in his plan without even knowing it. The longer he had the false trail to follow, the longer it gave him and Zoicite to gather the Rainbow Crystals. He didn't know where Princess Serenity really was and he didn't care. Once he had the Silver Crystal and took over the world she could be easily dealt with if she attempted to challenge him.

"Or she'll pop up wherever Endymion is," Beryl sneered. "It would be just like that little tramp to throw herself at him again. But this time the better woman will win. This time she won't have her mommy dearest there to wave a magic wand and make everything all better."

Her eyes blazed maniacally, making even Kunzite feel a shiver of fear as she growled, "This time that bitch will die and stay dead!"

* * *

'_Thirty seconds…I can make it!' _Serena thought wildly as she hit the front door of the school at a dead run. She couldn't believe that she had overslept as badly as she did this morning.

Okay, yeah she could. It had been close to 4 AM by the time she had gotten Molly back home and into bed and then gone home herself. Darien had followed her right up to her window and had left her with stern instructions to get a few hours of sleep before school.

She had been too tired to argue with him and had barely detransformed before she fell across her bed and passed out. She had even been beyond caring what dreams were waiting for her. All she had wanted was some sleep.

Her already flushed cheeks turned even redder as she thought about her dreams as she pounded up the stairs. Of course Endymion had been waiting to pounce the moment that she had closed her eyes and she had found herself whirling in his arms as they danced together. Thankfully the dream hadn't taken an erotic turn this time, but the way he'd held her and spoke in that quiet husky voice had been enough to send her heart galloping like a stampede of wild horses. The dream had just begun taking a nightmarish turn when her mother's voice had woken her, screaming that she was going to be late and that she'd already sent Mina on ahead.

Thank heaven for the Luna Pen. She had jumped up and used it to make herself look normal and to dress her in her uniform and had been out the door in two minutes, leaving a flabbergasted Ilene choking on the dust trail she left behind her.

She was mentally counting down the seconds in her head as she flew down the hallway. _'5…4…' _she was at the door of the classroom. _'3…2…' _she was across the room in a blink. _'1…' _the bell rang just as she sank into her seat.

Miss Haruna looked from the papers on her desk, trying to appear stern although her lips twitched like she was fighting back a smile. "Well, Miss Tsukino, it's nice that you decided to join us this morning, even if it was by the skin of your teeth. Now everybody pass forward your homework from last night."

Serena sighed and pulled a rumpled piece of paper out of bag. She had only gotten about half of the assignment done, and what part she had completed was a collection of scribbles and eraser smudges. But she supposed that turning in something was better than turning in nothing at all.

Miss H. probably wouldn't see it that way though. Serena shook her head as she wondered for the thousandth time why she seemed to get stuck with this particular teacher year after year. She had thought that she'd finally escaped her after leaving middle school, but oh no, Miss H. just had to decide to take a position at Azabu High. What made it worse was that Serena had her for two classes this year. What kind of teacher taught both Algebra and English? Didn't they usually stick with one subject?

Miss Haruna launched into a complicated explanation of the equations she had written on the board and Serena felt her brain short circuit and fizzle out. There was no way that she was ever going to comprehend all of that. She kept her eyes glued to the board, but they slid out of focus as she fought against the pull of sleep.

A folded square of paper landed on her desk and snapped her out of her daze. She opened it to find the words, _Are you okay? L_,written across it in loopy letters.

She looked across the aisle to find Lita watching her with a concerned expression. She took out a pen and wrote, _I'm fine, just a little tired. It was a long night. What about you? Are you okay? You seemed a little upset last night. S_.

She passed it back to Lita, who turned to her to give her a grin and a thumbs up after reading her words.

"Miss Tsukino, Miss Kino, would you two kindly turn your attention this way please. What I am going over will be on the test on Friday, so you may want to know this. You can save your socialization for after class," Miss Haruna snapped from the front of the room.

"Yes ma'am," both girls mumbled.

The rest of the class passed in a fog. The same was true for Biology and Literature. English went by in much the same way and Serena was looking forward to lunch after that. She hadn't had breakfast that morning since she had been running late and her stomach was growling like an angry animal.

But when the bell rang Miss H. held her back for a few minutes to talk about the poor grade she had received on the Algebra homework.

Serena put on a contrite act and promised that she would do better, but by the time she stormed into the cafeteria she was crabby enough to rip someone to shreds with her bare hands. She even snarled at a couple of freshmen that had the misfortune of crossing her path. She threw her bag under her usual table, pulled a chair out with a bang, and practically flung herself into it. All the while she ignored the six pairs of eyes that were watching her.

She tore open her lunch and attacked it like a ravenous lion. It wasn't until after she had inhaled her roast beef sandwich and chips that anyone spoke.

"Um, Sere, are you okay?" Andrew asked hesitantly.

She looked up from the container of fruit salad that her mother had packed for her with a chilling look in her eyes. "No, I am _not _okay! In fact, right now I think it would be safe to say that my life sucks royally! I am about this close," she held up her thumb and forefinger practically touching, "to going up to the top of Starlight Tower and throwing myself off of it if it means that I never have to come into this hellhole ever again!"

The sandy blonde winced. "Ouch! Haruna again?"

She huffed and stuck her nose up in the air. "Don't even mention that woman's name to me! As if I care what x equals!"

Amy shook her head and sighed, "Serena…"

"Save it!" the indignant blonde snapped. "I really don't want to hear a lecture on how important education is right now."

Then a voice spoke up that made her have to acknowledge the one person that she had been trying the hardest to ignore. "All Amy's trying to say, Meatball Head, is that…"

"I said I don't want to hear it!" she screeched. "I swear to god, Shields, if you start giving me one of your long winded, nerd-boy speeches I'll…I'll…I don't know what I'll do! But I'll do something!"

His dark blue eyes sparkled humorously. "And what could a little shrimp like you do to me?"

She stood up and slammed her hands on the table as she leaned toward him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He stood as well, bending down to emphasize the foot difference in their heights. "I might be interested in finding out," he replied in a smooth, silky tone.

Her eyes widened a fraction. That was the voice that Endymion always used in her dreams. It was all she could do to keep from grabbing him by his impeccable blazer and kissing the daylights out of him. Instead she plunked back into her seat and lifted her chin regally as she declared in an imperious tone, "You wouldn't be worth the effort. I have better things to do with my time."

"Maybe you should spend it studying instead of flirting," Raye grumbled.

Serena's face turned cherry red and she seemed to visibly swell. "As if! I was not flirting! I'd hit on a trained baboon before I put any moves on Darien Shields!"

Darien gasped and placed a hand over his heart. "Ouch! Those words wound me deep, Meatball Head!"

She rolled her eyes. "Please! The only thing that could be wounded about you is your ego."

Andrew looked back and forth between them with a perplexed expression. "Wait a minute! I thought you two were getting along now. So why are you fighting with each other again all of a sudden."

Serena looked at him innocently. "We weren't fighting. We're we, Darien?" She batted her lashes coyly at the dark haired junior.

Darien smirked as he sat back down. "Nope! We weren't fighting at all. Whatever gave you that idea, Drew?"

The sandy blonde shook his head and buried his face in his hands, groaning, "You two are so weird!"

Mina used this as an excuse to lean across the table and pat her crush on the shoulder. "There, there, poor baby! It's not that hard to figure out. Serena's just playing hard to get…Eek!" She let out startled squeak as found herself speared by cold, crystal blue eyes.

Serena picked up the perky blonde's fruit punch and held it over her head. "Would you care to repeat that, Mina, or would you like to find out what life is like as a red head?"

"Nooo!" Mina shrieked as she covered her head with her arms. "I didn't mean it! I swear I didn't! I know you would never do anything like that! Ooo! Is that apple pie?"

Serena sat the can down quickly and dove for her lunch. "If you so much as twitch a finger toward my pie I'll bite your hand off, literally!" She snapped her teeth at her friend and growled.

Mina screeched and practically climbed into Lita's lap in an attempt to put some distance between her and a suddenly rabid looking Serena. "Lita, help! Serena threatened to eat me!"

The auburn haired girl sighed and pushed the blonde back into her own chair. "Of course she did, you ditz! I thought you had enough sense in that marshmallow brain of yours to know better than to attempt to beg food from Serena. Besides, didn't you say something about being on some kind of diet?"

Mina waved a dismissive hand. "Diet, schmiet! That was only to appease my mother while she was in town because my publicist said something to her about making sure I was keeping my figure in shape until after I'm done with this stupid promotion for the Sailor V game. God! I can't wait for my retirement to become official."

Andrew tossed a Cheeto into the air and caught it in his mouth before saying, "If it's any consolation, Mina, I think you look fine. There's not an ounce of fat on you. You still look just like the poster of Sailor V we have hanging in the arcade."

"I know, right?" she gushed and jumped to her feet and twirled around. Three freshmen boys a couple of tables over fainted as her skirt flared around her. She struck the pose that had made her famous and flashed her trademark V sign. "I am a finely tuned machine conditioned from years of training and 4 AM make up sessions. It will take more than a few milkshakes and hamburgers to get the best of this soldier of justice!"

Serena paused with a bite of pie halfway to her mouth. That strange, dizzying sensation that she had felt the morning before when she was running to school with Mina swirled through her head again. For just the briefest moment she saw Mina in a fuku, but it wasn't the one that she had worn in the Sailor V movies. That one was similar to her own when she transformed into Sailor Moon as far as colors went. The one she saw in her mind was orange.

Then she blinked, and just like that the vision was gone. Mina appeared as normal as ever in her school uniform and was laughing as Lita pulled her down into her seat. She shrugged and put the piece of pie in her mouth, writing off her crazy thoughts to sleep deprivation and an overactive imagination.

Darien leaned across the table to say softly, "I do have some good news for you."

She swallowed the pie and quirked a brow at him. "And what would that be?"

He grinned. "I heard that coach isn't making his classes dress out today for gym. Instead he's just showing some volleyball video."

Suddenly she felt lighter. "Oh! That is good news!"

Andrew leaned across to add, "And don't let Haruna get to you. You just come on down to the arcade after school and I'll make you up something good to take your mind off of things."

Serena felt the first genuine smile she'd had all day stretch her lips. "I promised Molly that I'd go with her to visit her dad's grave after school, but after that I'm on. You just better be ready to deliver.

* * *

Darien slunk through the tombstones and monuments, making sure to stay out of sight of the two teenage girls that were knelt next to the grave. He had followed Serena after school as she met up with Molly, and then trailed after them as they made their way to a cemetery in the heart of the Azabu district. He didn't know why, but he'd had an uneasy feeling all afternoon and was loathe to let Serena out of his sight.

He watched as Serena put an arm around her friend and spoke softly to her. He could have reached out with his alter ego's superior hearing to listen to what she was saying, but he already felt like he was intruding on her privacy as it was. So he resisted the urge, even though a part of him craved to hear her voice. It had been nice picking and joking around with her today, but he missed listening to her when she was speaking calmly instead of hurling playful insults.

He couldn't sense anything amiss around, so he figured it would be okay to leave the two girls for a minute while he went on a little side mission. He slipped back farther into the cemetery where it took him a few minutes to reach the tall tombstone that bore the name Shields. Under it was the names Mamoru and Bridget, their dates of birth and identical dates of death.

The roses that he had placed there at Christmas had long since been blown away by the wind, so he conjured a fresh handful and placed them quietly in the vase. He never talked when he visited his parents' grave. After all, what did you say to people that you couldn't even remember? The only things he knew about his parents were what other people had told him and what he had picked up on by looking at the old photos that he kept packed up in the closet of the spare bedroom of his apartment.

They appeared to be happy people in the pictures he had, and people that had known them always told him about how kind and generous they had been, and he took some comfort from that. He liked to think that he had been a part of a warm and loving family for the first six years of his life, even if he couldn't remember it.

But today was different for some reason. As he looked at the stone that marked his parents' final resting place he opened his mouth and began speaking. "Mom, Dad, I wish you guys were here. I wish I could remember you. My life has been turned upside down, and could really use some advice. I know you've probably been watching over me and know all of it. But I don't know what to do. So much has changed in the last couple of months. I turned into a rose wielding super hero and then found out that I'm a reincarnated prince. There's also a princess that used to live on the moon that claims that I'm her long lost soul mate. It's a lot to take in."

He paused for a long moment before he continued. "But that's not really the important thing. What's really on my mind is that I've met someone. Well, not exactly since I've already known her for two years. But what I'm trying to say is that I've finally discovered that I care about her a lot. Who am I kidding? I'm in love with her! I know that she feels something for me too, but she's wrapped up in this Dark Kingdom mess just as much as I am and it keeps throwing up roadblocks between us."

He fell silent again, listening as the cold wind rushed past him, hoping, though he knew it was ridiculous, to hear some ghostly words of wisdom. His shoulders slumped and he sighed when no answers were forthcoming.

"Well, well, fancy seeing you here," a quiet, but gruff voice spoke up behind him.

He spun and stared in surprise at the girl standing there. "Lita!"

She gave him a wry grin. "That was my name the last time I checked."

"What are you doing here?" he managed to stammer out.

She shrugged. "The same as you, I suppose. Raye said that she had a funny feeling so we decided to split up. She and Amy are sticking together and I offered to keep an eye on Serena in case she needed any help. I've been meaning to come by here for the last few days anyway." She gestured toward a tombstone that was several rows away that was sporting a fresh bouquet of greenhouse lilies.

"Oh," he muttered glumly, remembering in that instant that Lita had lost her parents and was living alone as well.

She waved a hand. "Anyway, I find it highly coincidental that you just happened to be here. Were you following Serena too?"

He felt a flush crawling up his neck. "I wasn't following her exactly. I'm just trying to keep an eye on her. She has a tendency for walking into disaster."

Lita chuckled. "That she does. I guess we better get back to her before she accidentally gets herself into trouble"

Just then a boom echoed across the deserted cemetery and Darien felt the familiar feeling flare up inside of him that signified Serena's transformation into Sailor Moon. "Too late," he groaned.

In an instant he had transformed into Tuxedo Mask and whirled to run toward where he felt Sailor Moon. He saw a flash of green out of the corner of his eye and a second later Sailor Jupiter fell into step beside him.

They were almost back to the spot where Molly's father was buried when they saw the source of the disturbance. There was a strange looking youma that looked like a cross between a vampire bat and Rocky Balboa. It had the familiar pale blue skin and sported a pair of leathery looking wings that sprouted from its shoulder blades. It also wore trunks and a pair of boxing gloves, one of which was pointed at the blonde sailor scout lying on the ground as if she'd had the breath knocked out of her.

But the most curious thing of all was Zoicite, who was hovering several feet above the ground with his green eyes sweeping around as if he were searching for something.

Tuxedo Mask ignored the general, keeping his eyed glued to Sailor Moon instead. Thankfully she didn't appear to be hurt. In fact, she looked quite angry as she sat up.

"Hey, you creep!" she yelled at the youma. "Just what do you think this is, a game of Super Punch Out?"

The youma cackled. "Exactly! And now I think it's time for a KO!" It swung a fist, even though it was several yards away from Sailor Moon, and the boxing glove separated from its arm to fly toward her like a rocket.

She froze, still sitting on the ground, her eyes as large and round as two blue poker chips. Her mouth fell open like she wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

"Faster…_Faster!_" Tuxedo Mask growled to himself as he pushed more speed into his already screaming leg muscles. Everything around him was a blur as he ran, be he was still afraid that he wouldn't reach her in time.

The glove was only a few feet away from her when he scooped her small, warm body up into his arms. He felt her fingers instinctively clutch the lapels of his tuxedo jacket as he pushed off hard from the ground and jumped. A split second later a deafening boom exploded behind them. They landed next to a slightly panting Sailor Jupiter.

"Are you okay?" the green scout demanded quickly, beating him to the punch.

Sailor Moon nodded, her face still blanched snow white. "I'm fine Jupiter. I just had the crap scared out of me, that's all."

"That's all?" Jupiter retorted. "You little idiot! What were thinking, engaging an enemy by yourself? You could have been killed! Never enter a fight without calling for back up first!"

Tuxedo Mask felt like snarling in irritation. Jupiter was stealing all of his lines. He wanted to shake some sense into the blonde in his arms and say everything that Jupiter just had, and then some. But when Sailor Moon turned angrily flashing eyes on the auburn haired scout a second later he was glad that it was her that had been chastising the petite blonde.

"Well excuse me!" Sailor Moon huffed indignantly. "That Mike Tyson wannabe kinda took me by surprise. Next time I'll make sure to call for help instead of transforming. It might get me killed, but at least everyone will know what's going on. Besides, I was counting on the fact that Tuxedo Mask can sense when I transform, so I figured he'd pass the word on." She looked back and forth between her friends with a little frown. "By the way, how did you two get here so fast? I just transformed like two minutes ago."

Tuxedo Mask shook his head, warily eying the youma that was glaring at them. Then he shot a quick glance up where Zoicite was still muttering to himself as he continued to look like he was searching for something. "I think we should save the rest of this conversation for later. We still have business to take care of."

"Oh! That's right!" Sailor Moon squeaked. Then she blushed bright pink. "Um…you can put me down now, Tuxedo Mask."

"O…oh, yeah," he stammered, realizing that he still held her cradled against him. He set her on her feet while Jupiter snickered softly at them.

"That's not a regular youma," Sailor Moon informed them. "It's a Rainbow Crystal carrier. Zoicite shot him with some dark energy and the orange crystal flew out of him. I didn't see where it went, and I don't think Zoicite did either. That's what he's looking for."

"Shit!" Jupiter hissed. "We can't let the Dark Kingdom get their hands on another crystal. We have to find it."

"You two concentrate on the carrier. I'll find the crystal," Tuxedo Mask told them. He turned to jump away, but paused when a hand grabbed his cape.

"Darien, be careful," Sailor Moon said softly.

He gave her a cocky grin. "You too. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." And then he was gone.

"Let's do this!" Jupiter said as she cracked her knuckles. Electricity was already crackling around her. "I guess we'll do this just like we did that guy the other day. I'll zap him and you heal him."

Sailor Moon nodded. "Just be careful not to hurt him. He's a priest."

"A what?" Jupiter shrieked. "Oh great! This just keeps getting better and better."

The youma pounded his gloves together in anticipation as he saw the two girls take up positions to confront him. "Ooo, is this a tag team? That's usually reserved for wrestling, but I'll make an exception in this case and take you both on."

"Take on this!" Jupiter growled as an antennae shot up from her tiara and lighting snapped to life around her. She gathered a ball of it into her hand and threw it at him. "Jupiter Thunder Crash!"

The youma/priest howled as he found himself encased in the shocking energy.

"Now, Sailor Moon!" Jupiter cried.

Sailor Moon pulled out her wand and it sparked to life with a glow. "Moon Healing Activation!" she called out as white energy burst from the tip. It washed over the creature, and several seconds later the monster's appearance faded away to leave a brown haired man dressed in a priest's robes. He let out a sigh and collapsed to the ground.

Sailor Moon felt a little wobbly too as the energy pouring from the wand came to a stop, but she whirled around looking for her masked hero. "Tuxedo Mask!"

She saw Zoicite a few rows over, grinning widely as he bent over to pick up something small and glittering orange.

"No! The Rainbow Crystal!" she gasped, her hand flying to her tiara. "Moon Twilight Flash!"

Nothing happened. She rolled her eyes at her stupidity. Of course nothing happened. Her new attack reflected and magnified the light of the moon, and it was only mid-afternoon.

But Jupiter had seen Zoicite too, and she was charging up an attack to throw at him. "Oh no you don't!"

But before she could launch it a streak of red came flying out of nowhere. The dark general let out a scream of pain as a rose speared his wrist. The orange crystal went flying from his hand to land several yards away.

A tall, dark figure stepped out from behind a statue and stooped to pick it up. "I think I'll take this, thank you," Tuxedo Mask declared as he pocketed the Rainbow Crystal.

"Do you think this makes a difference?" Zoicite ground out. "I already have one of the crystals, and there are still five more. I'll get the rest of them and take back that one as well. I already know where the next one is. The Silver Crystal will belong to the Dark Kingdom. Your precious princess will never get her hands on it. She's as good as dead already."

With those last ominous words he disappeared through the portal that sprang open behind him.

"Geez! You'd think the bad guys could come up with some more original lines. That sounded just like it came from a script of an old movie," Jupiter muttered.

Sailor Moon nodded in agreement and turned to Tuxedo Mask as he approached them. "Are you okay?"

He held his hands out before him. "Not a scratch on me! What about you, are you alright?"

She shrugged. "I'm a little drained, but I'm sure one of Andrew's milkshakes will fix me right up."

Sirens wailed in the distance as several emergency vehicles sped through the front gates of the cemetery.

Jupiter chuckled. "I guess we made more noise than we thought. At least that priest will be taken care of."

Tuxedo Mask looked startled. "Priest!"

Sailor Moon waved a hand. "I'll tell you about it later. Let's get out of here."

Jupiter nodded. "There's a small back entrance to this place. We can leave that way."

The other two nodded and they ran until they were sure to be out of sight of the authorities and rescue workers. Then they each transformed back into their civilian forms.

"So what happened to Molly? I thought you two were coming here together," Lita asked as they began walking normally.

"Oh! She'd already left," Serena replied. Then she slapped a hand to her forehead. "Stupid me! I almost forgot," she muttered as she rummaged around in her book bag that had magically reappeared when she detransformed. She pulled out a rumpled bouquet of hothouse violets and baby's breath and scampered a short distance away.

Darien and Lita followed her curiously and watched as she approached a tombstone that bore the name Tsukino. She placed the flowers in the vase and then bowed her head and closed her eyes for a moment as she clasped her hands together as if in prayer. Her lips moved silently.

Then she turned back to them. "Sorry about that. That's where my grandparents on my dad's side are buried. They both died when I was little, so I don't really remember them all that well, but I always visit when I come here with Molly."

Lita gave her a small smile. "That's nice of you. My parents are buried here too."

"So are mine," Darien said gruffly.

"Ah!" Serena mused. "So that's how you two got to me so quickly. But I still find it to be more than a coincidence that we were all hanging out in the same cemetery at the same time. I'm beginning to feel like a stalking victim…_again_!" Her eyes narrowed on Darien as she stressed the last word.

Darien held his hands up in surrender. "Hey! I didn't know that Lita was following you too!"

Lita put her hands on her hips. "I wasn't following her! I was just keeping an eye on her! I told you, Raye had a feeling that something was up and she and Amy thought it would be best if the four of us stuck together in pairs. I didn't want Molly to feel like I was intruding on her and Serena's time together, so I kept my distance, Cape Boy!"

"All right! All right!" Serena exclaimed as she inserted herself between them. "Don't start bickering, you guys! I don't think my brain can handle it right now!"

Lita gave Darien one last glare before looping her arm through Serena's. "Okay. No more bickering. Now how about we head to the arcade. You look like you could use some sugar therapy."

Serena smiled brightly. "Now that's the best idea I've heard all day."

* * *

Zoicite flinched as the youma's body splintered against the wall in a mass of green goo.

"Give me one good reason, Zoicite, why that shouldn't be you right now," Beryl hissed in a murderous tone.

"I…I'm sorry, your majesty," he stuttered in fear.

"Sorry! Zoicite says that he's sorry!" Beryl shrieked in maniacal laughter.

The youma gathered in the shadows of the throne room cackled with her.

"I know you're sorry!" the enraged queen screamed. "You're probably the sorriest excuse for a general that I have ever seen! Thanks to you our enemies now have one of the crystals. And I need those crystals in order to exact my revenge! Do I make myself clear, Zoicite?"

"Yes, my queen," the shaken general replied.

Her reddish brown eyes narrowed on the kneeling man. "I sincerely hope you do, for your sake, Zoicite. The only reason why I haven't killed you is because you and Kunzite seem to work together so well. If it wasn't for the fact that I need your help, however pathetic it is, I would send you to join Jadeite and Nephrite!"

"No! Please, your majesty!" Zoicite pleaded. "I know I have displeased you. I admit that I underestimated Tuxedo Mask's abilities. But I'm begging you to give me another chance. I already know the location of the next crystal. Let me go and procure it for you."

His groveling seemed to please Beryl, for she smiled. "Very well, Zoicite. I'll give you another chance. But I want that crystal in my hand by the end of the night."

He stood and bowed. "You will have it, my queen. I vow this to you."

She waved a hand. "Then go! And if you fail me this time I will send you to a hell unlike any you have ever imagined! I don't care how prettily Kunzite speaks on your behalf. Failure will not be tolerated."

"Yes, your majesty," Zoicite replied before fleeing the chamber, cradling his injured wrist to his chest.

Kunzite stepped up to the side of Beryl's throne. "Even the best laid plans can hit a few snags along the way, my queen. You shouldn't stress yourself too much about that rose throwing pansy getting that crystal. We will be able to get it back from him. This is just a minor bump in the road."

She sighed and rubbed a temple with her long nailed fingers. "I know, Kunzite. But I am becoming impatient. I have waited so long to take my revenge against those of the moon kingdom and to obtain the Silver Crystal. I'm tired of waiting."

"I know you are," he said in a soothing tone. "But it won't be long now before you have everything that you deserve." He smirked to himself at the double meaning of his words.

A feline smile twisted her lips as she looked up at him. She waved a hand and Kunzite felt a surge of dark energy as she flashed all of the youma from the room. Then he felt the familiar magic wash over him and sighed inwardly. He knew what was coming. Whenever Beryl became too wound up she retreated to her fantasy world.

He refrained from grimacing as she crooked a finger at him. Maybe he should attempt to find the earth prince after all. If he were here he could keep Beryl distracted. And that would give him more time to work on his plans for overthrowing her. Hmm, it was an idea.

But until then he was stuck playing his role. The gleam in Beryl's eyes told him exactly what she wanted, and he was grateful that it would probably go by quickly this time. It usually did when she was in this type of mood.

He stalked toward her, armor clinking slightly as he walked, and seized her by the front of her skimpy purple dress, ripping it as he jerked her up and against him.

Beryl shivered in anticipation as she felt her bare skin pressed tightly against the hard, cold metal of the armor and stared up into those bottomless, dark blue eyes that were shadowed by the fringe of midnight hair that hung over them. "Endymion," she whispered.

* * *

"So that's pretty much the whole story," Serena stated as she took a long pull on the straw that was in the glass before her. She almost moaned in satisfaction as the taste of the triple chocolate milkshake burst across her tongue.

"So your wand gave you a warning right before Zoicite showed up?" Raye asked quietly as she leaned across the table toward her.

Serena shrugged. "I guess that's what it was. Molly had just left and I was going to go put some flowers on my grandparent's graves before heading here. That priest was there and he walked by me and said hello. Right after that the wand started going crazy. It was beeping and flashing and carrying on. So I stopped to take it out of my bag and that was when Zoicite showed up and blasted that poor man. I ducked behind a statue to transform and the rest is history."

Lita shivered. "I still can't believe that a priest was a crystal carrier. That just seems creepy to me."

Raye rolled her violet eyes at her. "I'm sure Queen Serenity had no control over who was chosen to hold the crystals. She was a very spiritual woman and never would have involved a man of faith in this mess if she had a choice."

Serena pulled away from her straw with a cross frown on her face. "You know, I really hate it when you guys mention something about the past that I can't remember. It makes me feel left out and it's irritating."

Raye waved a careless hand at her. "Sorry, sorry! I'm sure it won't be for much longer now."

Lita smacked a fist lightly on the tabletop. "That's right! As soon as we get our hands on all of the Rainbow Crystals the Silver Crystal will awaken. And then both of you will get your memories back. I'm sure of it."

Serena glanced shyly at Darien, who was sitting beside her. She honestly wasn't sure if she wanted the memories of her past life to return. If her recent dreams were anything to go by, then she might be better off without them.

Darien was thinking along the same lines. One of the reasons he had agreed to help Serenity in the beginning was because she claimed that she would be able to return the memories that he had lost of the first six years of his life, but he really wasn't interested in remembering what had happened in his past life; especially if it was filled with nothing but memories of him and the moon princess being together. Serena was the only girl he was interested in right now.

Then Serena sighed. "Sometimes I do wish that I could at least remember what Serenity looked like. It's kind of unsettling to be working for someone and you have no idea what they even looked like."

Lita and Raye shared a look between each other like they weren't sure how much they should say, or if they should say anything at all.

Darien saved them the trouble. "She had blonde hair and blue eyes," he stated dully as he swirled his coffee cup around. Two thumps were heard as Lita and Raye's mouths fell open.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Well I already knew she was blonde. I told you that first day that we were practicing at the warehouse that I saw her in a vision. It was from a distance, but I definitely saw blonde hair. But how did you know what color eyes she had? You told me that you never see her clearly in your dreams. For all you know she may green or brown eyes."

He shrugged. "I get a flash here and there."

Raye finally found her voice. "Actually, Serena, he's right. All lunarians were fair haired and had either blue, lavender, or gray eyes."

"I guess lunarians weren't much for variety," she grumbled. "Imagine a place where everyone looks the same." _'No wonder Serenity fell for the dark haired Endymion. Me too for that matter,' _she thought ruefully.

Lita chuckled. "It wasn't that bad. They didn't all look exactly alike. You would never see a native lunarian with dark hair, but there were always people around from other planets, so that helped break up the monotony."

Raye noticed the pensive look on her friend's face and decided to change the subject. "On another note, what do you guys think about what's going on in the front booth?"

That snapped Serena out of her funk and she giggled as she looked toward where Amy was sitting across from her former boyfriend and laughing at something he had just said. "I can't believe Greg is in town. You could have just about knocked me over when I walked in and saw him."

Raye chortled with laughter. "That's nothing. You should have seen the look on Amy's face when she laid eyes on him. I thought she was going to pass out. I told Greg that it was a good thing he was here, because if she stopped breathing I wasn't going to perform mouth to mouth on her."

Darien groaned and got up. "It's my cue to leave when you girls start gossiping. Us guys can't handle it."

Serena stuck her tongue out at him. "Where are you going to go? Andrew is tied up at the moment in case you haven't noticed. Of course, if you want to get drawn into listening to Mina's outrageous flirting, be my guess."

He snorted as he looked toward the counter where his sandy haired friend was indeed locked in an animated conversation with the golden blonde Mina. They seemed to be wrapped up pretty intensely in whatever they were talking about, and he didn't particularly want to get caught up in that. He could always go home, but that didn't sound very appealing either.

Then he grinned. "I am going to get my books and find a quiet spot to get some studying done. It shouldn't be too hard to do since there are no real customers in here today. That's something you should think about doing yourself, Meatball Head."

Her face turned red as she fumed. "Ooo! I'll show you studying, Shields! How would you like to study my fist?" She shook a tiny, balled up fist at him.

He thought of several things that he could come back and say to her, but instead he just chuckled and walked away, knowing that it would infuriate her more than if he had given in to the lure of another round of word tennis with her. He grinned as he heard her growl in irritation behind him.

He slipped past Andrew and Mina to enter the staff room where he had stashed his book bag when he got there, not noticing the way that the two stopped talking to stare at him as he walked by. Nor did he hear their laughter a few moments later. He felt like he was in a little bit of a daze as he entered the darkened room and sat on the couch there.

It was amazing the difference a day could make. Yesterday he had been afraid that his and Serena's relationship was over before it had even had a chance to begin, and it still wasn't perfect now, but at least they were talking to each other. It may be all picking and teasing like it used to be, but it was better than nothing.

His grin widened. Serena could try to act normal around him, but he knew that it was just a cover up for how she really felt. She had admitted as much to him during her breakdown at lunch the day before. So he would play along with her for now, but eventually he would wear her down. And the moment he spotted a moment of weakness he would make his move.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he missed the fissure that ran through the air that should have alerted him to the fact that something was wrong. He didn't realize his mistake until screams erupted from the arcade and he felt Serena's fear slam into his gut.

Then the door flew open and Andrew stumbled in. "Dare! Some crazy guy just appeared out of nowhere and started attacking Greg! I've got to call the cops." He reached for the phone that sat on a table and gasped a second later when Darien's hand grabbed his. "What the hell are you doing? That guy is psycho! And in case you've forgotten, Serena and all of the girls are out there. They could get hurt!"

Darien pinned him with a bone-chilling stare. "Don't call the cops. They can't do anything to this guy. They'd be walking into a death trap. But I can do something about it."

Andrew snorted and laughed hysterically. "And just what the hell do you think you can do about it?"

Darien pulled a rose from his blazer pocket and felt energy begin to surge around him. "Don't tell anyone what you are about to see."

* * *

Serena stepped out of the stall in the women's restroom and crossed to the sink to wash her hands. She felt rejuvenated now that she had indulged in one of Andrew's rich and creamy milkshakes. She knew it was getting late and she should head home for dinner, but she had been enjoying herself by hanging out with her friends and she wasn't ready for it to end yet.

Maybe she would just call her mom and tell her that she was studying at the arcade and would just eat here. Perhaps she would actually do some studying as well. She bet Darien would help her if she asked him to go over that Algebra that she was having such a hard time with. After all, that's what friends did, right?

She smiled as she reached for some paper towels to dry her hands. Today had been fun; at least once she had been done with Horrible Haruna. Darien's playful attitude had done wonders for her frame of mind and she was grateful that they were back on friendly terms.

She was even proud of herself; except for a couple of minor slips she had been able to keep any romantic thoughts about the black haired junior from her mind. Now if she could just push Endymion out of her dreams she would be back on track.

The door to the bathroom opened and Mina tripped in, her cheeks flushed from laughing with Andrew. "Hey! What's up?"

Serena giggled. "I think I should be asking you that. You and Andrew looked like the two of you were getting pretty cozy together. Should we be expecting a relationship announcement anytime soon?"

A secretive smile tilted Mina's lips. Of course Serena would assume that she had been flirting with Andrew, and while she had to admit that she had been turning on the charm during their conversation, that hadn't been her sole purpose.

She had discovered that Andrew had a love of romance and a matchmaking streak almost as wide as her own. They had discovered this back before Christmas when they had concocted the scheme to lock Serena and Darien in the bathroom together and they had been conspiring with one another ever since.

Andrew had picked up on the turbulent up and down roller coaster that had been going on between his friends just as easily as she had. And while Mina was aware of the real reason behind their cat and mouse game, she still enjoyed bantering and listening to Andrew's theories.

"I don't know if would say a relationship is on the immediate horizon," she answered her friend. "I think he's still recovering from losing Rita, and I tend to be leery about guys on the rebound. I guess you could say that I'm still feeling out the situation."

"Well don't wait too long or he may get away from you," Serena replied with a smirk. "I think you two would make a great looking couple. And trust me, I've known Andrew my whole life, and you're never going to find a better guy anywhere."

"Except for perhaps Darien," Mina returned slyly.

Serena blushed and looked away, muttering, "Yeah, he's pretty great too. But I can vouch for the fact that Andrew doesn't have the mood swings that Darien does. With Andrew everything is straightforward and usually happy. I almost get whiplash trying to keep up with Darien's moods."

"I guess everybody has their moments," Mina said as she leaned toward the mirror to apply a fresh layer of lip-gloss. "You should hear the way my mom talks about my dad sometimes. She makes it sound like he's bipolar or something. I think it's just a man thing though. You get lucky sometimes and find one that doesn't suffer from mood swings, but after dealing with some of the guys I've had to work with on set I'm convinced that 99% of them suffer from what I call the male birth defect."

Serena was leaning against the wall listening to her friend prattle away when suddenly every hair on her body stood on end and she felt the presence of dark energy.

"No, no, no! Not now!" she pleaded under her breath.

"What did you say?" Mina asked, turning toward her. "Serena! You're as white as a sheet!"

Just then a loud crash came from the arcade and they heard their friends scream.

"What in the world…" Mina exclaimed and ran from the bathroom.

Serena was hot on her heels as they ran down the short hall to the arcade. She grabbed Mina's arm and hauled her back into the hall when they caught sight of the destruction.

Several tables lay overturned and Raye and Lita lay among them, seeming to be unconscious, while a chuckling Zoicite stood in the middle of the room with a struggling Greg in a headlock.

"Stop fighting me boy!" Zoicite demanded. "You've got something I want."

"I know exactly who you are and what you want!" the brown haired Greg choked out. "You're a dark kingdom general and you've come for the crystal I have inside me."

Zoicite grinned. "So you have the gift of sight. I assume you also know that I'm going to take that crystal and that you will become a servant of the Dark Kingdom. Nobody will stop me!" He threw Greg to the floor and flung out a hand that held a dark crystal in it, making the boy yell in pain as dark energy surrounded him.

A flash of blue caught Serena's eye and she saw Amy crawling across the floor to where her bag lay next to an overturned table. She knew her friend was trying to get to her henshin wand and panicked. It Amy turned into Sailor Mercury in front of Zoicite, then Beryl would find out her real identity and it would put her in extreme danger.

Next to her, Mina whimpered, "What do we do?"

Serena dragged her back down the hall to the bathroom again. When they were both inside she turned to her friend with a determined expression. "Mina, I know you have a bad habit of running your mouth, but for once I need you to keep a secret for me. I'll answer your questions later, but right now I have to go save Greg."

She grabbed the brooch in the middle of the bow of her uniform shirt and cried, "Moon Prism Power!"

"Stay here where it's safe," she told Mina once the lights from her transformation faded. She didn't take the time to register that the girl looked more amused than surprised at the fact that her friend has just turned into a super hero in front of her.

She whirled and ran back to the arcade just in time to see a yellow crystal fly from Greg's chest to land on the floor. She dove after it with out a second thought. Her fingers had barely brushed it when she felt arm lock around her neck.

"I don't think so, sailor brat!" Zoicite hissed in her ear as he quickly pocketed the crystal. Then he hauled her up to her feet. She sputtered for breath as the pressure from his arm pressing against her windpipe restricted her breathing.

"You have had an annoying habit of getting in my way for the last twenty four hours," he continued. "And now that I finally have you in my grasp it's time to get rid of you." A dagger manifested itself in his hand and he pressed it to the pale skin of her throat.

Amy had made to her bag and Raye and Lita were both stirring. They sat up and saw their friend in Zoicite's clutches and reached for their henshin rods.

Sailor Moon made a strangled sound and begged them with her eyes to not compromise their safety by revealing their identities. They hesitated and then dropped their hands.

"Let her go, Zoicite!" an angry, barely controlled voice snarled.

Zoicite turned them around and Sailor Moon felt faint with relief when she saw Tuxedo Mask standing on top of the counter. She should have known that Darien would come and rescue her.

"No. I don't think I will," Zoicite replied evenly. "She has gotten in the way of our plans too many times. She is a threat to my mission and needs to be eliminated."

Tuxedo Mask's eyes were as hard as sapphire behind his mask. "I said let her go," he repeated evenly as a steel tipped rose appeared in his hand,

The blade pressed closer to Sailor Moon's neck and she flinched a little as she felt it nick the skin.

"Careful," Zoicite cautioned him. "I'm sure Sailor Moon would rather die by my hand rather than by one of her boyfriend's roses. Do you really want to chance hitting her by taking a shot at me?"

Sailor Moon saw the doubt and indecision that appeared on her masked hero's face and felt like crying. _'Take the shot, Darien! I trust you!' _she sobbed inside.

The hand holding the rose lowered to his side.

Zoicite threw back his head and laughed. "And here I thought you were supposed to be Sailor Moon's fearless protector. You are nothing but an imposter."

Rage bubbled up inside Sailor Moon. How dare this Dark Kingdom lackey talk to Darien like that? If it hadn't been for Tuxedo Mask she would have died long ago. Then she realized that the general's grip on her had loosened some and the dagger was no longer pressing tightly against her skin. If he would just let up a little bit more she should be able to get away from him.

Then what little breath she could draw in froze in her throat as a new voice called out. "Crescent Beam Smash!" and a beam of golden light flew from the darkened hallway and hit Zoicite in the shoulder, knocking him away from her.

Zoicite reeled back with a growl. "This isn't over Sailor Moon! I'll be seeing you again soon!" Then he disappeared through a portal.

Tuxedo Mask leapt from the counter and was at Sailor Moon's side in an instant. "Are you okay?" he asked frantically as he pulled her quivering body against his and buried his face in her hair.

"Serena! It's Greg!" Amy screamed.

Sailor Moon looked up and saw dark energy swirling around the unconscious boy on the floor. When it faded he had been transformed into a hulking youma that was three times his normal size. There was a slightly dinosaurish appearance to his features and he was covered in white metal plating. He also had hands that looked like large scissors.

""Oh crap!" she screeched and pushed away from Tuxedo Mask to rummage around the scattered furniture to find her bag. When she located it she pulled out her wand that was beeping and flashing.

"Why couldn't it have done that earlier before I got up to go to the bathroom?" she grumbled and then turned back to youma/Greg. "Oh man! This isn't going to be easy. We've got to find some way to wear him down first or I won't be able to heal him."

"Leave that to us," Raye said as she and Lita jumped to their feet and called out their transformations.

"Just don't hurt him!" Amy cried before transforming as well.

Mars templed her fingers together before extending them. "Mars Fire Ignite!"

"Jupiter Thunder Crash!" Jupiter combined her attack with Mars's.

Youma/Greg howled as the fire and lightning surrounded him and swiped a bladed hand toward them, making them jump back.

"I'll give us some cover, guys!" Mercury told them. "Mercury Bubbles Blast!"

Fog filled the arcade, but Sailor Moon could still see the large shadow. She pulled her tiara off and charged it quickly. "Moon Tiara Magic!" She flung it at him.

It passed through Jupiter and Mars's energy and attached itself to youma/Greg's head. He immediately began to shrink.

"Thank god," Sailor Moon sighed and then raised her wand. "Moon Healing Activation!"

The healing power washed over the monster, and a few seconds later Greg dropped to the floor. Sailor Mercury hurried to his side.

Sailor Moon dropped to the floor as well, feeling weak after using so much energy. Three battles in less than twenty-four hours and healing two crystal carriers was just too much to ask.

She felt herself being picked up and she wrapped her arms around Tuxedo Mask's neck as she laid her head on his shoulder. She hoped that this didn't give him the wrong idea, but she needed to soak up the comfort for a moment.

"I don't believe this!" Andrew exclaimed as he popped up from behind the counter where he had been hiding. "All of you are…How could you keep this from me?"

Jupiter chuckled. "I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

Sailor Moon's head shot up. "Omigosh! I forgot about Mina! I left her in the bathroom and…wait a minute! Who shot that attack that saved me from Zoicite?"

Mars sighed and shook her head. "You might as well come on out V! I don't think you can hide it anymore."

"Well I had to do something!" Mina's voice complained back. "Zoicite was about to slice Serena up like a filet!"

She stepped out of the shadowy hallway and Sailor Moon let out a squeak of surprise. "Mina! Sailor V is real?"

Mina, dressed in her Sailor V costume, shrugged. "As real as you are, I suppose. I thought for sure you'd heard the stories of Sailor V fighting crime over in London."

Sailor Moon nodded. "I did, but I just assumed that it was somebody that was just a fan that decided to dress up like you."

Sailor V sighed. "No. That was me. The Dark Kingdom was causing trouble there before they came here. A lot of people assumed that it was an impersonator. After all, who would believe that a teenage actress was really moonlighting as a super hero? I was hoping to keep my presence hidden for a while longer though. There was a little mishap while I was living in London and the Dark Kingdom believed that they had killed me. Not long after that I packed Artemis and myself up and moved us back here. I knew it wouldn't be long before Beryl started setting her goon squad loose here and you guys would awaken. So I knew I needed to be close."

Tuxedo Mask speared her with an intense gaze. "And why was the Dark Kingdom in London and going after you in particular?" He was pretty sure he had already figured out the answer to that question days ago, but he wanted to hear the confirmation out loud.

She giggled nervously. "Um…why were they after me? Well, that's actually kind of a funny story. You see, umm…"

She blew her bangs out of her eyes, and for a second Sailor Moon thought she saw something on her friend's forehead; something that looked a lot like a golden crescent moon. An anxious feeling settled into the pit of her stomach.

"I can answer that question," a voice spoke up.

Everyone turned around to see that the doors to the arcade had opened to admit Artemis and Luna.

"That cat just talked," Andrew whispered, his already pale face turning even whiter.

The white feline scampered across the room where he sprang up to land on the blonde's shoulder. He nudged her face with his head and whispered something to her. She nodded in return.

Then he looked at the rest of them and announced in a serious voice. "I present to you the heir to the Silver Millennium and crown princess of the moon kingdom, Princess Serenity."

The silence in the room was so heavy that a pin dropping would have sounded like an atomic explosion.

"Did the rest of you just hear that cat talk, or am I losing my mind?" Andrew squeaked. And then he fell out on the floor in a dead faint.

**A/N **So three Rainbow Crystals have been found. Dark Kingdom-2, Heroes-1. Nephrite bit the dust and Andrew discovered that all of his friends are really super heroes. And if that wasn't enough drama, Sailor V has made the scene posing as Princess Serenity! What is this going to mean for poor Serena and Darien? (Sere-chan rubs her hands together and laughs evilly) I guess we'll just have to wait and see. So coming up, it's time for Serena and Darien to pose for Lani Lanai's painting. That could prove to be entertaining. And if I don't get too long winded Rita will make her appearance as well. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. The clock is ticking toward the revelation of the Silver Crystal and the true identity of the moon princess. Don't be shy. Send me those reviews and tell me what you think. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	16. Defying Fate

**A/N **Yay! Update time again! I wasn't sure how soon I would be able to get this up; I've been down with a pretty nasty cold for about the past week. But thanks to the power of vitamin C, decongestants, and Tylenol, I'm still functioning. The only side effect is that my brain is still a little fuzzy. So if I've made any glaring editing errors I humbly beg your forgiveness. Well, putting my half brain deadness aside, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter. I know some of you have been a little down on Mina the last couple of chapters, but I'm hoping that you'll see her in a different light after this. The last thing I want to do is portray her as a home wrecker. Venus has always been my favorite scout after Sailor Moon. Maybe it's because I'm blonde too…hmmmm. Forgive me; it's the drugs talking. Now to give out my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**MeganLeBlanc**

**JuliaGulia17**

**afallenblackrose**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Seredhiel05**

**GoldenDragon326**

**sabina21**

**Shinobi of life**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**Chibi Kitt**

**gots2luv**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**Lilcala**

**YingYing**

**jade2nightwing**

**sabanmoon**

**anime-lover10**

**saveme57**

**Fedski**

**rainbabie**

**samsox**

**SlackerDee**

**KatanaPrincess**

**BreeCheese**

Tons of hugs to you guys. Don't worry; I don't think my germs are able to pass through my computer. Now I'm going to let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 16

Defying Fate

* * *

_"I present to you the heir to the Silver Millennium and crown princess of the moon kingdom, Princess Serenity." _Artemis's words hung heavy in the arcade.

Sailor V pressed a hand to the round compact that was in the center of the bow on the front of her fuku and transformed back into her civilian form.

Sailor Moon, still being held bridal style in Tuxedo Mask's arms, stared at the blonde girl that was her friend in a mixture of shock, disbelief, and awe. Words usually had no trouble spilling out of her mouth, but for one of the few times in her life she found herself absolutely speechless.

What she really felt like doing was smacking herself on the forehead and calling herself every kind of idiot she could think of. The facts were so glaringly obvious to her now that she thought about it. She should have seen it before. She had known that the princess was blonde. And while blonde headed people in Japan wasn't completely unheard of, she was proof enough of that, it wasn't very common. Each one of her friends, except for Mina, had turned out to be a Sailor Scout, but she had remained a central figure in their band of friends. Not to mention that her cat talked just like Luna. The truth had been staring her in the face the entire time, but she had been too blind to see it.

Tuxedo Mask was staring at the newly proclaimed princess as well, a dozen different thoughts running through his head at once. A small part of him was cheering, proud of himself because he had been right. He had been scared for a while that he was going crazy. But his sharp brain had come through for him yet again and he had correctly unraveled this mystery.

Another, deeper part of him was relieved. The relief he felt wasn't because Serenity had finally been found, it was because as he stared at Mina he felt nothing for her other than the friendship he had always felt for her. It was the same way he felt about Raye, Lita, and Amy. Deep inside he had been scared that once the moon princess's identity had been revealed that he would feel love for her. After all, the way the Serenity in his dreams had been talking lately she had made it sound like they were a hot item at one time.

But any feelings that even closely related to love were still centered on the other blonde he held in his arms: the blonde who was now struggling to get down.

"Drew!" her voice finally penetrated his brain. "Darien, put me down! It's Drew!"

His head jerked up. "What?" He'd heard a thump a few seconds before but hadn't paid it any mind. Now he looked and saw that his best friend was passed out on the linoleum floor.

"I said put me down!" Sailor Moon insisted as she slammed a hand into his sternum.

He wheezed and doubled over, regretting the fact that he had ever shown her that move, but managed to set her on her feet.

She flew across the room, detransforming along the way, as she hurried to her lifelong friend. She fell to her knees beside him and pulled his head into her lap. "Drew! Come on sweetie, wake up! I so don't want to have to call your parents and tell them that you're out cold!"

Mina had hightailed it over right behind her and was alternating between fanning him with a handful of napkins that she had grabbed and tapping his cheeks. "Oh crap! What do we do, Serena?"

"Do I look like I know?" Serena fired back at her testily. For the moment she forgot everything that she had had just learned in the past two minutes. Right now they weren't Princess Serenity and the head of her scouts or even Sailor V and Sailor Moon. They were just Mina and Serena, two friends that were deeply concerned about a mutual friend.

Tuxedo Mask looked back and forth between the two girls before he sighed and let his transformation fade. "I think both of you should back up just a bit so he can breathe."

Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury had detransformed as well. "Darien's right," Raye scolded them. "Poor Andrew is going to end up suffocating if you two airheads keep crowding him so closely."

Serena stuck her tongue out at her. "At least I'm attempting to do something. I don't exactly see you trying to help, Pyro!"

Lita leaned up against the counter and smirked. "There's not really anything we can do. He just passed out. He didn't hit his head or anything. He'll wake up on his own in a minute."

"Are you sure?" Mina demanded from where she was still waving the napkins in front of Andrew's slack face. "Amy, did you scan him? For all we know he had a heart attack or something."

Amy clicked her Mercury computer closed. "Yes, I scanned him. It's just a simple fainting spell. It looks like he may have held his breath too long and blacked out."

"He does that when he gets nervous," Serena and Darien said at the same time. He rolled his eyes at her and she wrinkled her nose up. She looked like she was about to say something, but at that moment Andrew let out a groan as his eyes blinked open.

"Oh, thank goodness," Mina sighed as she quit waving her fistful of napkins.

Andrew looked back and forth between the two girls hovering over him and a goofy grin appeared on his face. "Whoa! Is this like a reverse of Sleeping Beauty or something? Isn't it usually the prince that wakes up the sleeping princess? Instead I wake up to find two beautiful princesses hovering over me. I'm ready for my kisses now." He puckered up dramatically.

Serena gritted her teeth as her face flushed bright red with anger. "You moronic, brain dead idiot! You scared the crap out of me," she screeched as she slapped harmlessly at him.

"Ow! OW!" Andrew cried anyway as he scrambled away from the rampaging blonde, which put him practically in Mina's lap, making the other blonde look like she was about to swoon in delight. "What's your damage, Sere? You're acting like you're the victim here when I'm the one that had the crap shocked out of me!"

Serena was red in the face now as she fumed. "I always knew you cracked your head harder than the doctors said when you fell out of that tree when you were ten! If I could put my hands on something hard enough right now I'd split your head open again in hopes of knocking some sense back into you!"

Andrew cringed away from her, which pressed him even closer to Mina, who patted his head and crooned, "Poor baby! Don't worry. I'll protect you from big, bad Serena."

"Don't encourage him, Mina!" Serena shrieked. "He's already enough of a drama queen without you egging him on!"

The words had barely left her mouth when it suddenly occurred to her who she was snapping at. Mina had just revealed herself to be Serenity, the princess that she was supposed to serve. She clamped her mouth shut and bit back the rest of her tirade.

"Here, man," Darien said, offering a hand to Andrew and helping him up.

Mina was on her feet in a flash to stand next to Andrew. She appeared to be ready to grab him if he showed the slightest sign of falling out again.

Then Darien turned to Serena to hold his hand out to her. She eyed it warily for a moment before taking it. She ignored the electrical jolt that shot through her as their skin touched and mumbled, "Thanks."

Then her cell phone began ringing in her pocket and she groaned, "Now what?" as she fished it out and answered it. "Hello."

"Serena Usagi Tsukino!" her mother's voice screeched over the line loud enough to make her jerk the phone away from her ear and everybody else in the room cringe and slap their hands over their ears. "Do you have any idea what time it is, young lady?"

"Umm…" Serena hummed and spun to check the clock on the wall. Her heart sank. "Uh, 5:55."

"Exactly!" Ilene snapped. "You were supposed to be home ten minutes ago, missy. Now I've been lenient with you lately and letting you run around with your friends, but I will not tolerate you not coming home when I ask you to. Your father will be home soon and he expects the family to be here for dinner so you better get your butt in gear, and I mean double quick time!"

Andrew, who had of course heard the whole thing thanks to Ilene's loud ranting, held out his hand for the phone, and Serena gratefully handed it over. Andrew always had a calming effect on her mother.

"Hey, Aunt Ilene," he said smoothly, adopting his perfect angel voice. "I'm sorry Serena is running late. It's my fault. I was helping her go over her Algebra and time got away from us."

Ilene's voice was quiet now where nobody could hear, but Andrew muttered a few "Uh huhs" and "Okays" before closing the phone and handing it back to Serena.

She took it and gushed gratefully. "Thank you, Drew! I take back everything I said earlier about you. You are a lifesaver!"

He cringed a little at her words. "Don't be too thankful yet. I only got you out of trouble for being late. Your mom wants you home in the next ten minutes or she says that you're grounded until summer."

"What!" Serena squealed. "Grounded until summer! What in the world did I do? So I'm running a few minutes late! It's not the apocalypse!"

Andrew rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Actually, she said something about Miss Haruna calling her and that you and her were going to have a long talk."

"Oh, perfect!" Serena moaned and dashed to find her bag in the mess of overturned tables and chairs. She found it and her coat and wrestled them out from under the wreckage.

As she struggled into the coat she turned to Mina with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I know we really need to talk. But if I don't get home…"

Mina waved her off. "No, it's cool. I understand completely. Now get going before your mom makes good on her promise. The last thing we need is you on house arrest. Darien, why don't you walk her home and make sure she gets there okay. The other girls and I will stay here and help Andrew straighten up so his parents won't have a heart attack."

The black haired junior looked surprised and a little confused by the request, but he wasted no time sliding his own coat on and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Yeah, sure. I'll call you later, Drew."

"You better call me! I have questions for you, buddy!" Andrew called after him.

Darien took Serena's book bag in one hand and her arm in the other and steered her toward the door. "Come on, Meatball Head. Let's go."

Serena walked robotically at his side until they had left the arcade and reached the end of the block. Then she pulled her arm gently from his grasp. "Thanks for the offer, Darien, but I can walk myself home."

He shook his head and took her arm again. "I said that I would see you home, and that's what I'm going to do."

The stress of the last twenty minutes or so caught up to her and made her snappy. "Are you doing this because you want to, or are you doing it because your _princess_ asked you to, _your highness_?"

The moment the words shot out of her mouth she wished that she could call them back. And the brief flicker of pain she saw in Darien's eyes only made her feel that much worse. She laid her free hand on his that was around her arm. "Darien, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

He shrugged. "I know you didn't. I guess we're all a little stressed out right now. But, Serena, none of this makes any difference. I don't care if Mina is the princess, we're still friends, right?"

She gave him a relieved smile. "Of course. Now if you insist on walking me home we better get moving. The clock is ticking and I have a feeling my night is going to be hard enough to get through without showing up late after my mother's phone call."

He kept a firm hold on her arm and guided her around the slick, icy patches that he could still see scattered on the sidewalk until they reached the corner by her house. There she took her bag from him and with a murmured, "Thank you," scurried away.

"Hey, Serena!" he called after her.

She spun around to face him. "Yeah?"

"Umm…" he began uncertainly. "Don't freak out if you sense me transform, okay. I may go out and do a little patrolling."

She tried to smile, but it was forced looking and shaky. She knew what he would be looking for and decided that it would just be easier to tell him. "Go one block past the arcade and turn left. Then go up four streets and make another left. Her house is the big brick one on the right, number 23. You can't miss it."

He took a step toward her. "Sere…"

She shook her head. "I've gotta go. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Then she practically ran from him.

He stood there for a few minutes, looking after her. Had those been tears that he had seen in her eyes before she turned away?

He shoved thoughts of Serena aside for now. He was going to fix things with her. He promised himself this. But first he needed to have a little chat with Mina and find out what her game was. Her past self seemed to cling to him while her present self was pushing him toward Serena. He was confused and he wanted answers.

He backtracked to the arcade and peeked in the window. The girls must have worked fast. Everything was back in order and the place was empty except for Andrew at the counter, bent over his Chemistry book. He knew he needed to talk to his best friend, but he would wait until later after he'd straightened things out with Mina.

He hurried past the arcade quickly so Andrew wouldn't see him and followed the directions that Serena had given him. Just a few minutes later he was knocking on an unfamiliar door.

"Coming!" a voice he recognized as Mina's called out in return, and a few seconds later the door swung open to reveal the blonde girl. She had changed from her uniform into a pair of black fleece pants that were speckled with tiny gold hearts and an orange long sleeved t-shirt. Her signature red ribbon was missing from her hair and the golden locks were pulled back into a ponytail held by an orange scrunchie.

She scrutinized her unexpected visitor for a moment before sighing. "If I'd known I was going to have company I would have put on something a little more decent. But in all honesty I can't say that I'm surprised to see you here."

"We need to talk," Darien said softly.

"I suppose we do," she agreed and opened the door wider. "You may as well come on in. There's no sense in you standing out in the cold."

* * *

Zoicite appeared in Beryl's throne room. "My queen, I have procured the next Rainbow Crystal for you, just as you commanded."

"Very good, Zoicite," Beryl praised haughtily, and then sneered, "What happened to your uniform? Have I not stressed my desire for my subjects to be properly attired enough times for you?"

Zoicite looked down and realized that the damage that he had sustained from his mysterious attacker was more extensive than he had originally thought. The entire left side was blackened from the blast and there was a hole shot completely through the sleeve. And now that he had taken a moment to stand still he could feel the pain of the wound inflicted on him by the attack.

"I apologize for my untidiness, your majesty," he said with his head bowed. "I was in such a hurry to bring the Rainbow Crystal to you that I didn't stop to think of my appearance."

Beryl wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I will let it slide this time, Zoicite, since you come bearing a gift." She held her long nailed hand out for the crystal and waited for him to place it in her palm. Then she said, "You may go for now, but I expect a detailed report later after you've had a chance to repair the mess you've made of yourself. Await my summons."

"Yes, my queen," he replied as he bowed. He watched with greedy eyes as Beryl set the yellow crystal on a velvet pillow next to the red one that he had recovered previously before leaving the chamber and heading toward the general's quarters.

'Vain, spiteful old bitch!' he thought venomously as he stalked down the corridors, sending youma scattering from his path as they saw the dark glower on his face. He stormed into the general's common room, sending the door slamming back against the stone wall.

Kunzite jumped up from where he had been sitting in a chair. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing's wrong," Zoicite grumbled. "I just left the company of her royal bitch-ness."

"Shh…" Kunzite shushed him and scrambled to close the door so that no youma could overhear them and carry the news of what they were saying back to Beryl. "Did you get the crystal?" he asked.

"Yeah, I got it," Zoicite told him. "And Beryl was waiting for it with her hand out just like a spoiled rotten little child."

"Looks like you paid the price for it," Kunzite observed as he took in Zoicite's less than impeccable appearance.

Zoicite waved a hand. "This is nothing. I lost my focus for a minute, that's all. Sailor Moon and that pansy, flower throwing fruitcake showed up. I got the drop on Miss Moon and was about to kill her, but one of the other scouts was hidden nearby and took a shot at me. I wasn't prepared for it."

Kunzite eyed the attacks effects carefully. "Which scout was it?"

Zoicite shrugged. "I didn't stick around to find out. I don't think it was Mars or Mercury. It was probably Jupiter. It sure stings like an electrical wound. I'm going to go clean up. Beryl wants a full report whenever she finds time to stop gloating to herself and grace me with a few precious minutes." He disappeared into his bedchamber.

Kunzite sank back into his seat, mulling over what he had just seen. The damage done to Zoicite definitely hadn't been water or fire based, so that effectively eliminated the possibility of it being Mercury or Mars. Nor, to his eyes, did it appear to be the product of an attack caused by Sailor Jupiter.

To him it looked like Zoicite had been attacked by a blast of pure energy. Sailor Moon was definitely capable of that, but Zoicite claimed that he'd had the moon scout in his clutches at the time of the attack, so that left just one other; and he was pretty sure it was her. After all, he had suffered wounds similar to Zoicite's at her hands a thousand years before.

But it was strange that he hadn't felt her aura flare. If the fair Minako DeLune, aka Mina Aino, had finally decided to reveal herself, then he should have felt her Venusian presence. But he had sensed nothing.

"What are you up to, Venus?" he murmured to himself. It was evident to him that the only way that she could have attacked Zoicite while keeping her true presence hidden would be if she had once again adopted the identity of that sham sailor scout that she had been using when he had located her in London. That also had to mean that she was continuing her guise of posing as Serenity as well.

He was unsure what to make of this. Did her standing in place of her princess mean that she and the other scouts still have no idea where the moon princess was, or was it all a cover up to keep dear little Serenity's identity safe because she was close?

And he was still trying to figure out this Sailor Moon. Unlike Beryl and the other generals, he had been fortunate enough to retain quite a bit more memories of the Silver Millennium than they had, thanks to the fact that General Kunzite had possessed a well-organized mind. This was something that he had shared with no one, not even Zoicite. Faces and events were still a muddled mess in his brain, but he did recall an ancient legend that claimed that there was indeed a scout of the moon and that her existence and identity were a closely guarded secret known only to the moon queen herself. The lunarians were always so secretive about their business that it had been easy for people to believe that there was a mysterious scout hidden away somewhere.

He had always written off the rumors that this was true, but with the emergence of this Sailor Moon he had to reevaluate his thinking. Perhaps there had been some truth to the legend after all. There were only supposed to be four sailor scouts in the service of Princess Serenity; Venus, the leader, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter. Yet it seemed that Sailor Moon was running the show now instead of Venus. Whoever Sailor Moon had been in the past, Queen Serenity must have sent her to be reincarnated with the others to protect her daughter and reclaim the Silver Crystal. She was an unknown entity to them, and the unknown could be dangerous.

It was a shame that Venus had decided to interfere tonight. Zoicite might have possibly managed to kill the moon brat if she had kept her pesky little nose out of it. He didn't know why, but he sensed that Sailor Moon could possibly be the biggest threat to his and Zoicite's operation.

And that meant that they needed to get rid of her.

* * *

"I've got coke and iced tea," Mina said as she opened the refrigerator to pull out the milk. "I was about to make cocoa just before you knocked if you'd rather have something warm to drink."

Darien sat on a stool at the center island of Mina's kitchen. "Uh, yeah, sure. Cocoa sounds great. It's still quite cold outside." He looked around the massive room. He'd always thought that his spacious, upscale apartment had a large kitchen, but this room was easily five times the size of his kitchen at home. It had granite countertops and was full of restaurant quality appliances.

"Wow!" he couldn't help but murmur. "You live here by yourself?"

She laughed as she rummaged around in a cabinet for a pan and set it on the stove. "Yeah. Most of the time it's just Artemis and me. Dad's been traveling around a lot with his job since he took a new position a few years ago. Mom stayed with me in London while I was working on the Sailor V movies, but once I decided that I wanted to quit acting and try my hand at going to school like other kids my age I encouraged her to go be with dad. I knew she'd be bored sitting around here all the time, and honestly I'd rather them not be around right now. I knew things would start getting intense once I moved back here and it would be hard trying to hide things from them. Just look at the trouble Serena's having trying to live a double life."

The mention of Serena's name brought Darien back to the reason why he was there. "How long has you known about all of this?"

She pulled a couple of mugs from a cabinet. "Since I was thirteen. I had just finished my first movie when Artemis found me and explained everything. At first I thought that the stress had gotten to me or that it was a trick by one of my co-stars. But after I transformed the first time I became a believer." What she didn't add was that her first transformation had triggered several memories of her past life and how she had been Sailor Venus.

Of course that had to be Darien's next question. "So do you remember your past life?"

"Somewhat," she hedged. "I definitely don't remember everything and some things are very vague. But I do have some memories." She wasn't lying. She did remember some of her past life, just not the life he was thinking.

Darien flushed and muttered, "So do you remember…" His voice trailed off.

"Ahh," Mina sighed knowingly as she added cocoa, and sugar to the milk heating in the pan on the stove. "I was wondering how quickly we would get to this subject. You want to know if I remember the relationship between Serenity and Endymion."

Darien nodded but remained silent.

"Yes. I remember," she said quietly as she stirred the cocoa. "It was a beautiful love. One that I sincerely believe would have healed the centuries old rift between the Earth and the other planets and united the entire solar system together as one united force if Beryl hadn't interfered."

"What happened?" he asked intently. "What did that witch do to destroy everything?"

Mina shook her head as she divided the now steaming mixture between the two mugs. "Darien, as much as I would like to tell you everything, I believe that it's for the best that you remember on your own." She set one mug in front of him and took a seat across the island from him.

"Then how come you, Amy, Raye, and Lita can remember some of the past while Serena and I are kept in the dark?" he demanded.

"I'm not sure," she answered truthfully. "The magic of the Silver Crystal is a powerful, mystical thing, and that's what Queen Serenity used to send all of us to be reincarnated in this time. It chose for some reason to lock your and Serena's memories up tighter than the rest of us. But I am certain once we find all of the Rainbow Crystals and restore the Silver Crystal that the two of you will remember as well. From what I understand you may have already begun to recover some of your memories from the past."

Darien snorted. "I don't know what I've been seeing. All I know is that I've got a slightly psychotic version of Serenity hanging around inside my head who's been giving me dreams and showing me things. Honestly, I don't know whether any of it is true at all."

Mina took a sip of her drink. "Oh, if Serenity is showing it to you, then it's a safe bet that it's true. She's not one for exaggerating the important things."

He arched a brow at her. "You speak of her as if she's a different person instead of you."

She met his gaze squarely. "That's because she's not me. Princess Serenity existed a thousand years ago. Now I am simply Mina Aino; a high school sophomore and former actress that just happens to have a few superpowers. Have you let the fact that you were once Prince Endymion start controlling your life?"

"No," Darien replied. "I could care less who I used to be. It's who I am now that's important. I just wish your past self would stop ranting and raving at me every night. It makes it hard to sleep."

Mina winced sympathetically. "Sorry about that, but I'm afraid I have no control over what she does."

"Well she's driving me crazy!" he growled into his cup. "It's like she's obsessed with the idea of us being together again. And no offense, Mina, I just don't like you that way."

She grinned at him. Well don't take this the wrong way, stud, but you don't exactly rock my world either. I've known that you were interested in Serena since the first day we met. Why else do you think that I've been trying so hard to get you two together?"

He chuckled. "You're sure nothing like your past self. She keeps going on and on about how we are soul mates and how we are meant to be."

"Ah! The soul mate thing," Mina mused. "I wouldn't worry about that too much. If you still have any questions about that once you get your memories back we'll talk about it then. But I've got a feeling that everything will be clear to you after that. And I've got a feeling that Serenity will be laying off now that things are starting to come together."

Darien sat back and appraised her for a moment. "You know, I was worried about coming over here tonight. After finding out that you are Serenity's reincarnation I was afraid that there would be some tensions that might make our mission difficult, but I think we'll be able to work together fine." He raised his drink to her.

She clinked her cup against his. "You just concentrate on keeping my best friend safe. If anything happens to Serena I'll have your ass in a sling."

* * *

Serena glared at the clock on her bedside table, 11:30 PM. She'd heard her parents come up to bed over an hour ago and then the sound of the late night news that they always watched before going to sleep. Now she could hear her father's muffled, rumbling snores and she felt envious.

She wished that she could go to sleep and escape the world for a few hours, but she had to finish this Algebra homework or she probably wouldn't see the light of day again before she was fifty. Besides, even if she fell asleep Endymion would more than likely be waiting to ambush her anyway. So it was probably better that she stayed awake. What she wouldn't give to have that damn man out of her dreams! That annoying, stuck up, jerkface, deliciously tempting, incredibly sexy…

"Whoa! Down girl!" she chastised herself as her thoughts took a highly dangerous turn and she realized that the Endymion of her dreams was starting to superimpose himself over a vision of Darien in her mind. If Darien possessed just a fraction of the skill and charm of his past incarnation…

"I said stop it!" she hissed to herself as she felt herself flush at her thoughts. She felt a surge of annoyance as well. She had been doing a good job of keeping Darien firmly out of her mind tonight, but since she had felt him transform a short while before he had invaded her brain and not given her a moment's peace yet. She had almost called him to make sure that everything was okay, but she had stopped herself before her finger could press the button on her phone. If something were wrong he would call her.

Or would he? Argh! She hated all these doubts swirling around inside her head. He had his princess now. She had made sure of that fact when she had impulsively told him how to find Mina's house earlier. He claimed that finding out that Mina was Serenity changed nothing between them, but was that true? Now that the moon princess had been found he could coordinate things with her instead of dealing with Sailor Moon.

Serena threw herself back dejectedly on the bed. Now she knew how pawns would feel like in a game of chess if they were real, living beings. Before she had felt like she had been a part of something big, now she felt like she was nothing more than just another person standing between the princess and the Dark Kingdom. She had started to feel confident in herself and her abilities thanks to Tuxedo Mask's encouragement and training, but not anymore. She felt weak and vulnerable knowing that all of the time and attention that her masked hero had once lavished on her would probably be transferred another now.

Even though she now knew Serenity's true identity, the princess in her head remained faceless when she thought of her, and she was grateful for that. Mina was one of her closest and dearest friends and the last thing she wanted was to feel any animosity toward her. Besides, she was pretty sure that Mina hadn't asked to be a reincarnated princess and Darien's former fiancée from a past life. It wasn't her fault that fate had dealt her this particular hand.

_'Come on, Serena. You knew that you couldn't keep Darien all to yourself,'_ her inner voice scolded. _'I kept telling you to not get so close to him, but you did it anyway and now it will be even harder to let him go.'_

"I know. I know!" Serena groaned as she pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, trying to banish Darien's face from her thoughts. She had to get over this fixation she had with Darien Shields. He belonged with Mina and she knew it. Somehow she had to find the strength to be able to face them with a smile and be happy for them.

Of course, she wouldn't be seeing either one of them very much if she didn't get this homework done. She sat back up and pulled her book and paper toward her to frown down at the stubborn equations that refused to make any sense to her no matter how much she looked at them.

A scratching sound came from her window and she got up to wander over to it with her book still in her hand. She shoved the glass open without looking up. "Hey, Luna. I thought you were staying with Artemis tonight. Did you change your mind?"

She gasped as a blast of cold air hit her as her window was pulled wide open and one black clad leg, and then another, slid into her room. Tuxedo Mask grinned goofily at her before turning and closing the window.

"Shields! What do you think you're doing here?" she demanded in a furious whisper. "If my father catches you here you are way beyond dead."

He said nothing; he just merely let his transformation fade. He was still in his uniform slacks and white button down, but the shirt was untucked with the top two buttons undone and his regulation tie hung loosely around his neck.

Then he did the unexpected; he pulled her into an overwhelming bear hug. "I missed you," he murmured, his voice muffled against the top of her head.

It took a minute for Serena to find her voice. "Okay! Wait a minute! Did I miss something here? Have you been drinking?"

He chuckled. "No, though Drew did offer. Numa left a bottle of rum stashed behind the counter of the arcade from New Year's Eve and Drew considered getting into it while we were talking. Anyway, can't I be happy to see my good friend, Serena."

"Uh, yeah, sure," she muttered as she carefully untangled herself from his arms, trying to ignore the warm, giddy feeling that being held by him gave her. "That still doesn't explain why you're crawling through my window at almost midnight. Are you sure you didn't fall and hit your head or something?"

"I'm perfectly fine," he declared. "I'm just in a good mood. I was worried about what happened with your mom earlier and thought I'd stop by to make sure you haven't been grounded until the end of time."

"Not yet, but I probably will be by this time tomorrow," she groaned as she fought down the green eyed jealousy monster that was rearing its ugly head inside her at the thought of what, or should she say who, had put him in such a good mood.

_'It's not Mina's fault. It's not Mina's fault,'_ she repeated the mantra over and over to herself as she gestured to the book that was still clenched in her hand. "If I don't complete this assignment and receive a passing mark on it tomorrow my mom has sworn that I will only be allowed to leave the house for school until summer. But this crap doesn't make any sense to me."

"Let me see it," Darien said as he took the book and opened it to the page that she had marked with her finger. He grinned as he scanned the familiar equations. "Come here," he replied, walking over to her bed and sitting on the side of it as he picked up a clean sheet of paper and her pencil. "Let me show you a little trick I learned that makes solving these a cinch."

She hesitated for a moment before she climbed onto the bed behind him to look over his shoulder. This was a pretty intimate setting and her imagination was chomping at the bit to go wild, but at the same time she really wanted his advice on this homework so she wouldn't flunk. If she had to spend the next four months confined to this house without being able to hang out with her friends she would go loony toons. So she focused her attention on what he was showing her.

A few minutes later she had caught the gist of what he had explained to her and had set back to work on her assignment with renewed fervor. Darien stretched out across the foot of her bed and watched her for a few minutes.

Finally the silence got to him and he broke it. "Aren't you going to ask me what Mina and I talked about? I know you know I went to see her."

Serena didn't glance up from her paper. "No. It's none of my business what you two had to say to each other."

He grabbed her socked foot and shook it. "Oh, come on! Aren't you just the least bit curious? I figured you would have started bombarding me with questions the moment I got here. What gives?"

She shot him an irritated glare. "Look, Darien. I don't get involved in the personal lives of my friends unless they ask me to; especially in a case like this where both parties involved happen to be close friends. I'm happy for both of you, and I'm sure the school will be rocking on its foundation when you two go public."

He looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

She blew out an exasperated breath. "Geez, Darien! You're supposed to be smart! Do you honestly think that the school's resident golden boy and its most famous student could start dating each other and it wouldn't cause a stir? The rumors will be flying by lunchtime tomorrow."

He leaned back on his elbows with a smug look on his face. "In order for rumors to fly I would have to be dating Mina, which I'm not."

Serena just stared at him blankly for a moment before understanding lit up her face. "Oh, I get it! You two want to keep everything quiet until this Dark Kingdom mess is over with. That's a good idea. It's definitely safer for Mina that way."

"Serena…" he tried to interrupt her.

"After all," she continued like he'd said nothing. "We need to keep her identity a secret until we get the Silver Crystal."

"Serena…" he tried again.

She ignored him. "Come to think of it, I'm a little peeved that she took such a huge risk at the arcade tonight to save me from Zoicite. It was a reckless thing to…"

"Serena! Would you please listen to me for just a second?" Darien finally demanded in a slightly louder tone.

"Shh!" she shushed him frantically. "Are you trying to get me locked in the basement until I'm ninety? Because that's what's going to happen if my parents catch you here."

"I'm sorry," he apologized in a much softer voice. "But I had to stop your rambling. Now listen to me very carefully. Mina and I are not now, nor do we have any future plans to become a couple."

Serena's mouth fell open in shock. "But…but…you…and her…you're supposed to be together."

He lay back with his hands behind his head. "In another lifetime maybe. But we had a nice little chat about that and we both admitted that we don't like each other that way and decided to just be friends."

"But fate…" Serena whispered.

Darien grinned cockily. "I told you before, I make my own fate. I am the one in charge of my life and I make my own decisions. With that being said, I was wondering if maybe you…"

"Stop it right there!" Serena whisper shrieked. "Don't even finish those words! Right now you say you're not interested in Mina, but that may change once you get your memories back."

He frowned. "Serena, that's not going to change. Mina and I will never be anything more than friends."

"But it could change," she insisted. "You may know who she is, but once you can really remember her and what you once had together your feelings for her may change. And I am not going to get sucked into that little soap opera."

He propped his head up on a hand to look at her. "Hey, you're the one that said that there was an attraction between us. So why shouldn't we see where it leads?"

She snorted. "And what happens if by some chance you do realize that you're in love with her when you get your memories back? I guess I would just be the jilted girlfriend that gets tossed over to the side like garbage."

A sound like a growl rumbled in his chest. "I know I've been accused of being a bastard before, but I thought you knew me better than that."

Serena held up her hands in surrender. "Okay! Okay! Don't be so touchy!" Then she stared at him appraisingly. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I propose a deal between us."

He eyed her warily. "What kind of a deal?"

"Now hear me out," she chided him gently. "I propose that we remain only friends for now." She pointed a silencing finger at him to stop his protest. "We still have a lot of work to do and really don't need personal issues getting in the way anyway. Everyone else keeps saying that we'll get at least part of our memories back when we get the Silver Crystal. If we still feel the same way about each other after that, then we'll see about the possibility of us maybe going out. Okay?"

Darien looked like he was going to argue with her for a second, but then his face melted into a smile. "You've got yourself a deal, Meatball Head. Now, as your friend I would suggest you getting the rest of that homework done so that you don't get grounded until you're old and gray."

She rolled her eyes at his flippant use of her old nickname, but in reality it never bothered her when he called her that anymore, and she settled in to tackle the rest of the dreaded Algebra.

* * *

Serena had learned this feeling well; knowing that you're asleep and dreaming but not in control of your actions or what you say. Tonight was no different as she glided around the dance floor in Endymion's arms.

At least this dream was one that she could handle. She'd had it so many times now that she'd lost count. It had become predictable. They would dance for a while. He would whisper words of love and a few suggestive things in her ear. Then there would be a loud explosion to signal that the dream was about to turn into a nightmare and she would wake herself up. At least it was better than having to deal with the dreams of Endymion making love to her; not that she'd ever let any of the dreams get that far. But it was always difficult, if not impossible, to go back to sleep after that.

So her mental self relaxed as her dream self floated around in the prince's arms. Soon enough the explosion came and she sent out the mental jolt to jerk herself awake like always, but this time nothing happened. Instead of waking up in her bed, she found herself stuck in what was fast becoming a horrible dream.

She paid little attention to the glass shattering and walls crumbling around her as she concentrated with all of her might on waking herself up. She was vaguely aware of Endymion dragging her to a door and kissing her before shoving her through it and ordering her to run.

And her dream self ran; up stairways and down corridors that looked slightly familiar to her, but she wasn't really paying attention. All she wanted was to wake up.

It wasn't until she found herself standing on the balcony that she hadn't dreamed of in weeks that she really began to panic. She knew what she would see if she stayed here. She would see Endymion die at the hands of Beryl.

She redoubled her efforts to wake herself up as she heard the low, hissing laughter and turned to face the red headed witch. 'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!' she screeched internally, drowning out whatever Beryl was saying.

Then she found herself trapped against the balcony railing and Beryl was diving toward her with a sword in her outstretched hand. She screwed her eyes up and waited for what she knew was coming next.

She heard a muted thud and a grunt of pain, and she opened her eyes to look up into Endymion's rapidly fading, deep blue gaze.

"Endy," she whispered and raised trembling fingers to his cheek.

"Sere," he gasped out with his last breath as his eyes rolled back in his head. There was a sickening shlurp sound as Beryl pulled the sword from his back, and he fell away from her to land on the floor of the balcony. His blood immediately began forming a pool around him.

_"ENDYMION!" _she screamed, falling to her knees. Then she glared up at Beryl with tear-blurred eyes. "You evil witch! You killed him!"

"No!" Beryl hissed. "He wasn't supposed to die. You were the one I wanted dead so that I could have him all to myself. But instead he sacrificed himself for you, a pitiful little moon twit." She took a step toward Endymion's body.

"You stay away from him!" Serena growled as she crawled through the blood to her love's side and pulled his head into her lap. Her tears fell from her eyes to land on his still, lifeless face.

"Please, Endy, don't be dead. You can't be dead," she begged in a broken whisper as she leaned over to press kisses to his face. "Please, my love, open your eyes. You promised that we would be together forever. You can't leave me now."

"It's no use, you brat! He's dead!" Beryl spat. "That puts a bit of a kink in my plans, but I guess I'll have to work around it. Even the power of the Silver Crystal wouldn't be able to save him now. What he ever saw in you I'll never know. But it's of no consequence. It's time for you to die."

Serena's hand brushed something cold and hard and she looked down to see Endymion's sword lying beside them. She wrapped her fingers around the steel hilt and lifted it.

Beryl cackled. "You don't honestly think to challenge me, do you?"

Serena shook her head. "No, Beryl. I know I don't stand a chance against you right now. But if I have to die, it will be on my terms." She pressed one last kiss to Endymion's lips and whispered, "Wait for me, my love. I'll be with you soon." Then she turned the sword so that it pointed at her chest, right above her heart.

"You don't have the guts," Beryl sneered.

"Just watch me!" Serena said coldly. Then with a last cry of, "Endymion!" she plunged the blade into her chest.

* * *

Darien jerked awake as something hit him hard in his side. Instantly on guard and alert for danger, he sat up and looked around with a small touch of disorientation as he tried to figure out where he was. One thing was for sure; he wasn't in his bedroom.

He saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and his hand automatically shot up to grab the object that was flying at him. Imagine his surprise when he found that it was a foot; a tiny, dainty foot covered with a fuzzy pink sock that was attached to a kicking leg.

As he looked up to see Serena thrashing in her bed, he realized what had happened. He had been watching Serena do her homework and had wanted to stay nearby in case she had any more trouble. Evidently he must have dozed off at some point.

It seemed that Serena had as well since she currently looked like she was in the grip of a pretty severe nightmare. He let go of her foot and immediately had to dodge as it kicked again.

He slid off the bed and made his way to the head. Her hands were clenched tightly in the sheets while her head tossed from side to side. Tears poured like nonstop rivers from under her eyelids. There was a terrible sound vibrating in her throat like she was screaming but was fighting to hold it back. A few garbled words were mixed in with the sounds, but they were too incoherent for him to make out.

He placed a hand on either side of her face to calm her frantic movements and tried gently to wake her. "Sere! Sere, wake up!"

She didn't wake, but her actions became slower and more sluggish. Darien started wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "Serena. Come on, Meatball Head, wake up."

Then she let out a long, low, agonized moan that sounded like she was in severe pain. A few seconds later one of her hands released its death grip on the sheets to reach up and clutch at her chest. After that she fell deathly still and silent.

That scared Darien more than her thrashing and moaning had. He moved his hands to her shoulders and gave her a little shake. "Serena!"

She let out a gasp and her eyes flew open. Her terrified blue orbs stared at him for a long second as if she didn't know who he was. Then she let out a soft little cry and threw her arms around his neck. She pressed her hot, damp face into the crook of his neck

"You're alive," she whispered. "I thought you were dead. I saw her kill you. There was so much blood…so much blood."

"Shh," he soothed her as he felt a fresh flood of hot tears gush from her eyes to flow down his neck. "Hey, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

After a few minutes her crying and her shaking had stopped. She let go of him and sank back to her pillow, scrubbing the wetness from her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I normally try to not let the nightmares affect me like that. Actually, I can usually wake myself up before they get too bad, but sometimes one gets away from me and I can't stop it."

Darien sat back and gave her a supportive smile. "Hey, don't apologize to me. I can totally sympathize with you. I've had my own share of nightmares lately. This one looked like it was pretty bad."

She shuddered. "It was horrible. I've had it before, but I usually can wake myself up from it. This was the first time that I've seen it through to the very end."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her gently.

Another shiver racked her. "No, not really."

"It might make you feel better," he cajoled her.

She thought about it for a moment, and then decided to give him an edited version. In her dream Beryl had seemed to be after him, and she thought that perhaps he should know in case the witch figured out who he was and decided to pursue him again.

"Remember how we both said that we had dreamed of a ball?" she began hesitantly. After he nodded she continued. "Well, it's the same dream. I'm on the moon and there's a ball." She conveniently left out the part where she was dancing with him. "Anyway, there are all of these explosions and things get pretty chaotic. The palace is falling down around me as I'm running through the halls and then I find myself on this balcony."

Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on the feelings in the dream that she had ignored earlier while she had been trying to wake herself up. "I think everyone else was dead, or at least near death; Raye, Amy, Lita, and Mi…Mina," she stumbled a bit over the last name.

"Then Beryl found me. She was about to kill me too, and then…" Fresh tears sprang to her eyes again. "You came out of nowhere and took the sword that was meant for me. That evil witch killed you and there was nothing I could do to stop it."

Well that news made him pause for a moment. Were these the events that Mina had refused to tell him about earlier, that he had died after Beryl had run him through with a sword? Well that was a cheerful thought, he thought sarcastically.

He pulled himself together. "I wouldn't worry about it, Serena. It was probably just a nightmare. Just because you dream something doesn't mean it's true."

She shook her head. "This was more than just a common nightmare. Everything in it was so real." Her hand crept up to rub at the spot on her chest that she had grabbed during the nightmare. Her eyes took on a glassy, far away look.

His eyes narrowed in concern. "Serena, did you dream of your death as well."

"It's hard to forget what it feels like to have a sword plunged into your heart," she barely whispered. "There was one second of the most excruciating pain imaginable, and then nothing."

"Okay, Meatball Head, don't float away from me," Darien said in a joking tone as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Her eyes regained focus and she tried to glare at him. "You know, calling me names isn't a very good way to convince me to possibly go out with you someday."

"You'll get over it," he replied smugly then looked at the clock on her table. "Look at that. It's almost time to get up for school. I guess I better go home and shower and change. Did you get your homework done?" He picked up the book and paper from the floor where they had fallen from the bed.

Serena wrinkled her nose. "Yes, I got it done. Now let's hope it's enough to get the warden off my back."

He glanced over the page. It was a little messy, but still legible. She had still made a few mistakes, but she had gotten enough right that it should earn her a decent passing grade. "Miss Haruna should be happy with this. Now why don't you go and take a long hot shower. That should make you feel better and get you ready to face the day. I'll meet up with you again in a little bit."

She nodded and watched as he crossed to the window. Just as he was about to slip out, she sat up and called, "Hey, Darien."

He looked back at her. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for helping me out and all," she told him.

He inclined his head. "You're welcome."

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and then said, "Be careful out there, okay. I have this really bad feeling that Beryl is after you."

He smirked a little. "I'm sure she is. If she killed me once, then she probably wants to do it again."

She shook her head. "No. I don't think she wants to kill you. She didn't want to the first time. That was an accident. I think she wants you on her side."

His trademark grin quirked his lips. "Well she's just going to have to get over it. I've already chosen my side, and it's definitely not hers. Don't worry about it, Meatball Head. I doubt Beryl even knows who I am, much less where to find me. She hasn't figured out Mina yet, and all of our civilian identities are still safe. We're fine."

"I sure hope so," she muttered as he leapt from her window. She felt a rush run through her as he transformed and knew that he was taking the quick way home. Then she got up, figuring that she better get herself ready for another long day. A hot shower did sound nice though.

* * *

"Ah ha!" Zoicite crowed triumphantly as he looked up from the computer screen. "I think I've found the fourth crystal."

Kunzite glanced up in curiosity. "Really?"

Zoicite nodded eagerly. "It may be a little hard to track her down though. She's an artist, but evidently she's a bit of a recluse. She never makes public appearances or allows herself to be photographed. But she does have an assistant that sets up all of her showings and handles her business, so if I follow her she should lead me to her boss."

Kunzite got up and walked over to look at the screen where a painting of a blonde woman that proclaimed to be the artist's self portrait stared back at him. "Hmm, Lani Lanai, huh? That's an unusual name."

"Yes, it is," Zoicite agreed. "But I'm certain that she is my next target. She has a small showing going on right now at a gallery in Tokyo. I'm going to check it out and see if I can locate her assistant." He tapped a few keys and the portrait of Lani Lanai was replaced with a picture of an ordinary looking girl with brown braided hair and large blue eyes that peered out from behind round glasses. The caption beneath it said that she was Peggy Jones, personal assistant to Miss Lanai.

"Sounds promising. How soon will you go?" Kunzite asked.

"As soon as I clear it with Beryl," Zoicite answered as he stood.

* * *

"So Amy," Mina said in an innocent voice as she leaned across the lunch table toward her blue haired friend. "What did you and Greg do after you left the arcade last night? You two seemed to be pretty chummy together."

Amy rolled her eyes. "As usual, Mina, you read too much into things. All I did was walk with him back to the hotel he is staying at and then I went home. That's all there was to it."

Serena looked up from her lunch with a fried shrimp poised halfway to her mouth. "But you are going to see him again before he leaves, aren't you?"

"I don't know," Amy answered with a shrug. "He said something about calling me after school and us meeting up, but we'll see. It's not like we're a couple anymore. We're just friends. He didn't come right out and say it, but I think he's seeing someone at his new school. Besides, he's leaving tomorrow anyway and that will be that. He wouldn't here at all if it wasn't for his grandparent's fiftieth wedding anniversary party."

"You know, that just seems a little too coincidental to me," Raye mused. "What were the chances of Greg coming back to town right in the middle of all of this mess and he just happens to be a crystal carrier? It just seems odd."

"Maybe the rainbow crystal inside him called him back here," Lita said as she flicked the tab of her soda can with a fingernail.

"You may have a point, Lita," Amy said. "Greg said that at first he was planning on staying at school and missing his grandparent's party, but then he suddenly changed his mind for some reason and decided to come."

"Maybe the crystal knew it was time for it to be set free," Mina said softly. Then she shook her head and looked around at the empty seats. "Where are the guys at? They're usually here by now."

Lita snickered. "What's wrong, do you need your Andrew fix?"

Mina smiled mischievously as she picked at the unappetizing looking sandwich in front of her. "Maybe." Then she suddenly stood up. "I think I'd rather have a slice of pizza. Serena, would you come with me to get it, pretty please?"

"Uh, sure," Serena mumbled as she stood. She felt a little nervous about being alone with Mina. They hadn't really had a chance to talk yet about the events of the night before. Mina had shown up at her front door just like always bright and early this morning, but they had run into Darien at the corner before they'd had a chance to start a conversation.

She walked beside Mina toward the cafeteria lunch line, but let out a startled squeak as the other blonde grabbed her by the arm and hauled her into the girls' bathroom as they passed by it.

"Mina, what are you doing?" she asked in confusion as she watched her friend check the stalls to make sure that they were alone.

Mina whirled around to pin her with a serious stare. "The question is, what are you doing, Serena?"

Serena gulped. 'This is it,' she thought. 'This is the part where she's going to chew me out for messing with her man in both the past and now. She may have told Darien that she wasn't interested in him, but I knew she really had to be. I'll probably be lucky to walk away from this in one piece. What if she strips me of my scout powers and I can't fight anymore? What if she tells me to stay away from Darien forever?'

She licked her suddenly dry lips. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"That's pretty evident," Mina replied as she crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to appear stern. "I expected to be greeted by a happy, squealing friend this morning telling me that she and a certain dark haired hero were now an item; and instead I'm presented with a pale faced wraith that jumps at every sound."

Irritation bubbled inside Serena. "Well excuse me for being a little out of it! I didn't exactly have the most restful night in the world. And furthermore…" Her voice trailed off. "Wait a minute! What was that about thinking that Darien and I would be together?"

Mina giggled as she turned toward the mirror and began smoothing her already impeccable hair. "My bad! I just assumed that he would have come to see you last night after we finished our little chat."

"He did," Serena told her grudgingly. "He helped me with my Algebra homework so I wouldn't get grounded."

Mina's eyes met hers in the reflection. She looked a little disappointed. "Is that all he did?"

Serena scuffed a foot and looked away. "No. He told me that the two of you had talked, but I was pretty sure that he was delusional or had misunderstood something. He said that you two had no plans to become a couple, and I knew that couldn't be right."

The other blonde began laughing, clutching the sides of the sink as she almost doubled over. "Serena! This is Darien we're talking about, the most non-delusional and logical person in the world! And he's completely not my type! I have no more interest in becoming a couple with Darien Shields than I would Numa or Koby."

"But…but…the past…" Serena stammered.

"Exactly! It's in the past," Mina snapped. "Look, Serena, I'm the same person I was before you found out my secret. Nothing has changed. I told you before that I thought that you and Darien would make a great pair, and I still believe that. The boy is crazy about you, and I know that you like him too. So when are you going to put both of you out of your misery and jump in?"

Serena flushed bright red. "I told him that I wanted to wait until after the Silver Crystal is found and we regain our memories. If he still feels the same way about me once he remembers who I was in the past, then I'll consider dating him."

Mina blew out an exasperated breath. "You're just prolonging the inevitable, but I guess I can respect that. Now do you want to tell me why you're so jumpy today?"

Serena forced out a laugh. "It's nothing. I just had a really bad dream last night that kinda wigged me out. That's all."

"Are you sure?" Mina insisted.

"Yeah, yeah," Serena said as she waved a hand. "Now I thought you said that you wanted pizza."

Mina fixed a bright smile on her face. "Right! Pizza!" But as she followed Serena back into the cafeteria she made a mental note to ask Darien later if he knew what was bothering her friend; and she was sure that he would. She hadn't missed the significance of him waiting near Serena's house this morning or the way that he had hovered protectively over the petite girl all the way to school.

They quickly got the pizza, Serena opting for a slice as well at Mina's urging, and they made their way back to the table where Darien and Andrew were now sitting with the other girls.

"There you two are!" Raye snapped. "I thought you airheads might have gone all the way to Italy to get the pizza."

"Ha ha!" Serena intoned dryly while Mina stuck her tongue out at the raven-haired priestess.

Darien leaned across the table to speak to Serena. "So how did you do on that homework?"

She quirked a little grin. "I got an 87. That should get mom off of my back for now. Thanks again for your help."

"No problem," he replied as he unwrapped his sandwich. "Sorry I was late. I had to stick around and talk to my history teacher about possible subjects for an essay in that class."

Serena wrinkled her nose up. "Ew! I'm surprised you have any appetite left after that."

He chuckled. "It wasn't that bad. So how are you feeling after…you know, that dream."

"I'm fine," she stated simply. Her tone clearly saying that she didn't want to talk about it.

Suddenly squeals erupted from the other end of the table and they turned to see both Raye and Lita hugging Andrew at the same time. Amy was smiling brightly, and Mina had her arms across her chest with a little pout on her lips.

"Uh, what did I miss?" Serena asked warily.

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Didn't you hear anything about what I just said? Well you would have if you and Darien could pull yourselves away from each other and grace us with a moment of your time. I was just saying that Rita called me and left a message on my voicemail saying that she's coming to town this weekend for her cousin's wedding and she wants to see me!"

"Wow, Drew! That's great!" Serena exclaimed genuinely happy for her friend. But for some reason she felt a trickle of unease slither down her spine.

Andrew and Rita had ended their almost two year long relationship six months before when she had to move to another city quite a distance away because of her father's job, but they still talked to each other regularly. However this would be the first time that Rita had returned for a visit since then.

It just had to be a coincidence that she was coming to town now, so soon after Greg's unexpected arrival and attack by the Dark Kingdom…right? There was no way that Rita could be mixed up in this too. That would just be weird.

But as Serena glanced around at the girls, she could see the identical thoughts mirrored on their faces. She wasn't the only one that found this to be way beyond coincidental. Even Mina's pout at having her crush's former love interest making an appearance had changed to an expression of concern that Serena would have found out of place before last night's revelations.

The sound of Andrew laughing at something Darien had just said had her refocusing her attention on her oldest friend. She would have to keep a close eye on Andrew this weekend. If he spent time with Rita and it turned out that her suspicions were correct there was a chance that he could get pulled into the middle of this. And it would break her heart if something happened to him.

* * *

Peggy Jones carefully straightened one of the paintings that was hanging just slightly crooked and looked around the tiny gallery with a small amount of satisfaction. She preferred these smaller, less formal showings much more than the large, grand affairs. Being surrounded by hordes of snooty rich people that were constantly trying to one up each other made her nervous.

She looked up at the painting she had just fixed and had to fight back a scowl. It was Lani Lanai's self-portrait. The woman's perfect golden, wavy hair and large, luminous blue eyes always made her feel a little angry.

"So that is the talented artist responsible for all of these beautiful creations," a voice broke into her reverie.

Startled, Peggy jumped and looked over at the man that had come to stand beside her. She bit back a groan as she took in his appearance. His suit was simplistic in its style, but it had the obvious look of being tailor-made; and probably by some high nosed, over priced designer. There was no doubt that he was an attractive man, but the way he wore his long, dark blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail at his nape screamed at her that he was one of the eccentric, rich bores that she had just been lamenting about.

But business was business, so she put on her professional smile and replied, "Yes, that is Miss Lanai. Have you viewed her work before?"

The man stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I must admit that I have not, but the painting in the display window caught my eye as I walked by and I just had to come in for a closer look. Are you an artist as well, my dear?"

Peggy forced out a laugh. "Who, me? Not at all. I am Miss Lanai's personal assistant."

The man smiled widely. "How absolutely providential! I was just about to go and ask the gallery director how I might get in touch with this paragon of art, and here you practically land in my lap. My wife and I are currently remodeling an old family estate outside the city, and I believe Miss Lanai's artwork could be exactly what we have been looking for. I would like to speak to her about possibly commissioning some pieces."

Peggy kept her face smooth and blank, although she felt like scowling. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid Miss Lanai doesn't do commissioned work. Only she alone comes up with her projects."

He held out a business card to her. "Perhaps you could pass on my request to her anyway. Be sure to tell her that I would make it well worth her time."

'Rich, arrogant jerk!' she thought, but took the card and slipped it into her skirt pocket without even looking at it. "I'll let her know of your interest." Then a flash of gold caught her attention and she murmured, "If you will please excuse me, I see someone that I must speak with immediately."

"Of course," he replied smoothly and watched as she scurried away from him. The jovial smile on his face turned into a smirk of malice. The timid Miss Jones was going to lead him to her employer, she just wasn't aware of it yet.

Zoicite frowned when he felt a vibration coming from his pocket and he pulled out the dark crystal that was humming and pulsing the way it did whenever a rainbow crystal was near. He looked around quickly, but saw that there was nobody else in the gallery except himself, Peggy, and a blonde girl in a high school uniform. Was the crystal reacting to Peggy because she has been in close proximity to a rainbow crystal? Hmm, perhaps he needed to do a little more research before he acted.

He ducked through a door marked Employees Only, and found himself in an empty storeroom. From there he teleported himself back to the Dark Kingdom where he appeared in the general's common room and where his beloved computer waited to give him all the answers he sought. Sailor Mercury might like to think that her Mercurian way of thinking was far superior to anyone else, but thanks to the general that this body had originally belonged to; he believed that he could be her mental match.

He sat down at the computer and began plugging in information. Less than ten minutes later he sat back with a satisfied smile. He now had his answer; Lani Lanai didn't even exist. Showing on his screen was a painting submitted to an art gallery two years before by a young artist named Peggy Jones. The painting had never sold, despite the fact that it was a beautiful piece of art. The split screen showed the exact same painting when it had reappeared in a different gallery six months later. Only this time it claimed to be the work of Lani Lanai and had sold quickly for an undisclosed amount of money.

"So, Peggy Jones," he cackled. "It seems that you and Lani Lanai are the same person. That makes my job exponentially more easier."

* * *

Serena's feet shuffled slowly down the street while her shoulders slumped dejectedly. She was wandering aimlessly with no particular destination in mind. Usually she headed straight to the arcade after school, but there was no sense in going there yet because none of her friends would be there.

Darien and Andrew had basketball practice. Mina had a meeting with her agent. She could have gone with Raye, Lita, or Amy, but Raye had hurried home to help her grandfather with some things that she had promised, and Serena knew that if she went she would be used as free labor. Lita had gone to some cooking class at the community center, and she was more interested in eating food than she was cooking it. And she would rather have her head pounded in by a youma than spend the afternoon in the library with Amy. So here she was.

"Maybe I'll go by the bookstore and see if there are any new manga out that I need to add to my collection," she muttered to herself. "That should kill some time. After that basketball practice should be over and at least the guys will be at the arcade."

Her mind made up, she picked up her pace to head to the bookstore that was only two blocks away. She was passing by the glass display window of a small art gallery when she glanced in. What she saw made her grind to a halt.

The background of the painting in the window was a beautiful rainbow of soft pastels, but what caught her attention were the man and the woman that were the subjects in the painting. They appeared to be flying through the air together in each other's arms. But what shocked her the most was the fact the man looked just like Tuxedo Mask while the woman eerily resembled her. It was almost creepy.

She wandered into the gallery in a daze. She passed by several other paintings, some of them depicting the same man as before, although sometimes his hair changed from the vivid black to a lighter shade. The woman changed as well, but she was always a blonde. And some of the paintings didn't feature the couple, but one feature kept repeating over and over, the moon.

"Do you like them?" a voice asked her softly.

She turned to find a woman with braided brown hair and soft blue eyes watching her with a tiny smile. She nodded slowly. "They're absolutely incredible. Did you paint them?"

The woman flushed. "Not exactly. The artist is Lani Lanai. I am her personal assistant."

Serena looked surprised. "Really? I would have sworn that these were all your works."

Peggy tilted her head. "Why would you say that?"

"I'm not sure," Serena said with a shrug. "I think it's your eyes. You just have that look around you like you would have the wonderful imagination to dream up so many beautiful things. I wish I could do something creative like this. I can barely draw stick people."

Peggy giggled and held out her hand. "I'm Peggy Jones. It's nice to meet you."

Serena shook the offered hand. "I'm Serena Tsukino. It's nice to meet you too." Then she turned her attention to the next painting in which the same man appeared again. "Hey, Peggy, does Miss Lanai use models for her paintings? I've noticed the same guy appearing in several of them, and he looks a lot like a friend of mine. But I know it can't be him."

Peggy smiled and was about to answer when another voice interrupted them. "Well, Meatball Head, funny finding you in here. I never pegged you as the type to be interested in art."

Serena jumped a foot in the air and spun around with a shrill, "Shields! What's the big idea sneaking up on me like that, you moron?"

"Darien!" Peggy suddenly exclaimed and hugged the much taller boy tightly.

Darien chuckled. "Hey, Peg. How's it been going?"

"You two know each other?" Serena asked in bewilderment.

Peggy turned with a bright smile. "Darien and I go way back. I take it that you two know each other as well?"

Serena nodded. "Something like that."

Darien glanced at the nearby painting and shook his head. "Geez, Peg! Are you still using those old sketches of me in your paintings? I would have thought you would have found a better model by now."

"Shh!" Peggy shushed him. "Darien, you dolt! You know that no one is supposed to know that they're my paintings."

"I knew it!" Serena gushed in a quiet, but excited voice. "I knew that you were the artist behind these paintings, Peggy. I'm usually very good at reading people and you just had that look. But how in the world did Darien end up being your model?"

Darien huffed a breath. "Peggy's grandmother is the director of the orphanage I grew up in. Peggy used to be around quite a bit. She was always drawing something and one day she asked if she could draw me. And me, being the reclusive, anti-social little punk I was told her that I didn't care. But when she finished the first sketch and I saw how talented she was I posed for her willingly on several occasions."

Peggy heaved a sigh. "Yes, finding my male model was easy. It's the female models I always have a hard time with. None of them ever seem to have quite the right look I'm looking for, so I have to improvise. Then they all complain later that the woman in the painting looks nothing like them."

Her eyes narrowed on Serena. "But, I may have finally resolved that issue." She pushed Serena gently over to stand by Darien and then she clapped her hands. "Yes! It's perfect! Would you two please model for me?"

"Me? Model?" Serena squeaked.

Darien groaned. "Oh, come on, Peg!"

"Please, please, please, please!" she gushed. "I promise it won't take long. You know how fast I draw, Darien. I'm talking a half hour, tops. You two are perfect for a new painting I've been thinking about doing. Serena, you'll do this for me, won't you?"

"I…I guess so," Serena stammered, a little nervous and excited at the prospect of modeling for an artist.

"Great!" Peggy exclaimed and grabbed both of them by the arm as she hauled them out of the building.

"Wait a minute!" Darien protested. "I never said that I would do this."

"But you were going to," Peggy replied blithely. "Serena already agreed and I need both of you for this to work out the way I want it to. My house is right around the corner and it won't take anytime at all to do this. So I know you'll do this for the sake of an old friend, right?"

"This is emotional blackmail," Darien grumbled under his breath.

Serena giggled. "Aww, be a good sport, Darien. Speaking of sports, did you get out of practice early? Your coach usually keeps you there forever."

Darien shrugged. "For once he was happy with our performance, and since we have a game on Friday he said he didn't want to work us too hard and run us into the ground."

"Wow!" Serena said in amazement. "Something must have put him in a good mood. He's not usually that decent."

"Nah, he just doesn't want to blow our shot at the playoffs," Darien scoffed. "If we win this game and the one next Wednesday, we'll clinch the district championship and go to regionals. So I'm sure he doesn't want to rock the boat too much. If the team gets disgruntled, then we're more liable to mess up."

"Here we are!" Peggy announced as she led them up the steps to a tiny bungalow tucked away on a side street just two blocks away from the gallery."

"You weren't kidding. This was close," Serena commented.

"I told you so," Peggy quipped as she unlocked the door. "And I wasn't joking about how fast I draw either. I promise this won't take up a lot of your time."

She led them into a living room that seemed more like an art studio than a sitting room. "You two make yourselves at home and I'll get us some tea and cookies. I'll be right back." She disappeared into the kitchen.

Serena felt her stomach growl at the mention of food and blushed when Darien cocked a brow at her to let her know that he'd heard the rumble as well. So to distract herself she wandered around the room looking at the collection of paintings and drawings that were scattered around.

When Peggy reappeared a few minutes later she asked, "Hey, Peggy, why do you hide behind the name Lani Lanai instead of letting everyone know that it's really you? Your work is so amazing, yet you don't get the credit that you deserve."

Peggy set a tray on a table and sighed. "Unfortunately the art world is as ruthless and cutthroat as any other business. When I first began I submitted my work under my own name, but no matter how good the work is the art enthusiasts want either a bright and vivacious artist to go with it or someone dark and mysterious. A lot of galleries turned me down flat, and the few paintings that were accepted by others just sat there. So I pulled back and reassessed the situation and created Lani Lanai, the mysterious shadow artist that is never seen in public. I changed the signatures on my paintings to hers and resubmitted them while acting as her representative and they were an instant hit."

"That's not fair!" Serena said as she accepted a cup of tea. "People should know that you are the face behind such wonderful art and not some make believe person. I don't see what the big deal is, you are a beautiful person, Peggy."

Peggy blushed. "Thank you, Serena. But I'm really okay with the way things are. This way I get to live a quiet life and I still get to share my art with the world. So it's not really that bad."

"I think she has the right idea," Darien said as he took a seat on the sofa. "Sometimes being anonymous can have its advantages."

Serena sat down beside him and elbowed him in the ribs. "Of course you would think that, being the anti-social person that you are."

As Darien was jostled, something fell from the pocket of his blazer onto the cushion between them.

Serena gasped when she saw it. "Are you seriously carrying that thing around?" She reached for the star locket.

He shrugged. "I guess I just keep hoping that you'll ask for your Christmas gift back."

"Omigosh!" Peggy squealed. "That is perfect for what I have planned." She bustled over to them and began arranging them. "Darien, you turn toward Serena like this, and Serena, you turn slightly toward him. Now hold that locket in your palm and act like you're going to hand it to him. And don't move a muscle!"

"Can I at least blink?" Serena grumbled, a little alarmed at Peggy's sudden fanatic attitude.

Darien chuckled as Peggy vanished behind a large sketchpad on an easel. "She always gets like this when inspiration strikes her. She's lost in her own little world right now. The entire planet could blow up and she wouldn't even notice it, as long as it doesn't make us move from the way she wants us."

"My arm's going to get tired if I have to hold it like this for too long," she grouched, suddenly wishing that she hadn't agreed to this. Having to sit this close to Darien was unnerving.

"Here," he said, moving slightly so that her hand rested palm up in his.

Her startled eyes flew up to meet his.

"Hold it!" Peggy shrieked. "That pose is so perfect! Please don't move for a few minutes. I have to capture this moment!"

They sat that way for several minutes, Darien staring intently at Serena while she kept her eyes darting around, focusing on anything other than his hypnotic gaze.

Finally Peggy sat back with a satisfied smile and said, "Okay, you can move now. But please hang around for few minutes until I'm sure I have everything just right."

Serena shoved the locket into Darien's hands and jumped up from the sofa like a scorpion had just stung her in the butt. She snatched a cookie from the plate and tried to ignore the way Darien's eyes followed her as she resumed her perusal of the room.

A series of sketches caught her eye. They all featured Darien in some form, but the woman with him differed slightly each time, as did their pose and the setting.

Peggy glanced up and laughed when she saw what Serena was looking at. "Those are the preliminaries that I came up with for this painting, but I could never get the woman quite right. But now that I found you I think it will work."

"Where do you get your inspiration?" Serena mused.

"From my dreams, mostly," Peggy told her. "When I was little my grandmother used to tell me stories about this princess that used to live on the moon. She fell in love with a prince from Earth, but the two kingdoms didn't get along and they were forbidden to be together. Then there was a war and they both died. It wasn't a story with a happy ending, but I always saw the romantic quality in it. It always kind of reminded me of Romeo and Juliet with the whole star-crossed lovers theme."

That rattled Serena a little. It sounded like Serenity and Endymion's story to a tee. She giggled nervously. "That's silly! No one has ever lived on the moon."

Peggy laughed too. "I know, but when I was a child the stories fascinated me. They were what inspired me to begin drawing and painting in the first place. There! I think I'm done with you guys for now if you have someplace that you need to be."

Darien stood immediately. "As a matter of fact, Serena and I do have some friends that we need to go meet up with. We'll see you later, Peggy."

She waved them off. "Drop by the gallery in a day or so. I'll probably have the painting finished by then and you can see it."

"We will," Darien promised her and took Serena by the arm. It wasn't until they were in their coats and out of the house and on the sidewalk that he spoke. "Are you okay?"

Serena blinked up at him. "I'm fine. It just surprised me when Peggy told us about the story her grandmother told her. It was almost like she was telling the story of your past life."

Darien snorted. "Legends like that have been passed down for centuries. And people are always fascinated by the possibility of there being life on other planets. It's nothing new."

Serena tossed her head. "Maybe not, but it still sounded like a fairly accurate account of the moon kingdom, at least what little I know."

"There you are!" a highly irritated voice interrupted them. "Do you know how long I've been trying to track you down?"

Serena looked to the top of the brick wall beside them. "Luna? What are you doing here?"

The black feline perched on the top of the wall sniffed disdainfully. "Looking for you of course. Look at what I found lying carelessly in your bedroom floor this morning." She picked up something with her mouth and tossed it down.

Serena caught it in her hands and realized that it was the crescent moon wand. She flushed sheepishly. "Oops! It must have fallen out of my bag when I was putting my books in it."

"It was a extremely irresponsible thing to do!" Luna raged. "That wand could be a highly useful tool for letting us know when a rainbow crystal is near, not to mention that it is the only thing that can save a crystal carrier from becoming a monster once their crystal has been removed. You must be more careful than that, Serena."

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Serena snapped in irritation. She pulled her bag off her shoulder and was about to put the wand in it when it began beeping and flashing in her hand.

"Oh great!" she groaned. "How can it be picking up on a rainbow crystal now when there's nobody around?"

Darien shrugged. "Beats me. But one must be nearby somewhere."

Just then a scream erupted from Peggy's house.

* * *

**A/N **I know, I know, the evil cliffhanger strikes again! I'm just bad like that sometimes. Well I hope that now those of you that were down on Mina feel a little bit better. She may be posing as Serenity, but she's still doing what she can to push Darien and Serena together. So please stop hating on V-babe! She's trying to do right! I also enjoyed putting a little spin on Peggy and having her already know Darien. She has always held a special place in my heart because she was able to look at Serena and Darien and see something special there before they even realized it. So coming up, the fight for Peggy's crystal and Rita makes the scene. We're moving closer to the Silver Crystal's emergence and the arrival of Dark Prince Endymion. It will be sad to write my precious Darien as being a bad guy, but alas it must be done. I'll see you guys next update. Be the dolls that I know you are and drop me those reviews to tell me what you thought. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	17. The Artistic Angel and Tuxedo Andrew?

**A/N **I'm soooo excited! Has everyone heard the news? The _Sailor Moon _manga is being re-released in the US in September! Just in time for my birthday! They are also going to be releasing _Codename : Sailor V_ here for the first time. I can't wait! (pant…pant…pant) Thanks to **Seredhiel05 **for cluing me in to this fact.

Okay, now that I got my moment of total geekiness out of the way, it's time to move on. I'm sorry about the delay for this chapter, but I had to rework it several times to get it even close to the way I wanted it. It's not perfect by any means, but I still hope you all enjoy it. It would have been up even sooner, but ff. net decided that it didn't want to let me upload anything. Now let me get my hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**YingYing**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**jade2nightwing**

**sabina21**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**saveme57**

**gots2luv**

**Fedski**

**JuliaGulia 17**

**Chibi Kitt**

**Shinobi of life**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**KatanaPrincess**

**GoldenDragon326**

**samsox**

**patrakas**

Thanks a lot guys! You really know how to make my day! Now, on with the show!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 17

The Artistic Angel and Tuxedo Andrew?

* * *

Peggy's scream had barely faded when Darien spun around to look at Serena. "You stay here. I'm going to go check things out."

"Not without me you're not!" Serena protested hotly. "If this is an attack by the Dark Kingdom and Peggy is a crystal carrier you'll need me there to heal her."

But Darien was already running away. There was a whoosh of air as he transformed. His tuxedo and cape materialized around him in just a few seconds.

Serena ducked behind a tree and reached under her coat to pull her brooch from the bow on her uniform shirt while she muttered, "That big idiot! I wonder if he even realizes that he just transformed right out in the open. He's lucky that there was no one around to see him or his secret identity would be shot!"

She held her brooch up and said softly, "Moon Prism Power!" She was running after him before the light of her transformation had completely faded. As she ran she pulled out her communicator and hit the crescent moon button at the top that would allow her to call all of the scouts at once.

Raye was the first to answer. "Serena! What's wrong?"

"I think we've got another Rainbow Crystal," she answered quickly. "My wand started doing its flashing thing and then there was a scream. So I'm assuming Zoicite's lurking around here somewhere."

Lita's voice crackled over the line. "You're not alone, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Sailor Moon reassured them. "Tuxedo Mask is with me. Well, at least he will be once I figure out where the heck he went. But we could probably use some back up in case this is a Dark Kingdom attack."

Amy joined the conversation. "I have your position on my computer, Serena. We'll be there as quickly as we can."

"Okay, see ya soon," Sailor Moon replied as she cut the connection and shoved the communicator back into her pocket. She rounded the side of Peggy's house, knowing it would be stupid to burst through the front door if indeed Zoicite was in there, and found Tuxedo Mask crouched under a window.

"You stupid jerk!" she hissed as she hunkered down beside him and slapped him on the shoulder. "How could you take off on me like that?"

Then his gloved fingers were against her lips. "Shh! Zoicite is in there. We won't be able to take him by surprise if he hears your loud mouth out here."

She felt a sting of indignation and jerked her head away. "I'm not being loud! I'm barely whispering, you idiot!"

He just rolled his eyes at her and put a finger to his lips in a quiet gesture. Then he pointed up to the window above him.

They both eased up slowly to peek over the windowsill. Sailor Moon clapped her hands over her mouth to stop the gasp that tried to escape her.

A couple of easels and canvases had been knocked over and paintbrushes and tubes of paint were scattered across the floor. Zoicite stood in the middle of this, staring gleefully at Peggy, who was pressed up against a wall looking like she was about to faint from fear.

The young artist had her hand pressed tightly to her chest as she gasped for breath. "You're the man that was at the gallery earlier."

Zoicite let out a low chuckle, but it was far from being a comforting sound. "I'm pleased to see that you remember me, Miss Jones. After our earlier conversation I went back and did a little more research on the talented Miss Lanai. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the two of you are one and the same person."

Peggy's soft blue eyes flared with surprise behind her glasses. Then they hardened a little in irritation. "I don't know how you found that out, but as I told you before, Lani Lanai doesn't do commissioned work. So if you would please remove yourself from my home."

Zoicite snickered. "You silly girl! I could care less about your worthless doodlings. I'm more interested in what you have inside you. You have something that I want, and I'm going to take it."

Peggy's expression turned fearful and she began inching toward the door to the hallway. "What are you talking about?"

Zoicite's green eyes glittered coldly. "Just stand still and you'll find out." He flung out his hand and the dark crystal in his palm began glowing.

A shriek ripped from Peggy as she bolted through the door and into the hall. Zoicite spat a curse.

"Come on!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed as he grabbed Sailor Moon's arm and pulled her back around to the front of the house.

Just as they reached the front yard the front door flew open and Peggy appeared. Just as she was about to step out onto the front porch she froze. Dark energy crackled to life around her, and then she screamed. It was a horrible, tortured sound that sent shivers down the spines of both of the heroes.

Tuxedo Mask let out a string of curse words that would have had the petite blonde standing next to him gasping in shock if she had been paying attention to him as he summoned a handful of his steel tipped roses. He tried to get a bead on Zoicite, but Peggy was blocking the door, making it impossible to see the general inside.

Sailor Moon still clenched her wand tightly in one hand, but she used the other to snatch her tiara off her head. She powered it up quickly and it turned into a glowing, spinning disc. But she found herself as unable to find an opening to take a shot as Tuxedo Mask. But her blood boiled as she heard the general's delighted cackle coming from behind his victim.

"Just give me a shot, one shot, that's all I need," she muttered under her breath.

Then Peggy's cry came to an abrupt halt and her body crumpled to the ground, half in and half out the door.

"There you are, you creep!" Sailor Moon growled as she caught sight of Zoicite just inside the house, picking up a green crystal off the floor. "Moon Tiara Magic!" she cried as she flung her tiara as hard as she could.

A snarl came from Tuxedo Mask as he threw a volley of roses at the same time.

Zoicite's head snapped up and a surprised look crossed his face when he realized that he wasn't as alone with his victim as he thought he was. He dodged Sailor Moon's tiara and most of the roses, but one of the razor sharp stems caught his shoulder as it flew by and left a bloody, three-inch gash behind.

He let out a sharp hiss as he turned a hate filled glare on the two teens. "How come you two pests keep popping up wherever I do? I've warned you before to stay out of my way. You're too late anyway. I've already claimed this crystal for the Dark Kingdom."

"Oh, we'll just see about that!" Sailor Moon snapped and held her hand up. Her tiara, which had flown in a wide arc and was now returning to her, changed direction and hurtled toward the general once more.

Zoicite laughed and teleported out of the way. A split second later he reappeared before them. "Nice try, sailor brat. Now where do you have one of your pathetic little friends waiting to ambush me this time?"

Sailor Moon huffed and snagged her tiara from the air as it sailed back to her and shoved it back onto her forehead. Her look of anger turned to a smile a second later.

"We don't have to hide and ambush you, Zoicite! We can just stomp your ass the old fashioned way!" Sailor Jupiter's voice rang out as she, Mars, and Mercury jumped down from the roof where they had just appeared.

Mars tossed back her curtain of long dark hair. "Sorry we're a few minutes late. We didn't miss the party, did we?"

"He's got the crystal!" Tuxedo Mask ground out from between clenched teeth. His mind was racing furiously as he tried to come up with a plan for getting the Rainbow Crystal away from Zoicite before he had the opportunity to disappear again the way he usually did. He needed those crystals now more than ever before, but not for Serenity. Once the Silver Crystal had been restored and he and Serena had at least some of their memories of the past returned to them he was going to prove to her that he was serious about pursuing a relationship between them; and to do that he needed the crystals.

"Oh goody! It looks like the gang's all here," Zoicite drawled sarcastically. "I think I'll just let my newest pet take care of you."

"Oh no, Peggy!" Sailor Moon groaned as a cloud of dark energy swirled to life around the fallen artist.

Jupiter snarled under her breath. "It's bad enough that Beryl's got her little lapdog running around after the crystals, but do the poor people that have been carrying them have to turn into monsters every time? That sucks!"

"They can't help it. It's just a reaction to the negative energy when the crystal is removed from their body," Mars said, and then tilted her head to the side as the dark energy vanished. "Well she doesn't look so bad. She's actually kind of pretty for a monster."

"Looks can be deceiving," Mercury cautioned as she typed away on her computer. "According to my readings she still has enough power to pack quite a punch. We'll have to weaken her some before Sailor Moon will be able to heal her with the wand."

"Really, Mercury," Zoicite chuckled. "Did you honestly need that silly little computer of yours to tell you that? You should know by now that I'm not going to send a weak adversary against you four." Then he waved a careless hand toward Tuxedo Mask. "Or five I should say. Can you really even call yourself a man when you do nothing but throw pitiful little roses and hang around with stupid little girls? How pathetic!"

Mars snickered. "From where I stand it looks like one of those _pitiful little roses _managed to bite you."

Jupiter joined her in the humorous moment as she barked a laugh and slapped the red suited scout a high five.

Mercury shot a chilling glare at the general. "You're one to talk about people being pathetic! I haven't seen you do anything particularly noteworthy yourself. All you have been doing is running around, attacking helpless people, and turning them into monsters. That is beyond pathetic!"

A smirk twisted Zoicite's lips. "You seem to have developed a little bit of a temper in this lifetime, Mercury. I've noticed that you seem to be slightly more vocal than your past incarnation. The Sailor Mercury I remember from the Silver Millennium was a quiet mouse of a girl. She even died quietly."

Mars and Jupiter growled in anger while Mercury gasped. Indignation flowed through her and her mouth popped open to give this fake general an earful, but before she could let her tirade loose there was a flash of blonde hair, and then someone was standing in front of her.

Sailor Moon was shaking so hard in fury that her pigtails were quivering. Her face was as red as a cherry and her friends were surprised that sparks weren't literally shooting from her angry blue eyes. None of them had seen her this mad since the day she had gone off on Hijiro in the arcade for insulting them.

All of the Dark Kingdom generals they had faced so far had scared Sailor Moon senseless, and Zoicite was no exception. He wasn't quite as intimidating as Nephrite had been or as frightening as Jadeite, but her knees still felt like knocking together every time she was around him. His cold green eyes and biting tone always sent a shiver of fear down her spine.

But she never let anyone talk down about her friends, especially in her presence. She didn't care if he was supposed to be some high and mighty general. She was already ticked at his insulting words about Tuxedo Mask, but she saw red when he spoke so condescendingly to Mercury, and when he mentioned her past death so casually her temper snapped. Amy was one of the sweetest, gentlest people she had ever known, and she'd be damned if she anyone talk to her that way.

"You pompous, bully bastard!" she seethed angrily. "How dare look down that long pointy nose of yours at us? You have no right to show up and start running your mouth so stupidly. You don't know us! You don't know anything about any of us! So you better shut up now while you're ahead before I kick your ass! I stick up for my friends, and you just insulted two of them in less than a minute."

Zoicite threw back his head and laughed. "Do you honestly think I'm scared of you, Sailor Moon? Please! You are the weakest of the scouts and you know it. You don't have any powers the way the others do. You can't control water, fire, or lightning the way that they can. You have to depend on either that tiara or that wand of yours to do anything even halfway useful. Back in the Silver Millennium the sailor scouts were well known for their power and their exceptional fighting skills, but you obviously don't qualify. I don't even remember one such as yourself existing in the past. You are a fraud, Sailor Moon! You've gotten lucky a few times because of your toys, and you have managed to throw a wrench into our plans on many occasions, but that is why my queen wants you dead."

"I've heard enough of this shit!" Tuxedo Mask ground out from between clenched teeth and threw a rose at the general as hard and as fast as he could.

Zoicite's eyes widened in surprise and he tried to teleport away. But just as his image began to shimmer, the rose embedded itself in his shoulder and the green crystal fell from his suddenly limp hand.

Tuxedo Mask dove for the crystal at the same time Zoicite let out a screech and went after it as well. The two male bodies collided together and hit the ground hard. They were both back on their feet in seconds.

"Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon shrieked.

"What are you waiting for? Get them!" Zoicite yelled at the youma that had once been Peggy.

"You girls take care of Peggy. I'm going to try and get the crystal," Tuxedo Mask called over his shoulder.

Zoicite chuckled darkly. "You can try, but that crystal is mine." Then he manifested a sword in his hand that appeared to be made out of ice or crystal.

"I don't see your name on it," Tuxedo Mask growled as he pulled a compact cane from an inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket and extended it a few feet.

The dark blonde general laughed harder. "You stupid boy! Do you really mean to try and fight my sword off with a mere stick? I will snap it like a toothpick."

The masked hero smirked. "Maybe, maybe not. At least I have two working arms."

Zoicite let out a snarl and lunged for him. Tuxedo Mask raised his cane to block the slashing blade. To both of their surprise the cane held up against the attack as if it were made of steel. For a second Zoicite even swore he felt a small surge of energy push against him before he stumbled back a few steps.

Tuxedo Mask took advantage of his opponent's falter to run to where the crystal was lying and scooped it up from the ground. He slid it into his pocket with a grin.

"No!" Zoicite bellowed. "I will not let you take that crystal! I have to have it for Queen Beryl!"

Sailor Moon reluctantly tore her attention from the fight. She was just going to have to trust that Darien would be able to handle himself against the general. Right now Peggy needed her help. She turned back toward the house.

The youma had left the porch and had glided gracefully down the steps to the lawn thanks to the wings on her back that resembled angel wings and kept her feet hovering just a couple of inches off the ground. Great! A youma that could fly. That should make things much easier. NOT!

But as Sailor Moon took a good look at her she had to agree with what Mars said earlier. She was pretty and very un-youma looking compared to the monsters they usually encountered. They were used to facing either women that looked like strippers gone wrong or creatures that appeared to have wandered off the set of some freaky sci-fi movie. But this one looked like a…well, taking the wings into account…an angel. She had pale, luminous skin and silky looking long, dark hair. She wore a gown of the palest pink and what looked almost like a sailor scout tiara on her forehead.

The youma's face was peaceful and serene as she raised her hands in front of her. The scouts all tensed, not sure what kind of an attack to expect out of such an unordinary foe. But they all tilted their heads to the side with looks of confusion a second later when a large paintbrush appeared in mid air. It swished around quickly like it was painting something and then fell still.

"What the hell kind of an attack was that?" Jupiter growled.

"I'm not sure," Mercury replied, tapping on the keys of her computer.

Mars looked around for a moment before glancing up. Her eyes widened in horror. "Sailor Moon, move!" she cried as she threw herself at her blonde friend, knocking them both to the ground. A second later a large boulder crashed down right where the moon scout had just been standing.

"Mars! You saved my life! Thank you!" Sailor Moon exclaimed as she sat up and threw her arms around the dark haired girl.

"Well I couldn't just stand there and let you get squashed, Meatball Head!" Mars grumbled as she pushed the other girl off of her. "Don't go getting all sentimental on me. We've got work to do."

Sailor Moon nodded jerkily. "Right! We have to save Peggy."

The girls climbed back to their feet just in time to jump out of the way as another large rock slammed into the ground. Jupiter and Mercury were also leaping around to avoid the storm of deadly projectiles that were suddenly falling from the sky like hail.

The angel youma was standing perfectly still except for one hand that was flicking around furiously. The paintbrush was moving so fast now that it was only a blur as it swirled around, conjuring up a steady stream of large rocks.

"Damn it!" Jupiter growled as she jumped to the left, and then back to the right to avoid getting her skull smashed in. "If I could just get one second free I'll be able to pop a shot off."

"Just try not to hurt her," Sailor Moon squealed as she jumped back, dodging a boulder that only missed her by a few inches.

"Oh, I'll try not to hurt her all right!" Mars snarled and then stopped moving as if there weren't several large rocks right above her head. She pressed her fingers together in front of her.

Sailor Moon shrieked when she saw her friend standing wide open and vulnerable. "Mars! What are you doing?"

But Mars ignored both her and the giant rocks bearing down on her. Flames burst to life at her fingertips. "Mars Fire Ignite!" A steady stream of fire shot toward to youma and surrounded her in a cocoon of flames.

All motion stopped. The boulders froze right where they were in mid air, one just two feet above Mars's head.

The red suited scout let out a shaky laugh and stepped to the side. "Uh, now might be a good time, Sailor Moon."

"O…oh! Right!" Sailor Moon stammered as she tried to calm her pounding heart. She was seriously going to let Raye have it when this was over. She'd almost had a heart attack. Then she raised the wand she had clenched in her hand and cried, "Moon Healing Activation!"

She felt the warm rush that was fast becoming familiar burst in her chest and flow down her arms as the healing white light erupted from the tip of the crescent moon on top of the wand. The fire surrounding the youma vanished as it was encompassed by the light, and a few seconds later there was a flash as the youma turned back into Peggy. All of the boulders littering the yard disappeared as well.

Jupiter stepped forward and caught the young woman as she began to crumple to the ground.

"Let's get her inside," Mercury said, already using her computer to scan Peggy to make sure she was okay. She scurried after the much taller scout as they walked into the house.

Sailor Moon and Mars quickly turned to see how Tuxedo Mask was faring in his fight against Zoicite.

He appeared to be holding his own against the general despite the fact that his cane was the only defense he had against the sword Zoicite was wielding. The fact that Zoicite only had the use of one arm had to be a huge help as well.

"Do we interfere, or just let Darien see how much he can kick his ass?" Mars mumbled to the girl beside her.

Sailor Moon shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant even though every nerve in her body felt stretched to the limit at the sight of Tuxedo Mask in such a dangerous situation. "I guess we'll just let him do his thing for now. Knowing him, he'd get pissed if we got in his way. Neither one of us would be able to get a clear shot anyway with him being so close to Zoicite."

Mars nodded. "True. He deserves to get his hands a little dirty anyway. He usually has to spend all of his time running after you and trying to keep you out of trouble."

The blonde scout stuck her tongue out at her friend and then turned her attention back to the fight.

_Swing…Block…Slash…Block…Thrust…Dodge…_

The dance between them went on like that for a few more minutes. Both men were now sweaty and starting to show signs of fatigue. Mars was getting bored with the show and was about to yell to Tuxedo Mask to get out of the way when something finally changed.

Zoicite snarled and raised his sword overhead to bring it swinging down toward the masked hero. When Tuxedo Mask brought his cane up to block, Zoicite kicked out with a leg, sending his foot rocketing into his opponent's stomach.

Sailor Moon shrieked as she saw Tuxedo Mask fly back several yards and slam hard into the ground.

"Finally!" Mars crowed. Fire immediately sprang to life around her hands as she powered up for and attack.

"Foolish boy!" Zoicite sneered. "Did you honestly believe that a lowly human such as yourself could have the power to take on a Dark Kingdom general like me? How amusing! Now this is where you die!" He lunged forward.

A scream froze in Sailor Moon's throat. There was no way for Darien to be able to avoid the attack. He had hit the ground so hard. He had to be dazed at the very least, possibly even unconscious. Mars would never get her attack off in time. Darien was going to die, just like Endymion had in the past. She was going to have to stand here and watch the man she loved die right in front of her.

'_NO!' _her mind screamed. She could save him. Her nightmare was not going to come true. The past would not repeat itself.

She felt her forehead begin to burn and she yelled, "Close your eyes!" before she cried, "Moon Twilight Flash!" Her eyes screwed shut as the blinding light flashed from her tiara. She opened them again as the brightness faded and felt her heart sink.

Zoicite was still standing, but luckily he wasn't moving anymore and was still several feet away from his intended victim. She had hoped that her new attack would be enough to take out the general, but other than looking a little scorched and dazed he appeared to be the same as ever.

He blinked his blurry eyes hard and glared her. "You miserable brat! I'll get you back for that! Just wait and see! This is far from over!" Then he disappeared through a portal that sprang up behind him.

Sailor Moon took little notice of the general's departure. She was already running toward Tuxedo Mask, who had pushed himself up into a sitting position. She fell to her knees beside him and threw her arms around his neck.

"You're okay!" she cried softly as she buried her face in his neck.

He winced a little in pain. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest at any kind of movement, but that didn't stop him from wrapping an arm around the waist of the shaking girl. "Yeah, Serena. I'm okay."

She pulled away so she could glare at him. The tears flowing down her face had already turned her eyes red and her cheeks and nose were beginning to pinken, but that was nothing compared to the sizzling blue of her angry gaze.

"You big idiot!" she half sobbed. Then she spun her head around to pin Mars, who had wandered over and was smirking at the couple, with the same furious look. "You too! I've got a bone to pick with both of you! Are you guys trying to kill me? Because I seriously think I've had three heart attacks and a stroke in just the last five minutes!"

Both dark heads shook, but that didn't stop the chuckles that rumbled from them at the sound of her theatrics.

"Don't laugh at me!" Sailor Moon tried to shout, but her voice cracked with emotion.

Tuxedo Mask pulled her back against him, grateful to have an excuse to hold her. He pushed her head back down on his shoulder with one hand while the other stayed locked around her waist. Then he stroked her hair and whispered. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"You better be," she grumbled.

"How were you able to do that attack anyway?" Mars asked in confusion. "I thought it only worked at night."

Sailor Moon giggled shakily and pointed to the sky. It was still only late afternoon, but since it was winter it got dark early. The sun hadn't gone down yet, but the moon was already faintly visible in the darkening sky.

* * *

Very little ever amused Kunzite. In fact, it was as rare for him to laugh, or even smile, as it was for Beryl to have a non-selfish thought. It just didn't happen. Oh he would smirk on occasion, but never because he found something funny. Beryl had done a good job of matching her pets up with the body of the general whose personality they related to the closest. General Kunzite had been a stoic man, much as he was.

But an uncharacteristic grin twisted up the dark general's lips and a short chuckle rumbled in his throat at the sounds of the curses that were ringing through the room. It appeared that perhaps Beryl's Zoicite was not as even tempered as the original after all.

"I'm glad you find it so damn funny!" Zoicite snapped. "Have you ever had a razor sharp rose buried in your shoulder before? This shit hurts!"

Kunzite appraised his fellow general humorously. "I still can't believe you let that boy get the drop on you so easily. He's just an ignorant human."

Zoicite hissed in pain as he stopped trying to pull out the rose that was still embedded in his flesh and muscle. "I'm starting to think that he may be more than just a mere human. I've never had a chance to analyze his fighting skills before because he usually spends all of his time running after that airhead, bimbo girlfriend of his. But after today…there's something unusual about that boy."

Kunzite arched a brow. "Unusual how?"

Zoicite shook his head. "It's hard to explain. It's almost like there is a planetary energy surrounding him, but I couldn't pick up what planet it is from. And the way he fights is like a veteran soldier. His moves reminded me a lot of yours, actually. If he'd had a sword in his hand instead of that stick, I believe he may have been a worthy adversary, even for you."

"Ridiculous!" Kunzite snorted. "There is no way that a stray earthling off the street could ever hope to match our skill. The best warriors on Earth and the king himself trained the earth generals that once inhabited these bodies. There is none that could stand against us in a fight."

"I'm telling you, Kunzite, he's no ordinary earthling," Zoicite protested. "He has a very strong aura about him. I just can't pinpoint it." Then he grumbled a few curses under his breath as he gingerly touched his injured shoulder where the rose was sticking out of it."

"Oh for crying out loud," Kunzite muttered. He sat forward and grasped the rose. He gave it a vicious tug and it tore free from the skin, splattering more black blood on Zoicite's dark gray uniform than there already was.

"Son of a bitch! That hurt!" Zoicite yelled. "How about a little warning next time, asshole?"

"Don't be such whiny bitch!" Kunzite snapped back as he studied the bloody rose that he now held in his hand. "You better go get cleaned up. Beryl will probably summon you as soon as she finds out that you lost that crystal to the enemy. If you show up in front of her looking like that she'll probably finish you off."

Zoicite got up from his seat and disappeared into his chamber, grouching the whole way about Kunzite and his _kind _touch. This left the platinum haired general alone as he stared in fascination at the rose.

There was a lingering aura of power around it that seemed very familiar to him for some reason. It swirled blue and green with just a faint thread of gold running through it. The blue and green wasn't what caught his attention so much, that was the way most earthlings' auras looked. The more spiritual power the person possessed, the brighter the colors of their auras were. And this aura was definitely bright, suggesting that this person was very strong.

But the thread of gold confused him. Human's auras were sometimes tinged with other colors, such as red or purple, depending on their moods. But this was the first time he had ever seen one with gold, and wondered what it meant. For a moment he wished that Jadeite or even Nephrite were still around. This was more of their area of expertise than his.

Then a hazy memory popped into his head, courtesy of General Kunzite. He saw the blurred image of a man in black and silver armor kneeling down in front of a blonde woman who was sitting on a bench. The aura around the man was similar to the one that lingered on the rose, but the gold was much more prominent in the swirling blue and green. The dark man flicked a hand and a red rose appeared in his fingers as he held it out to the woman.

Kunzite tried with all of his might to focus on the two people, knowing that they must Endymion and Serenity, but the vision remained blurry and refused to unveil all of their features to him. Then it faded away.

Kunzite jolted in surprise. It appeared that Zoicite may be right and that there was more to this Tuxedo Mask than they originally thought. He briefly even entertained the idea that the boy might be Endymion, but there was just enough difference in the auras to make him reconsider that. The gold that flowed through Endymion's aura had far surpassed that which ran through Tuxedo Mask's, but they were similar enough to suggest that there was definitely a connection. Maybe there had been another earth prince, a younger brother to Endymion perhaps that his muddled memories refused to recall. That would explain a lot as to why he was fighting with the sailor scouts.

The platinum haired general laid the rose over to the side. This gave him a lot to think about, and it was definitely worth looking into. Just as he kept hoping that Sailor Venus would eventually lead him to her fellow scouts and the princess, this Tuxedo Mask may lead him straight to Endymion.

* * *

On Friday morning Ilene Tsukino pushed open the door to her daughter's bedroom with a laundry basket on her hip and screeched when she saw the girl that was passed out across the bed. "Serena! I thought I heard you leave twenty minutes ago after I woke you up for the third time! What are you still doing here? School started five minutes ago!"

Serena rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. "No mom! I don't feel good."

Ilene sat the basket down and stomped over to the bed where she whipped the covers back and placed a hand on her daughter's forehead. Then she shook her head. "You're not running a fever, so get yourself out of that bed this minute, young lady and get yourself to school."

Serena groaned. "But mom…"

"No buts!" Ilene snapped. "I will not have my daughter growing up ignorant! You belong in school! I bet you stayed up late reading manga, didn't you?"

"No, mom!" Serena protested. "I just didn't sleep very well. I kept having crazy dreams."

Ilene put her hands on her hips. "Well then, a nice full day is exactly what you need. If you get yourself good and tired I bet you'll sleep good tonight. Now move it!"

Serena sluggishly crawled from the bed and to her closet. She pulled out a clean uniform and then stumbled to the bathroom to change, wash her face, and brush her teeth before coming back out to tackle her hair. She would have loved to have just used the Luna Pen to make herself look normal, but Ilene was still there, taking her time wandering around her room picking up laundry and junk food wrappers.

She cast a critical eye over her daughter as Serena sat down at her vanity table and began brushing out her long hair. "Honey, is there something going on that you would like to talk about?"

Wide blue eyes looked up to meet hers in the mirror. "Like what, mom?"

Ilene sighed and sat on the side of the bed. "I don't know. You've just seemed so different the last several weeks. Sometimes you act so tired and listless, even a little depressed on occasion. Is there a problem with one of your friends?"

Serena tried to give her a reassuring smile. "No, mom. Things are great with the girls. They're the best friends I could ever ask for."

Her mother nodded. "That's good. Everybody needs good friends. And what about the guys? Are things going okay with them?"

Serena laid her brush down. "Okay. Exactly what are you trying to ask?"

Ilene shrugged. "I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with you. I was just wondering if maybe you were having guy trouble."

Serena rolled her eyes. "In order to have guy trouble, I would have to have a guy, mom. Which I don't."

"I was just wondering," Ilene said, holding her hands up in a placating gesture. "I mean, I know Asanuma and Kobyashi's move was kind of sudden, and I thought that maybe…" She let her voice trail off meaningfully.

"Oh, ew…EW!" Serena shrieked. "You actually thought I might have a crush on one of those goofballs and was pining away because they're gone? Not even! They're just friends. Yeah, I miss them, but not like that. They fit neatly into the friend only category, just like Andrew."

Ilene remained silent for a moment before asking softly. "And what about Darien? What category does he fit into?"

Serena's breath caught for a moment, and then she forced out a laugh. "Come on, mom! You know what I think of Darien Shields. He's a jerk and a half!"

A small smirk lifted her mother's lips at her declaration. "You two seemed to be getting along okay at Christmas. In fact, you were very civil to one another."

Serena grabbed one side of her hair and began twisting it up into a bun. "Duh! That was Christmas. You're supposed to be nice to people on the holidays."

Ilene's eyes sparkled wisely, but she let the subject drop. "All right. I just wanted to make sure that everything was going okay with you. You stay so busy all the time nowadays that we rarely get to just sit down and talk like we used to. But I guess that's just part of you growing up."

Tears stung Serena's eyes at her mother's words and she jumped up to run over and give her a giant hug. She wished that she could spill out the whole troubling mess that her life had become, but that would probably land her in a padded cell in the crazy house. "I'm fine, momma. Like I said, I've just had a hard time sleeping."

Ilene smiled and patted Serena's half done hair. "Okay. Now why don't you finish getting ready and come downstairs. You're already late, so you may as well take the time to eat some breakfast. And just this one time I'll write you a note so that you don't get detention this afternoon."

Serena squealed and hugged her again. "Thanks, mom! You're the best! I did not want to get stuck in detention today. I want to have time to get ready for tonight. The girls and I are going to go watch Andrew play in the game tonight. It's the district finals, and if our team wins they go to regionals."

Ilene read the excitement sparkling in her daughter's eyes and mused to herself if there wasn't a tall, dark haired basketball player that Serena was more interested in watching play rather than her longtime childhood friend. Hmm…time would tell, she supposed.

* * *

That night a roar erupted from the Azabu High School gym as the final buzzer sounded. The game had been a dogfight, but in the end the score was Azabu-57, Seijou-56. Lita, in particular, was ecstatic to see the school that had kicked her out get beaten and she cheered louder than any of the other girls, and that was saying something considering the amount of noise that was coming from them. Even Amy was being uncharacteristically loud.

"Whoo! Way to go, Drew!" Serena and Mina screamed together as they jumped up and down, hugging each other.

With twenty seconds left to go in the game, the score had been 51-56. Someone had passed the ball to Darien and he shot a beautiful three pointer. As soon as the other team took possession of the ball, Andrew had stolen it. The coach had been screaming at him to take the easy shot and tie the game, that they would beat them in overtime. But Andrew had taken a chance at a three point shot and the ball swished through the hoop just as the buzzer rang, making Azabu win by one.

The crowds flooded out of the stands and onto the court, but Serena and her friends held back. They knew that they would get the chance to share their congratulations later over milkshakes at the arcade.

A small growl rumbled in Mina's throat when she saw an auburn haired girl push her way through the crowd to Andrew's side and give him a big hug. She had nothing against Rita personally, she was really very nice, but she wished the girl hadn't visited. That meant that her shot at getting in some quality flirting time with Andrew tonight would be nonexistent.

Raye chuckled and put a hand on her blonde friend's shoulder. "Down, girl! Your eyes are turning green."

Mina stuck her nose up in the air and sniffed. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

Lita started laughing. "Sure you don't! Admit it, Mina; you're jealous."

"I am not!" Mina denied hotly. "I have absolutely nothing to be jealous about. Andrew and I are just buds, that's all. And it's not like he and Rita are an item anymore. He told me that they are only friends now. Besides, she'll be gone again in a couple of days."

"But until then we need to keep an eye on her," Amy reminded them. "It may just be a coincidence that she chose now to come to town, but we can't rule out the possibility that she might be a rainbow crystal carrier. Serena, has the wand done anything?"

Serena shook her head. "No, nothing. What about you? Has your computer told you anything?"

The blue haired girl shrugged. "The readings were inconclusive. It didn't pick up on anything that could be considered out of the ordinary. But then again it hasn't with any of the other crystals either. I never get any kind of warning until the Dark Kingdom has already begun making its move."

"And I never get one until just a few seconds before they strike," Serena grumbled. "That's just great! How are we supposed to try to get one up on Zoicite if we have to wait for him to make the first move?"

"It does make things difficult," Mina sighed. Right now they were currently tied with the Dark Kingdom. Beryl had two crystals while Darien had two. He had tried to hand them over to Mina the other night when she had met up with them after the attack on Peggy, but she had insisted that she felt like they were safer with him. So he had held onto them.

"Well, whatever happens, happens," Lita said. "We can't just sit around and dwell on it. We'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open."

"That's right," Raye agreed. "Now why don't we get ready to head to the arcade and avoid the rush? We won't be able to get a seat if we wait too long."

They all gathered their things together and began climbing down out of the bleachers. Just as they reached the bottom Darien broke free of the crowd and jogged over to the nearby team bench where he grabbed a towel and used it to mop his perspiring face.

He grinned at the sight of the five teen girls. "Hey! That was a heck of a game, wasn't it?"

"I'll say it was!" Lita almost cheered with a satisfied smirk. "It serves those self righteous little pricks right to get their asses beaten!"

"Lita!" Amy gasped. "It's one thing to show school spirit, but that borders on unsportsmanlike behavior."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you actually had to spend five minutes alone in any of their company," Lita grumbled. "Especially one in particular." She shot a dark look toward a tall brunette boy, who in return was giving her a death glare.

Raye snickered. "Do I detect some pent up aggression there?"

"Hmm…" Mina mused. "Who is he? An ex-boyfriend perhaps?"

"He wishes!" Lita snorted. "That's the bastard that got me kicked out of Seijou. He's the one that was picking that little freshman girl that I stuck up for. Then he made the mistake of grabbing my arm and I bashed his nose."

"Well that makes him my new best friend," Serena said. When everyone turned to look at her in disbelief she shrugged. "What? If it weren't for him causing trouble then Lita wouldn't be here with us. So that make me like him for making sure that Lita ended up right here where she belongs."

Mina's blue eyes sparkled. "Ooo, I see what you mean. He deserves our thanks." Then she blew a kiss to the brown haired boy and winked outrageously before throwing a companionable arm around Lita's shoulders.

Raye tried to growl, but it came out sounding more like a laugh. "God, save us all from featherheaded blondes. Do you think you might have one complete brain between the two of you?"

Mina stuck her tongue out at the priestess. "You're just jealous because us blondes have more fun. Right, Serena?"

Serena giggled. "Right. Now I thought we were trying to beat the rush to the arcade. I need a serious sugar fix."

A hand grabbed her wrist, and she looked up into Darien's pleading, deep blue eyes. "Can you hang around for just a minute? It won't take me long to shower and change. Then we can walk to the arcade together. Please don't leave me alone. I'm liable to get ambushed by my fan club if you don't. They'll all be after me since Rita's hanging around with Drew."

Serena looked around and saw that there were several sophomore and junior girls, even a few seniors, that were eying Darien carefully as if gauging their chances of getting him alone. She sighed. "Fine, but if you take longer than ten minutes I'm leaving without you. I do not want to be stuck standing up to drink my milkshake."

"Time me," he said with a grin and jogged toward the locker room.

"How about we go on ahead and we'll meet you guys there?" Mina said as she began herding the others away. "We'll save you two a seat."

Serena rolled her eyes. Mina was about as subtle as a rampaging elephant. She may as well have said that she was giving her and Darien some alone time, which was the exact opposite from what Serena wanted. She had been able to avoid being alone with him for the last couple of days, and it had done wonders for her sanity. As long as there were others around they were able to maintain a pleasant friendliness between them and nothing more.

"Hey, Sere! You're coming to the arcade, aren't you?" Andrew asked as he ran by on the way to the locker room.

She smiled and nodded. "Of course! I'm just waiting on Darien. He wanted me to walk with him and be his armor."

"Right! I don't blame him," the sandy blonde laughed as he disappeared through the door.

The gym was beginning to empty out quickly now that the excitement of the game was over, making it easy to hear the quiet voice that spoke up behind her. "Hi, Serena."

Serena turned around to face the auburn haired girl who was glancing up shyly at her. "Hey, Rita. How's it going?" She had never counted Andrew's ex-girlfriend as one of her closest friends. Rita was studious and quiet while she was bouncy and vivacious. But their shared affection for Andrew had always ensured that the two of them had gotten along well despite the 180-degree difference in their personalities.

Rita smiled gently. "I've been good. It's nice to be back here, though. I've missed it."

Serena couldn't help but tease. "You've missed this town, or you missed Drew?"

Rita blushed bright pink and shuffled her feet. "Both."

Serena took pity on her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Drew has missed you like crazy too. He tries to cover it up with that jokester personality of his, but I can tell. You should have seen how excited he got when he found out that you were coming for a visit. He was on cloud 9."

"Really?" Rita giggled. "I wasn't sure if he would want to see me or not. I know we talk on the phone some, and he always says that things are going the same as always, but I was afraid that maybe he was seeing someone else by now and that it would make it awkward if I showed up."

"Andrew hasn't dated anyone since you left," Serena reassured her. "Of course some girls still flirt with him shamelessly, and he's nice to them because that's just the way he is, but nothing ever comes of it."

Rita shook her head. "I don't know whether to be happy about that or not. Part of me is glad that our relationship meant so much to him that he hasn't rushed into another, but at the same time I don't want him to put his life on hold pining for me. Does that make sense?"

Serena nodded. "It makes perfect sense. Have you been able to move on yet?"

The auburn head whipped back and forth. "No! I've been asked out by a few guys at my new school, but I always turn them down. I'm just not ready to start seeing someone else. Drew and I were together for so long. It's hard to think of being with another person."

She sat down on the bench with a sigh. "My whole family is miserable since we made the move. We all want to come back here really bad, but dad's company doesn't have any positions open at the office here, so we're stuck. I'll be coming back for college, but that's a year and a half away. A lot could change by then."

Serena wished that she could say something reassuring; like that Andrew would still be waiting for her when that time came, but she couldn't. A lot could change in that time. Just look at how quickly things had changed between her and Darien. In a matter of weeks they had gone from being enemies that couldn't stand being near each other to fighting the urge to kiss one another whenever they were together. Sure, their circumstances were extreme, but it showed that change could happen. She also knew that Mina was crushing seriously hard on her old friend, and she couldn't say for sure that Andrew might not be interested in starting a relationship with the perky blonde. They did spend a lot of time talking to one another at the arcade.

She was saved from having to say anything when the door to the locker room opened and several members of the basketball team came spilling out, Darien and Andrew among them. After some high fives and boisterous farewells, the two boys made their way over to the waiting girls.

"See! I told you it wouldn't take me long," Darien said with a grin.

Serena sniffed, trying to ignore how good he looked with his damp hair falling over his eyes, and looked pointedly at the clock. "You were pushing it, though. Another minute and I was going to leave you behind. I have better things to do with my night than standing around waiting on you."

He laughed. "Calm down, Meatball Head! I'm sure the arcade isn't going to run out of milkshakes. In fact I'll be willing to bet that Drew's dad will probably have one waiting for you the moment you walk in the door."

Andrew nodded. "He's right, Bunny. You know my dad would never let you go without your fix. He knows that he would have to replace every piece of glass in the place once you got done wailing."

Serena blew a raspberry at him. "Meanie!"

He just laughed and held his hand out to Rita. "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and placed her hand in his to allow him to help her up, but he continued to hold her hand instead of dropping it as they walked toward the doors.

"Are you guys coming?" he called over his shoulder to Serena and Darien.

"We'll be right behind you," Serena said with a wave.

Darien arched a brow at her. "And we're waiting, why?"

She slapped his shoulder lightly. "Let's give them a little bit of privacy. They haven't seen each other in months. I'm sure they would like a little alone time without people crowded around them."

He sighed. "You're probably right. Drew tries to hide it, but this is the happiest I've seen him since Rita left. I just hope he doesn't get too depressed when she leaves again. Remember that first week after she moved?"

Serena shuddered. "I'd rather not." That had been a painful thing to witness. On the outside Andrew had appeared to be the same smiling, happy person he always was, but if you took the time to look into his eyes you could see the pain that he was nursing inside. He had refused to talk about it with anyone, and had even gotten snappy with her for the first time in their lives when she had tearfully begged him to talk to her about what he was feeling.

She shook off the unpleasant memories. "Let's go. They should have enough of a head start on us by now."

They both shivered a little as they left the gym. The weather had recovered some and snow no longer covered everything, but it was still quite cold out.

Serena jumped when Darien wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. "Darien…" she growled warningly.

He rolled his eyes. "Don't read to much into it, Sere. I'm just sharing some warmth so you don't freeze to death before we get to the arcade. I'm also using you to deter the two girls I see slinking around by the gate."

Her heart pounded a little faster, the way it always did when he called her Sere, as she fought back the urge to melt against him the way her dream self always did with Endymion. She scrunched her nose up at him. "Well, at least you admit you're using me. That's more than what most guys would do. But if you keep this up the school gossip mill will be linking us together."

He looked down at her and grinned. "Would that be such a bad thing?" Then he sighed as he felt her trying to pull away. "Calm down! I promised you that I would wait until we got all of this Silver Crystal business over with before I made a move, and I meant it."

He sounded sincere, so she allowed herself to lean against him slightly as she soaked up his warmth. "You better mean it."

* * *

"I feel like a Peeping Tom," Tuxedo Mask grumbled as he looked over the edge of the roof at the two people on the sidewalk below.

"Ditto!" Jupiter growled. "Why did we all have to come, again?"

Mercury sighed. "Because my computer picked up on something briefly earlier and it's a good idea to have all of us here in case Rita is a crystal carrier and the Dark Kingdom attacks." She looked over the ledge and then blushed madly. "Oh my!"

"What?" Sailor Moon and Mars demanded together and rushed to the edge.

Mars let out a low whistle. "Go, Andrew!"

Sailor Moon slapped her hands over her eyes. "Oh, god! Drew is like my brother. I did not need to see him with his tongue halfway down Rita's throat. Great! I'm scarred for life now!"

Mars snickered. "No one made you look, Meatball Head. Besides, it shouldn't be that surprising. They've been all over each other all night. I don't think Rita moved from his lap once."

Jupiter chuckled darkly. "I thought Mina was going to spontaneously combust."

Sailor Moon ripped her hands away from her face and gasped. "Oh no, Mina! None of you can repeat what we just saw to her. She would have an absolute meltdown!"

Tuxedo Mask snorted. "What's the big deal? It's not that surprising that Drew would kiss Rita. They only broke up because she moved away. It's not like they had a big fight or anything."

"Boys!" Sailor Moon scoffed. "For someone that is supposedly so smart, you can be really stupid sometimes, Darien! Mina has been crushing hard on Drew for months, but she says that she's waiting for him to get through his rebound period before she makes a move. This could set things back a bit."

"Dr…Drew and Mina!" the masked hero sputtered. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack," Sailor Moon stated. Then her face fell just a little and she muttered under her breath, "Of course she may change her mind later."

Tuxedo Mask heard her thanks to his superior hearing and grabbed her hand. "Serena," he said softly where the others wouldn't hear. "Even if Mina changes her mind, I won't. But I don't think she will. We had a pretty in depth discussion about it. I don't think it's possible for me and her to ever think of each other as anything other than friends."

Sailor Moon pulled her hand away gently. "We'll see. We still have a lot to do before we see how everything plays out."

He sighed, but nodded. "Four Rainbow Crystals down, three to go. I just wish that we could find some way to get those other two back from Zoicite."

"I'm sure we'll come up with something," Mercury said as she typed on her computer. "The good news is that the Dark Kingdom can't do anything either without having all seven of the crystals. So as long as our side still has the ones we've gotten so far, their hands are tied."

"Well, I guess that's something," Mars muttered. "Is your computer telling you anything, Mercury?"

The blue scout shook her head. "Not really. It's almost like something is interfering with the readings. Sailor Moon, is the wand doing anything?"

Sailor Moon held up the silent wand. "Not even one tiny bleep."

"Maybe we're barking up the wrong tree," Jupiter said. "It could just be coincidence after all that Rita showed up when she did. Maybe we should leave the lovebirds alone and let them have their privacy."

"You're probably right," Sailor Moon sighed as she took one last glance over the building's edge and watched Andrew and Rita walking away. "Anything's better than spying on one of my best friends."

Mars stretched and yawned. "I'm heading home then. I'm beat. I didn't sleep in the way some people did this morning." Her eyes narrowed on Sailor Moon.

"I didn't mean to sleep in, it just happened!" Sailor Moon protested loudly. "It's not like I did it on purpose, Pyro!"

"Well you better not be late for our lunch meeting tomorrow or I'll come to your house and drag you out of bed and to the arcade in your fuzzy pink pajamas!" Mars fired back.

She stuck her tongue out at her blonde friend, who returned the favor. It looked like a full-blown tongue war was about to erupt between them when suddenly the moon wand began flashing and beeping wildly. Then a shrill scream came from a block away.

"Oh crap! Looks like we were right after all," Sailor Moon moaned.

"Let's go!" Tuxedo Mask said, grabbing her hand as they all jumped to the next building.

Less than thirty seconds later they landed on a tall building and looked down into the street. Zoicite was there and had Andrew and Rita cornered.

"Hold it right there, Zoicite!" Sailor Moon yelled as she and the others jumped down from the building.

Zoicite turned to them and smirked. "I had a feeling that you brats would be showing up again, so I took out a little extra insurance this time." He pulled what looked like a small red rock out of his pocket. "This was a little invention of Jadeite's. It should make my job that much easier."

He threw it down on the ground, and immediately a circle of fire sprang up around him, Andrew, and Rita, separating them from the heroes.

"No! Drew!" Sailor Moon gasped as she jumped back to escape the scorching heat of the flames.

The mini computer had disappeared from Mercury's hands. "Let me take a crack at it. Mercury Ice Bubbles…Blast!"

The icy bubbles flew from her hands, but the flames were so hot that they evaporated on impact.

"Time to fight fire with fire," Mars snarled as she held her hands before her.

"No don't!" Jupiter told her. "That may make things worse. We don't want Andrew and Rita to be charbroiled."

"What can we do?" Sailor Moon moaned as she chewed on a thumbnail through her glove. Through the haze of the flames she could see the Dark Kingdom general advancing on Andrew and Rita. "Tuxedo Mask, do you have any ideas?" She turned to look at him, but he was gone. "Where did he go?"

Mercury looked up from the scan she was doing with her computer. "This fire won't last long. It should be dying out in a minute or so."

"That's still long enough for Zoicite to do some damage," Jupiter growled as she cracked her knuckles.

Inside the fire, Zoicite had stopped just a few feet away from Andrew and Rita.

"Move aside, boy," he told Andrew. "I'm only interested in your little girlfriend."

"Not a chance!" Andrew ground out. "The only way you're getting to her is over my dead body!" Then he punched Zoicite squarely in the jaw, making the general stumble back.

Zoicite straightened up and glared at the sandy haired boy as he wiped a stream of black blood from the corner of his mouth. "You'll regret doing that."

"You wanna bet!" Andrew snarled, and then charged the general.

"Wow! Look at Andrew go!" Jupiter said in admiration. "Maybe we should adopt him as an honorary member of the team."

Sailor Moon watched, with her heart pounding in her throat, as the boy she thought of as her older brother tried to single handedly take on Zoicite. She knew Andrew was a good fighter, but she doubted that he would be able to fight off a Dark Kingdom general by himself. She saw him throw several punches. Zoicite dodged most of them, but a few hit. Then he spun and lashed out with a forceful kick that sent the dark blonde general slamming to the ground.

Then Sailor Moon realized that the heat from the flames didn't feel quite as hot as they had before. Maybe Andrew would be able to keep himself and Rita safe until they could get to him. And where did that Darien go? Ooo! He was going to get an earful from her later! She couldn't believe that he would just take off in the middle of a battle like this, especially one that involved his best friend!

Zoicite jumped smoothly to his feet and glared at his opponent. "I'm tired of toying with you. You're in my way!" He flung out a hand and shot a blast of dark energy at Andrew.

"No!" Sailor Moon screamed as she saw Andrew fly backward several feet where he hit the ground and lay, unmoving.

Her cry was echoed by Rita. "No! Drew!" She hurried to his side where she knelt next to him. Then she glared up at Zoicite. "You monster! What do you want?"

Zoicite chuckled. "What I want is simple, dear Rita. I want your crystal."

He held the dark crystal in front of him and a scream tore from Rita's throat as dark energy crackled to life around her.

Sailor Jupiter grabbed Sailor Moon around the waist as the blonde girl ran toward the wall of flames. "You idiot! What do you think you're doing?"

"Let me go! Let me go!" Sailor Moon shrieked. "I have to save them! Drew! Rita!"

Mars took her friend by the shoulders and gave her a harsh shake. "Just calm down for a damn minute! You'll never make it through that fire without killing yourself! Then how will you save them?"

Rita's scream choked off as a blue crystal flew from her chest to clatter on the concrete. Then she slumped across Andrew's chest.

"Ah ha!" Zoicite crowed in triumph and turned to smirk at the scouts. "Sorry girls! It looks like the fifth Rainbow Crystal is mine."

He walked over and was bending down to pick up the crystal when a blur of black streaked down from the roof of a nearby building to land inside the circle of flames and something hard lashed out and hit his hand.

He pulled back with a snarl. "You again! You will not steal this crystal away from me!"

Tuxedo Mask grinned cockily as he retracted his cane. "We'll just see about that, Zoicite. Only a coward such as yourself would attack a couple while they are out enjoying an evening walk together."

"Oh, good grief!" Mars grumbled. "I thought he had given up on the corny speeches."

Just then the flames sputtered and died and Sailor Moon jerked her way out of Jupiter's grasp to run forward. "Hey, Zoicite! How dare you interrupt a couple sharing a romantic moment? I hope Cupid kicks your butt for that!"

"Not you too," Mars groaned. "Geez! You two really need to work on your speeches if you insist on giving them."

Sailor Moon stomped her foot. "What is your problem tonight, Pyro? All you have done is bitch and nag."

"Would both of you give it a rest!" Mercury snapped. "We have other things to worry about, in case you've forgotten." She pointed toward where Rita had been laying across Andrew only a few seconds before. Now instead of the auburn haired teen, there was a punk rock reject climbing to her feet.

"Ew!" Moon and Jupiter squealed together when they saw her. Gone was the conservative winter coat and dress that Rita had been wearing. In its place was a youma with sickly green skin and wearing what looked like a strapless black bathing suit. Her hair was bleach blonde with a red streak running through it and the sides of her head were shaved, making it look like a long Mohawk. The most curious thing of all was the monocle she wore over one eye.

"And here I thought the Dark Kingdom was making prettier monsters after the last one we faced," Jupiter snickered. "Well I guess we may as well take care of her. Jupiter Thunder Crash!"

Jupiter's attack went flying toward the youma, but the monster only grinned as a large glass beaker appeared in her hands and swallowed up the crackling energy.

"Holy crap! She sucked up my attack!" Jupiter exclaimed in dismay.

The youma cackled. "How about a taste of your own medicine?" A bolt of electrical energy shot out of the beaker toward the scouts.

"Move!" Jupiter cried, grabbing Sailor Moon's arm and dragging her with her out of the line of fire.

"This is just great!" Mars grouched. "We can't shoot any attacks at her. If we do she'll just suck them up and send them right back at us."

"Not if she doesn't see them coming," Mercury said firmly. "Mercury Bubbles Blast!" The area around the youma filled with fog. "Try it now Mars!"

Mars pressed her hands together in front of her. "Mars Fire Ignite!" A stream of fire flowed from her fingertips. "Ah ha! A direct hit!" she crowed as her attack hit the youma. "You can heal her any time you want to Sailor Moon. But don't let me rush you or anything."

Sailor Moon glared at the fire scout, but raised her wand. "Moon Healing Activation!"

In just a few seconds Rita had returned to normal and collapsed to the ground.

"Tuxedo Mask," Sailor Moon gasped and whirled around to check on her masked hero. She saw him kneeling down, reaching for the blue crystal on the ground.

Just then Zoicite burst into laughter and threw out a hand. A gust of wind blew up unexpectedly, carrying with it hundreds of tiny, sharp ice crystals. Tuxedo Mask was forced to pull his cape up over his head to protect himself, and Zoicite used his distraction to snatch up the crystal and disappear through a portal.

"Damn it!" Tuxedo Mask cursed. "I almost had it!"

"Are you okay?" Sailor Moon asked as she hurried to his side.

"Yeah. I'm just pissed," he grumbled as he shook his cape to dislodge the ice crystals that were stuck in it. "I almost had that crystal. It would have put us one up on those bastards."

"Hey!" she said softly. "We'll find a way to get it back. Don't worry about it." Then she slapped at his shoulder. " And just what the hell were you thinking disappearing on me like that? I didn't know where you were. One second you were standing next to me, and the next you were gone!"

He shrugged. "I wasn't sure if my plan would work or not, so I decided it was best to try it on my own without calling attention to myself."

"You decided? _You decided?_" she fumed. "And what gave you the right to decide to drop into Zoicite's little party alone? Hmm? You had no backup! It could have turned into a disaster!"

He shied away from her slapping hands. "Chill out! I wasn't aware that I had to run every little decision I made by you. Doesn't the fact that I'm a reincarnated prince hold any weight around here?"

Sailor Moon was in a high temper now. She waggled a finger in his face. "Not with me it doesn't, buddy! And don't go trying to play the royalty card on me! I don't care if you were the prince or the stable boy, don't you ever take off on some vigilante mission like that ever again or I will whip my tiara off and use it on you so fast that you won't know what hit you! Got it?"

He had the nerve to grin at her. "Yes ma'am! Now let's go make sure Drew and Rita are okay."

She smacked herself on the forehead at her forgetfulness. "Omigosh! Drew and Rita! How could I forget?" She was gone in a blur of swirling golden hair and swishing blue skirt.

He chuckled and followed her at a more sedate pace. Andrew was just groaning and sitting up as he reached him.

"Drew!" Sailor Moon exclaimed and threw herself at him as she burst into tears.

"Serena?" Andrew muttered in confusion. Then his eyes widened as comprehension hit him. "Where's Rita? Is she okay?"

Sailor Moon pulled back and scrubbed at the tears on her cheeks. "She's fine. Amy's just giving her a check over to make sure. More than likely she won't remember any of this. None of the others ever have. But how are you feeling? That was a pretty harsh blast you took."

Andrew grinned and ruffled her hair. "I'm fine. It takes more than that to keep me down. Besides, I got a few good hits in on that freak before he got to me."

Jupiter snickered nearby. "Yeah you did. You're a regular little super hero yourself. Maybe we'll have to start calling you Tuxedo Andrew."

"Ooo! I like that!" Sailor Moon giggled.

"Please!" Tuxedo Mask snorted. "If you're going to give him a super hero name at least come up with something original instead of ripping off mine."

Sailor Moon sniffed delicately. "You're just afraid that he might be able to do the job better than you."

Andrew laughed shakily. "No offense, guys, but I think I'll leave the super hero work to you. I don't think I'm cut out for it."

* * *

"Well, Zoicite, it's nice to see that you managed to do something right this time," Beryl sneered as she laid the blue crystal on the velvet cushion next to the red and yellow crystals already in her possession. "It's a good thing you did too, because I'm not in the mood to tolerate any failures; especially after your pathetic performance the other night."

Zoicite bowed his head. "I'm so glad her majesty is pleased."

Beryl waved a hand, her long crimson fingernails clinking together. "That's enough of your groveling! Leave me!"

Zoicite bowed low and then left the room.

Beryl's eyes gleamed as she stared at the three crystals. "Only two left to find. Then I'll have to see what can be done about getting the other two away from that irritating Tuxedo Mask. That man has been a thorn in my side for long enough."

Kunzite stepped forward from the shadows. "If I may, my queen. I would like your permission to investigate this Tuxedo Mask personally. I think he may have some information that might prove to be…useful…to you."

"What do you mean, Kunzite?" Beryl asked with narrowed eyes.

The general grinned and held something out in his hand. "Touch this, your majesty, and tell me what you feel."

The dark queen eyed him skeptically, but reached out to trail her fingers lightly over the rose he held. The aura around it was very faint now, but she could still sense it. She yanked her hand back with a gasp. "Endymion!"

Kunzite shook his head. "Not exactly, my queen. But the aura is similar enough to the prince's to suggest some kind of a connection. I was thinking that if I were to perhaps follow this Tuxedo Mask after a battle, I may be able to relieve him of his Rainbow Crystals and perhaps he might just lead me to Endymion as well. It would be like killing two birds with one stone."

Beryl pressed a hand to her heaving chest. "Very well, Kunzite. Find out what you can about Tuxedo Mask. If you find the opportunity to take his crystals then take them. And if you come across Endymion bring him before me."

She licked her fangs suggestively. "Our wedding has been put off for far too long. As queen of the Earth, I will have my rightful king at my side."

* * *

"So Zoicite got away with the crystal. That's a shame. It would have been nice to have been one up on the Dark Kingdom," Luna grumbled as she sat at the foot of the bed.

Serena giggled as she walked in from the bathroom in her pink flannel pajamas. "Darien pretty much said the same thing. He was pretty ticked that Zoicite beat him this time."

Luna sighed. "Well at least Andrew and Rita came through it okay."

Serena pulled the pins from her buns and her hair fell down around her. "Yeah, they're both fine. Drew might be a little sore from that blast, but Rita doesn't remember a bit of it. When she woke up we told her that she had gotten knocked down by a youma that we had been fighting nearby when it decided to run, and she believed us. Of course we had Drew backing us up on the story. We figured there wasn't any sense telling her that she had been a target now that it's all over."

Luna nodded. "That's probably for the best." Then she hopped down from the bed. "Well, I'm off to meet with Artemis. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Luna," Serena replied as the feline squeezed through the crack in the window. She picked up her brush and was in the middle of brushing her hair when her cell phone rang.

She hurried to it and checked the screen before flipping it open. "Hey, V-babe! What's up?"

"SERENA!" Mina's wail made her jerk the phone away from her ear. "I just got off the phone with Lita, and she told me that Andrew tried to fight Zoicite all by himself tonight and that he got knocked out. She swears that he's okay, but I don't know if she's pulling my leg or not. I knew that you wouldn't lie to me, so I decided to call you. So tell me the truth. Is Andrew really okay?"

Serena giggled. "Slow down and take a deep breath, Mina. Drew is perfectly fine. I promise you."

She curled up on her window seat and looked out the window as she spent the next several minutes reassuring her friend that her crush was unharmed. When the phone call was completed she remained curled up in that spot, staring up at the moon until her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep.

* * *

"Endymion," Serenity's voice broke through Darien's hazy dreams.

He growled when he found himself back in the garden where so many of his dreams of the moon princess had taken place. He had been doing so well at keeping Serenity out of his dreams lately, but she must have found a way in. He heard the faint rustle of silk behind him and then her light floral scent tickled his nose.

"Forgive me, Endymion," her soft voice pled, cracking with tears. "I never meant to push you away by telling you the truth. I swear I didn't."

He gritted his teeth together and tried his best to fight against the compassion that the sadness in her voice stirred up in him. But it was like fighting a losing battle and he felt himself crack. "It's okay, Serenity. I'm not mad anymore."

He turned around, expecting to find a carbon copy of Mina now that he knew that she was Serenity's reincarnation, but he was surprised to find her still as deeply enshrouded in the mist as she ever was.

"Hey! How come I can't see you now?" he complained. "It's not like I don't know what you look like now that I know who your reincarnation is."

She shrugged delicately. "I have no idea. This is all taking place inside your mind, and to be quite honest I gave up trying to figure out how your mind works years ago."

"Very funny," he replied dryly.

Serenity giggled. "Oh, lighten up! You've been shutting me out for a while now, and I just wanted to take the opportunity to tell you that I'm not exactly the raving schizophrenic that you've been telling everyone that I am."

_Ouch! _He winced at her implication. He had said those exact words quite a few times now to Serena and the other girls. He'd even said it in front of Mina! "Oh! You heard that, huh?"

She sighed. "It's kind of hard to miss when you say it right in front of my reincarnation. Contrary to what you think, I don't spend all of my time hanging out in your head. I do have a reincarnation that I like to keep an eye on. But that's not the main reason why I brought you here."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, why did you then?"

The moon princess walked over to the fountain and sat on the edge. "I had two reasons actually. The first was to apologize to you for going crazy over the whole soul mate thing. I forgot a very important lesson that a good friend of mine taught me. She was an expert when it came to soul bonds and she warned me once that relationships, even those between soul mates, could never be forced and that they had to be allowed to develop on their own. I had forgotten that. I had just naturally assumed that since you are Endymion's reincarnation that you would automatically sense the connection between us. I didn't take into account the differences between the person you were then and the person you are now."

Darien couldn't help but smirk. "I thought you said before that I was just like Endymion."

She shook her head. "Basically you are, but there are some differences. Both of you are intelligent, no nonsense, and straight to the point kind of men. But you are, and don't take this the wrong way, a little rougher around the edges. That's to be expected I suppose given the different conditions you grew up in."

That struck a nerve with Darien. "Meaning he grew up with a family while I didn't?"

Serenity waved a slender hand at him. "I said don't take it the wrong way. But yes, Endymion was the only child of the king and queen of Earth and they doted on him. Now most people would have grown up spoiled and selfish with that kind of attention, but he didn't. He grew up to be strong and proud. He would have made an excellent king one day if everything hadn't fallen apart. But we're getting away from the subject. Like I was saying before, I wanted to clear the air between us while I still have a chance."

Something about her words and tone of voice caught Darien's attention. "You sound like you're going somewhere."

She sighed heavily. "I am. Almost all of the Rainbow Crystals have been recovered. Once they are brought together and the Silver Crystal is whole once again I will be freed and my soul will become bound to my reincarnation's body. I will no longer be able to travel the spiritual plane anymore, which means that I will no longer be able to speak to you like this."

This news saddened him greatly. Even though he had been mad with Serenity lately, he couldn't imagine her presence not being on the outer fringes of his mind. She had been with him as far back as he could remember. He stared at her shadowy form forlornly.

She stood and glided gracefully toward him. "Why the long face? I won't really be leaving you. I'll still be around. It's just that I'll be flesh and blood, and maybe not exactly the same as you remember me. But I'll still be with you."

He shook his head. "I know. But…"

"Shh…" Serenity shushed him as she laid her fingers over his mouth. "We have to move forward. The Silver Crystal must be recovered if there is to be any hope of defeating Beryl and saving the Earth. And that brings me to my second reason for wanting to talk to you."

A shiver ran down his spine as her voice turned foreboding. "Okay. Lay it on me."

She stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "Serena is in danger, Darien. She's in terrible danger. You have to protect her, because she is the key to saving the planet. If she dies, then the whole world dies with her."

The air began rushing around him, signaling that his dream was coming to an end. In a panic, he gathered Serenity's body tightly in his arms. "Serenity! What do you mean Serena's in danger? You have to tell me more."

The dream was unraveling fast. Serenity now felt like nothing but air in his arms. He caught a flash of golden hair and large blue eyes as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek with petal soft lips.

"Goodbye, Endymion, my prince, my love. You will always be in my heart," she said quietly before disappearing completely.

"Serenity!" Darien gasped as he came awake. He stared wildly at the ceiling for several long seconds as he gulped in lungfuls of air. Serenity's words kept replaying like a broken record.

_'Serena is in danger.'_

That was all it took to send him scrambling out of the bed. He tripped over the sheets that were tangled around his legs and went sprawling across the carpet. He gritted his teeth against the pain of the carpet burns he now had on his knees, elbows, and shoulder as he climbed unsteadily to his feet. They were minor and would be gone in a couple of hours anyway. What was important right now was Serena.

He hadn't been using his bond with Serena to sense her since she had gotten upset with him and said that it was an invasion of privacy, but he was so panicked that he automatically reached out with it, needing reassurance that she was okay. He felt like crying in relief when he encountered her soothing pink aura.

It felt like she was asleep, but that wasn't good enough for him. He needed to see her for himself and make sure that she was safe. He was at his balcony doors before he even had time to think, and he shivered violently as the cold air hit him. That was when he realized that he was dressed in nothing but a pair of red silk boxers.

He forced himself to calm down and turn around to go get dressed. If he was running around in nothing but his underwear he would be forced to stay in his Tuxedo Mask form, and he would probably need to be himself at some point if he planned on keeping Serena in his sights.

And he definitely planned on keeping a close watch on her. He would even enlist the help of the other scouts if he had to. They may think he was overreacting, but maybe if he told them that Serenity was the one that had given him the warning they would be willing to help.

He had already pulled on his jeans and pullover and was reaching for his socks when a thought struck him that made him grin. He would go to Mina with this. After all, she was Serenity's reincarnation and she had already threatened him with bodily harm if he failed to keep Serena safe, so he was sure he could count on her backing him up if he told her what her past self had said.

Fully dressed now, he grabbed his keys, cell phone and varsity jacket and shoved his arms into the sleeves. Then he ran back to the balcony and transformed before leaping off the railing.

It only took a few minutes to reach his destination, but it felt like the longest few minutes of his life. Finally he landed on the familiar tree branch and his breath caught at the sight of the girl curled up on the window seat. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully for a change, but she was going to end up with a terrible crick in her neck if she stayed that way.

He carefully inched down the branch and slid the window open. Serena shivered as the cold air washed over her, but she didn't wake. He jumped over her into the room and then quickly closed the window. Then he detransformed and stood there for several minutes just watching her as she slept.

She looked ethereal in the moonlight, all golden hair and silver skin. She seemed to be more of a goddess than a girl, but even goddesses had to be uncomfortable sleeping in that position.

He walked over to her bed and pulled back the covers before returning and scooping up the sleeping angel in his arms. She shifted and murmured in her sleep and then settled back down. He laid her down in the bed and then pulled the covers up over her.

She rolled over on her side and nestled her cheek into the pillow as she sighed, "Darien." His name was hardly more than a breath slipping past her lips.

He froze for a moment, scared that she had woken up. But as the seconds passed he realized that she was dreaming…about him!

Despite his fear and his heightened emotions, a goofy grin spread across his face. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well, Angel," he whispered before going back over to window seat and settling in to keep watch over the most important person in his life.

* * *

**A/N **Only two Rainbow Crystals left to go! Everything's going to be blown sky high in the next couple of chapters and then we'll get to the real meat of the story. Now I know a lot of you have been saying "Oh no, not Dark Endymion," but I promise that I have plans for him. This is a twist story after all. And as hard as I try, I just can't bring myself to write Darien as being truly evil. But you'll just have to wait and see. So I guess this is where I leave you for now. I'll catch you guys next update. Drop me those reviews and tell me what you thought! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	18. Mistaken Identity

**A/N **Hey guys! It's me again with an update for you. I know you have been waiting for this, so I'm not going to take up a lot of time. I actually started to post this a few days ago, but I wasn't entirely happy with it so I decided to wait and do some fine-tuning. And boy am I glad I did! I never like to toot my own horn, but I am proud of the way this chapter came out. I just hope you guys feel the same when you get to the end. Oh, and I've had several people ask about Sailor Moon's Twilight Flash attack. I just want to go on record as saying that it is not my creation. It solely belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and was only used in the manga. I don't know why they didn't put it in the anime, but oh well. Now let me get those hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

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(SQUEALS!) Over 400 reviews! Thank you so much for all of your encouragement! I hope you guys like this chapter!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 18

Mistaken Identity

* * *

Sailor Mars and Jupiter jumped out of the way as the youma sent the combined attack that they had just launched against it back toward them.

Mars landed in a crouch and used her gloved arm to wipe the perspiration from her eyes as she growled, "This bitch is really getting on my nerves!"

"Ditto," Jupiter snarled from where she had ended up a few yards away. "But at least this one doesn't look like a Playboy centerfold from hell."

Mars rolled her eyes and snorted. "Yeah, because the emo look is so much better. She'd fit right in at a goth club."

This youma was definitely different from the buxom, scantily clad ones they were used to facing. She had fairly long black hair that covered most of her face. Her skin was deathly white and contrasted sharply with the heavy black eyeliner that surrounded her glinting yellow eyes. Black lipstick and nail polish, along with sloppy black clothes completed the look. In fact, if the scouts hadn't caught her in the act of draining a homeless man of his energy, they would have never suspected that she was the youma behind this attack. They would have just assumed that she was a teenage girl hanging out in the park in the middle of the night for whatever reason.

They had quickly discovered that there was definitely more going on than meets the eye when the youma blurred into motion and began flinging an assortment of flying silver blades and dark energy bursts at them. She was very fast, so it was hard for them to aim an attack at her. Mars and Jupiter thought that they finally had her there for a moment, but then she had turned their power back on them like it was nothing. Nice!

Sailor Mercury looked up from her computer with a worried frown on her face. "Be very careful, you guys. If my readings are correct, then this youma's power level is the highest we've faced yet."

"Yeah, we kinda figured that out already," Jupiter muttered, eying the youma that was now standing still and watching them silently as if she was waiting for them to make the next move. "Any idea how we can take it out?"

Mercury shook her head and went back to typing on her computer. "I'm working on it. But like I said, this one is strong. It won't be easy to find a weak spot."

It wasn't like the scout of ice to sound so unsure of herself, but in the three weeks since the attack on Andrew and Rita it had sadly become a common occurrence. They had gotten no leads on the last two Rainbow Crystals, but on the plus side it didn't seem like the Dark Kingdom had either. The down side was that there had been a huge increase in the number of youma attacks. Zoicite was releasing two, sometimes three a day. And it was stretching the young superheroes very thin.

"Where is that Meatball Head? We need her here," Mars growled.

Mercury shrugged. "I called and told her that there was an attack. She said that she was coming, but something may have happened."

The past three weeks had been hard on all of them. Because of the sheer number of attacks and the fact that the Dark Kingdom seemed to prefer to attack at night for some reason, they found themselves constantly being pulled out of bed to go fight in the middle of the night. Then they stumbled through their days, getting by on caffeine and five hour energy shots.

On top of all of this they were also participating in what they called _"Serena Watch"_. Darien had shown up at Mina's house the morning after Rita's Rainbow Crystal had been taken with an ominous message that he said Serenity had delivered to him in a dream about Serena's safety. He had been so shaken up that Mina had wasted no time in calling the other scouts together. Now some people may scoff at believing something that was heard in a dream, but the scouts sincerely believed that it was truly Serenity's spirit that had spoken to Darien, so they took it seriously.

Serena had been kept under constant watch since then, day and night, though she wasn't aware of it. During school hours that was easy enough, but at night they took shifts keeping an eye on her house. The first week had been the worst since Darien wasn't able to help because of the little fact that Serena could sense him when he transformed and could tell when he was near. But after spending several hours with Raye he had finally learned how to block his aura so that Serena wouldn't feel him. Now the scouts had to threaten to physically drag the reincarnated prince home whenever one of them showed up to relieve him. Even he had to sleep some.

But Serena seemed to be the one that was suffering the most. The youma kept getting stronger and stronger, so nine times out of ten it was her attack that had to take out the enemy. As a result her energy was low and made her uncharacteristically crabby. Combine that with the lack of sleep from having to get up and go fight and the nightmares that Luna had reported her having, she was a very moody Serena. Everyone walked on eggshells around her, not knowing what to expect. One minute she would be like a zombie, and the next she might try to bite someone's head off. She tried to cover it up sometimes with her usual cheerful demeanor, but those that knew her well could see right through the façade.

Mars groaned. "She better not have gotten caught sneaking out of the house. We need her here. I know her dad is a light sleeper, but you would think that she would have learned how to move a little more stealthily by now."

"I heard that, Pyro!" a grumpy voice grumbled as Sailor Moon came stumbling through the trees.

Mars rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad you did! It's about time you showed up. I was beginning to think that you had rolled over and gone back to sleep or something."

Sailor Moon leveled a chilling blue glare on her fiery friend. "Don't start! I am so not in the mood right now that it's not even funny. So what have we got?"

Jupiter jerked her head. "Goth chick at twelve o'clock. And don't let her simple appearance fool you. She's wicked fast and lethal as hell. There's also the little matter of her being able to turn our attacks back on us."

"Oh goody!" Sailor Moon huffed. "Do we have a weak spot for her yet?"

Mercury growled in frustration. "No, we don't. This stupid computer isn't telling me anything!" She looked to be about ready to throw the mini computer to the ground and crush it under her boot heel.

Sailor Moon sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose for a second. "Fine. Let me try to feel her out." She whipped her tiara from her head and charged it up into a spinning disc.

"Um…Moon," Mercury said hesitantly. "I don't know if that will work. Maybe your Twilight Flash would be…"

"Just let me try this!" Moon snapped back and then cringed at the sound of her voice. She hated sounding so snappy, but she was completely worn out. She knew her Twilight Flash was her more powerful attack, but it took a lot of energy out of her when she used it and she was having a hard enough time staying on her feet as it was.

"Moon Tiara Magic!" she cried and flung the tiara as hard as she could toward the youma. _'Please let this work. I just want to go home,' _she begged silently.

Of course her wishes were never granted that easily. The creepy looking goth youma just stood there, staring at the tiara as it sped toward her. When it was just a few yards away she simply flicked a hand at it and it changed course, bearing back down on its wielder.

Sailor Moon thrust her hand into the air to grab the returning disc. She hissed a little as her fingers bent back painfully and the heat of the dying energy coming off of it seeped through the fabric of her glove to scald the palm of her hand. She shoved the metal object back onto her forehead.

Mars shook her head. "Mercury tried to tell you."

"I know!" Moon shot back spitefully. "If you think you can do any better then by all means, feel free to step in!"

"Come on, you two! Don't fight!" Jupiter told them. "I know we're all stressed right now, but bickering among ourselves isn't going to solve anything."

Sailor Moon heaved a sigh. "You're right. I guess I'll have to do this the hard way after all." The stone in her tiara began to glow.

Suddenly the youma began moving again. Quick as a blink she was gone, darting around so fast that it was almost impossible to keep up with where she was. A blast of dark energy came almost out of nowhere, scattering Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter, and sending them sprawling on the ground.

The youma came to a standstill about twenty yards away from Sailor Moon and threw her arms wide. A wall of hundreds of tiny silver blades appeared before her and then hurtled toward the young heroine.

Sailor Moon froze. Her mind screamed at her to jump out of the way, but her body refused to cooperate. The blades were closing in fast, She clench her eyes tightly shut and waited for them to rip into her body.

Then warmth was all around her and air was rushing past her face. She heard a sharp hiss of breath and opened her eyes to look up into a pair of stormy blue ones behind a white mask. Her body trembled in relief and fatigue as she whispered, "Darien."

He landed lightly on the balls of his feet, but didn't let her go. "Are you okay?" he demanded.

She nodded jerkily. "Yes. Are you?"

"I'm fine," he said tightly.

She felt something warm and wet on her hand that was clutching his shoulder and pull it away to stare at the red stain that now coated the palm of her glove. She let out a little cry. "No you're not fine! You were hit!"

"A couple of the blades nicked me. That's all. It's no big deal," he grumbled.

"It is so a big deal," she protested, wriggling in his arms until he sat her down. The moment her feet touched the ground she spun around, looking for the youma. She saw it approaching the other scouts. It was eying them curiously like she was trying to decide what she wanted to do with them next.

All signs of tiredness faded from Serena's body as rage flooded through her. So this youma thought it could go around blasting her friends, did it? And now it thought it could try to kill them when they were incapacitated? No way! Not on her watch! And the icing on the cake was that it had injured Darien. Nobody…_Nobody hurt HER Darien!_

She pushed aside the voice in her head that whispered, _'Not your Darien,' _and yelled out, "Hey, Ugly! Over here!"

"Serena, what are you doing?" she heard Tuxedo Mask hiss behind her, but she ignored him. She jerked away from his grasping hands and took several steps away from him. "You missed me stupid! So if you want another shot, then here I am!"

The youma turned with a snarl. It was the first sound that Sailor Moon had heard come out of it since she had arrived. It fixed its one visible yellow eye on the girl that was taunting it and swung its arms open wide. Twice as many blades as the first time appeared and blurred into motion.

This time Sailor Moon was ready. Tuxedo Mask had snatched her out of harm's way so many times that she had his movements memorized. She turned just as she felt his hand land on her hip and shoved him hard, pushing him away from her. In the same fluid movement she spun back toward the attack, already calling out, "Moon Twilight Flash!"

Her forehead felt blazing hot as the energy burst from the tiara and bathed the entire area in white light. The blades hurtling toward her disintegrated with pops and hisses and the youma screeched loudly as the light slammed into her. In just seconds she crumbled into a pile of dust.

Sailor Moon slumped to her knees as the light faded, completely and utterly spent. She felt like she could curl up right there on the ground and sleep for a week. But the sight of the black clad body laying on the ground just a few yards away from her galvanized her muscles into action. Her legs were shaking so badly that she knew that she would never manage walking at this point, so she crawled her way over to her masked protector's side.

"Darien?" she said softly as she reached to touch his cheek. His eyes were closed behind the mask, and that worried her. Had she pushed him down harder than she had intended to? Had he hit his head when he fell? Great! She had only wanted him out of the way for a moment, not to injure him worse than he already was.

Tears began to blur her vision, but when she reached up to rub her eyes a hand clamped down around her wrist, keeping her gloved fingers against his face. She blinked hard to try and get rid of some of the blurriness, and that caused a few tears to spill over and down her cheeks. But now she could see a little better, and she found herself pinned by an angry sapphire glare.

"And just what was that little stunt all about?" Tuxedo Mask ground out carefully.

Relief swamped through her at the sound of his voice. "You're okay! Oh, thank god!" She leaned over so that her forehead rested against his uninjured shoulder.

He growled low. "Don't try to change the subject! I asked you a question. What in the hell did you think you were doing taunting that thing?"

Her head jerked up and she tried to glare at him through the tears that were still welling in her eyes. "What was I doing? It looks to me like I killed a youma and saved everyone's skins. I had to get that thing's attention away from the girls before it could hurt them."

"So you offered yourself up as bait. Are you crazy?" he snorted.

She gaped at him for a moment before her face flamed red. "I did not offer myself up as bait! I simply used myself as a diversionary tactic so that I could be sure to have a shot at taking the sucker out before somebody got hurt."

She winced as she noticed the wet spot on the shoulder of his tuxedo jacket that was darker than the rest of the material and the matching spot on his trouser leg over his right calf. "Well, at least before anyone else got hurt," she mumbled and looked down.

He sat up and put his fingers under her chin to force her eyes to meet his. "Hey! I told you that I'm fine. These are just scratches. They'll probably be gone by morning. But you're not getting out of this that easily. I am still furious at you for putting yourself in a dangerous position, _on purpose!_"

"Get over it!" she snapped as a spark of irritation flared to life inside of her. "In case you have forgotten, I am a sailor scout. It's my job to fight against the Dark Kingdom flunkies and keep this planet safe. There's nothing safe about any of that."

Frustration burned in his gaze. "Maybe there's not. But you don't go around purposefully enticing the bad guys. That's suicide!"

_Suicide! _Just the thought of that word made her head ache and her stomach roll nauseously as it dredged up thoughts of the nightmare she had woke up almost screaming from just moments before Amy had called to tell her about the attack.

She was finding it increasingly difficult to wake herself up now whenever her dreams started taking a bad turn. And as a result she had been forced on several occasions to revisit the moment of Endymion's murder and her subsequent suicide just minutes later. And it never got easier to see.

A hand was waving in front of her face. "Hey! I'm sorry. I know that sounded harsh, but I'm just trying to look out for you."

She forced out a smile for him. "I know. I think we're all stretched to our limits right now." She slowly moved away from the hand that had moved from under her chin to her cheek. "I better go check on the girls."

"We're fine," Jupiter's voice suddenly spoke up. "I'm a little pissed that emo bitch got the drop on me, but all she did was knock the wind out of me."

"Same here," Mercury replied as she took the hand that Jupiter offered her and let her pull her up.

Mars jumped to her feet and brushed off her skirt before glaring at the blonde girl still sitting on the ground. "What the hell took you so long to get here, Meatball Head? Your house is like five minutes away from here, and that's if you walk normally. We were screwing around with that youma I know at least a good twenty minutes before you finally decided to grace us with your presence. Distance-wise you should have been the first one here."

Sailor Moon felt a scathing retort form on her tongue, but she bit it back. Yeah, Raye's words struck a nerve in her, but she knew that lashing out was just the fiery priestess's way of dealing with her emotions.

So instead of snapping back and starting a useless fight over nothing, she just gave the sheepish grin that she was known for. "Sorry. My dad woke up and I had to wait until he fell asleep again. I think him and my mom have become convinced that I'm on drugs or something and I'm really trying to not rock the boat with them right now."

That was putting it lightly. She had seen the looks that her parents gave her when they thought she wasn't looking. They looked at her like she was an alien from another planet. She had even overheard them talking about how tired she always seemed to be and her steadily declining grades and how they thought that this was just some teenage phase she was going through. And thankfully they hadn't been too harsh on her, thinking it was best to back off and let her work through whatever issues she had going on. But she knew that they were concerned.

Mars's shoulders slumped as her temper seemed to fade. She snickered. "What did you do, trip over your desk chair again?"

Sailor Moon rubbed the back of her neck and forced out a giggle. "Uh, yeah. I guess I really need to move that thing. It's worse than a burglar alarm." She went to stand, but couldn't stop a cry of pain that left her lips as a sharp sting shot through her leg.

"Serena! Your leg!" Mercury exclaimed.

She looked down and saw a three-inch gash in her left thigh, just a few inches below the hem of her fuku skirt. Thanks to her accelerated scout healing it had already begun to scab over, but it still hurt.

Tuxedo Mask was on his feet beside her in an instant with an arm around her. "Damn it! I'm sorry, Serena. I thought I had you shielded better. I guess one of those blades got through anyway."

"It's okay," she reassured him and pointed to his shoulder. "Like you said before, it's just a scratch. It's already healing. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use some sleep. I'm going to head home."

Jupiter stretched her arms above her head. "Yeah, me too. There's this cooking seminar at the community center tomorrow that I really want to catch. The instructor is a total hottie. His cooking's not bad either. But it starts really early, so I may just forget about it."

Mercury glanced at the clock on her computer. "I think you mean today, Lita. It's already two in the morning."

Jupiter shrugged. "Today, tomorrow, what does it matter? Everything seems to kind of run together nowadays."

"Amen," Sailor Moon muttered.

Tuxedo Mask squeezed her with the arm he still had around her shoulders. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

She slid from under his arm and shook her head. "That's okay. I can make it back on my own."

He lifted his shoulders nonchalantly. He'd be following her anyway. It was his turn to keep watch on her. He had just relieved Mercury about an hour before the call about the attack had come in and he had been sitting on her roof when she had jumped out the window.

She looked down, and then giggled. "I think your cape has had it."

He looked down as well and couldn't help but grin at the sight of the tattered black and red fabric that had been shredded into ribbons by the blades. "Better my cape than you. By the way, you're still in trouble for putting yourself in danger like that."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever! I'm not afraid of you, you big teddy bear! Now everybody go home. I'll see you later." She spun on her boot heel and began walking away.

Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury took their leave a minute later, but Tuxedo Mask remained standing there. He wanted to give Serena a few minutes head start so that he could follow her without being seen. He knew that she would throw a fit if she found out that she was being kept under close watch.

Then a rustling sound from the branches of the evergreen tree above him caught his attention and he grinned. "Come on down, Mina. I know you're up there."

A few seconds later Sailor V dropped gracefully to the ground in front of him. She matched his grin with one of her own. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it? I thought there for a minute that I was going to have to jump in and help."

Tuxedo Mask chuckled. "I'm glad you didn't. It's hard enough keeping an eye on one reckless blonde. I can't imagine what it would be like with two of you running around. The longer we can keep your identity from the Dark Kingdom, the better."

She blew out a frustrated breath. "Yeah, I guess. But right now nothing is more important than Serena's safety. She hasn't become suspicious that she's being watched, has she?"

He shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of. She hasn't noticed me or any of the others guarding her house, and that's pretty good considering she's in and out the window all night. I wish the Dark Kingdom would back off a bit though. She's exhausted."

"I know she is. You all are," she said sadly. "I feel bad because I'm not able to do more. You're all out here fighting while I'm hiding like a scared little girl. You guys are hardly even letting me help keep an eye on Serena."

And that really grated on her nerves. As Sailor Venus, leader of Princess Serenity's guard, she felt that it was her duty to protect her princess. But to keep up the pretense that she was actually Serenity she had to step back and let the others handle it. If push came to shove though she would reveal her true self in order to keep Serena safe. She was too important. The fate of the world rested in her hands.

Tuxedo Mask gave her an indulgent smile. "You just concentrate on keeping yourself hidden and let the rest of us worry about Serena. Hopefully we can find the other two Rainbow Crystals soon and end this whole mess."

Sailor V turned serious eyes on him. "Just promise me one thing. If things get bad, promise me that you'll keep Serena safe, even over my welfare."

Neither one of them noticed the pair of large blue eyes that were watching them from behind a bush, nor did they hear the light scuffle as the girl crouched there hurried away with tears in her eyes before she could hear the masked man's response.

"I'm going to keep you both safe," he declared.

* * *

Sailor Moon ran home as fast as the adrenaline pounding through her veins would let her. So everyone was watching out for her were they? Did they all believe that she was so weak that she needed constant protection? Did nobody have faith in her to be able to fight against the Dark Kingdom? Was she a bad leader?

These questions kept running through her head as she approached her house. With just a few quick jumps she landed on the branch outside her window and dove inside, pulling it closed behind her. She let her transformation go and then threw herself on the bed.

She buried her head in the pillow as the tears flowed faster. She was such an idiot! She couldn't believe that she hadn't seen the signs before. She was so used to having her friends around her that she hadn't paid attention when it suddenly seemed like there was someone with her all the time. She couldn't even get up and go to the bathroom without one of the other girls jumping up and going with her.

And Mina…she was probably the worst of them all. Serena had been having such a hard time getting up in the morning the last few weeks that she had been late for school more days than she had been on time, which landed her in detention. And on those mornings Mina had refused to go on without her, which put her in the same boat. It also ensured that someone was in detention with her to quote _"Keep an eye on her."_

How pathetic was that? She was Sailor Moon! She was supposed to be protecting the moon princess. Instead the princess was helping to protect her. Did anyone else see the problem with that scenario?

And now she finds out that they are watching her at home too! That was the blow that hit the hardest. They were treating her like a five year old! She wondered if there was someone sitting on her roof right now. She was tempted to crawl up there and find out, but she was so tired and upset that she figured that it was best to let it go for now. She settled for reaching out lightly through the bond she shared with Darien, but his end was a blank slate. Maybe that meant that he was at home asleep where he should be and not playing babysitter to her.

That thought made her feel a little bit better as she rolled over into a more comfortable position and hoped for a decent night's sleep. A little bit of guilt began to worm its way into her thoughts. Her mother had always said that eavesdroppers never heard anything good, and now she could see that she was right.

She hadn't meant to listen in on Darien and Mina's conversation. It had just kind of happened. She had left the others to go home when she remembered that she had meant to ask Raye how her grandfather was doing. The older man had fallen off the roof of the shrine earlier that evening and she was concerned for the man that was like an adopted grandfather to her. So she figured that she would pop back and ask real quickly and then go home.

But as she approached the spot where she had left them, she had seen no one except Tuxedo Mask. Then he had spoken softly and Sailor V had dropped from a tree. Her heart had cracked a little, thinking that despite his protests Darien was enjoying a romantic interlude with his princess. She had started to leave, but then she had heard her name and had frozen.

She should have forced herself to leave. Of course then she would be laying here nursing a broken heart instead of feeling sorry for herself for being such a loser that her friends felt the need to keep her under constant surveillance. It seemed like no matter which way she turned, she just couldn't win.

Sleep finally overtook her. And as she thrashed, moaned, and sweated feverishly in her bed, a tuxedo clad boy sat on the roof above her, unaware of a pair of hard gray eyes that were watching him intently.

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Kunzite teleported straight into the generals' chambers. He was surprised to find Zoicite waiting there for him. "What are you doing here? I thought you finally got a lead on the next Rainbow Crystal."

Zoicite's eyes narrowed. "I did. But this one is going to take a little bit of planning. I tried to take it earlier, but the old man that is holding it is very strong spiritually. He won't give it up as easily as the others have. And I don't want to alert the sailor brats or that tuxedoed pansy to the fact that I have located it by engaging in a long, drawn out fight for it."

Kunzite smirked. "You're not hiding from those children, are you?"

"No!" the dark blonde general growled. "I just want to try to avoid any outside interference for now. Queen Bitch is already mad enough that they have two of the crystals. I'm just trying to keep them from getting any more. They'll get what's coming to them once we get our hands on the Silver Crystal. So where were you? You rarely ever leave the base."

The platinum haired general shrugged. "I was just watching a battle. Beryl set a youma loose to collect some energy and I was bored, so I thought I'd go watch the little fledglings for some entertainment."

Zoicite's eyes sparked with interest. "Did you pick up on anything from Tuxedo Mask?"

Kunzite had been trying for weeks to follow Tuxedo Mask after a battle to try and get some insight into who he was, but the stealthy boy had been able to give him the slip every time…until tonight.

A rarely seen smile curved his lips. "I may have gotten a small lead. He wasn't as cautious as he usually is when he left the battle tonight and I was able to follow him to a house. I don't think it's his though because all he did was sit on the roof. I got tired of watching him do nothing though, so I came back for now. Maybe I'll go check it out better tomorrow."

"Do you think it could be Sailor Moon's house?" Zoicite asked excitedly. "Or perhaps it could even be the princess's house."

Kunzite nodded. "The thought has crossed my mind. With as protective as Tuxedo Mask is of Sailor Moon, it's probably a fairly safe bet that it's her that he's watching after. I was thinking that I would go back during the day to check things out. If I can follow Sailor Moon's civilian identity, she's sure to lead me to Tuxedo Mask. Once we figure out who he is, it should be only too easy to get what we want out of him. All we'll have to do is threaten his girlfriend and he will be putty in our hands."

Zoicite cackled gleefully. "And the best part is that Beryl doesn't need to know about this little side operation. Wouldn't she be surprised to discover that we have two of the Rainbow Crystals? It would certainly make getting our hands on the Silver Crystal a lot easier."

Kunzite sat down with a satisfied look on his face. "That's the plan, Zoicite."

* * *

"You look dead, man," Andrew said as he placed a soda on the counter in front of Darien. "Bad night?"

Darien chugged down several gulps of the drink before answering. "You have no idea. There were two attacks overnight, and neither one of them were pretty."

Andrew winced. "Is everyone okay?"

The black head nodded. "A few cuts and bruises, but nothing too serious. It's been more tiring than anything."

Andrew shook his head. "And you're still sitting up at night keeping watch on Serena's place too, aren't you? I don't see how you do it."

Darien held up his glass. "It's all thanks to the caffeine god. I hate to say it, but I'm glad we were knocked out of the tournament in the semi-finals. If I had to go play a game right now I'd probably shoot myself."

"You better not let coach hear you say that," Andrew muttered sourly. "I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel when we lost that game. My ears are still ringing from his yelling. And I thought Serena could get loud."

Darien couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I think we finally found someone who could beat her." He downed the rest of his drink and then stood. "I think I'm going to go home and crash for a few hours."

"Yeah, you do that," Andrew said. "The city's superheroes aren't going to be able to beat the bad guys if they're all falling out from exhaustion."

He waved as Darien walked out and started wiping down the already spotless counter. It was a nervous habit of his, but it helped him to think. He was worried about all of his friends. This fight was really wearing them out and they all seemed on the verge of collapse. Darien was nervous and jumpy and Serena always seemed to be about two steps away from a meltdown. Raye and Lita were both more short tempered than usual and Amy had even started being snappy. And Mina, bless her heart, was running around trying to keep up her sunny demeanor, but anyone that knew her could see the tension under her too wide smiles.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the doors swish open or the rapid tap of footsteps announcing a new arrival until a hand waved in his face. He jerked his head up where his hazel eyes clashed with a pair of china blue ones. "Mina!"

She giggled. "Hey, space cadet! What's a girl got to do to get some service around here? You looked like you were a million miles away."

He grinned at her. "Sorry about that. I guess I wasn't paying attention. What can I get for you?"

"Serena and I will each have a chocolate milkshake to go, please," she answered in a bright tone.

"Serena?" he muttered, craning his neck to see that there was indeed someone standing behind Mina. His eyes widened at the sight of the wan looking girl behind the taller blonde.

Serena forced a smile onto her face. "Hey, Drew! What's up?"

He had to force himself to hold back the shudder that rippled through his body at the sight of that fake cheerfulness on her pale face. "Hey, Sere! You look wiped out. Are you okay?"

She nodded as she slipped onto a stool. "I'm fine, just tired. We had a busy night."

He nodded as well. "So I heard." When she looked at him questioningly he added, "Darien was in here a little bit ago and filled me in."

Her eyes widened a fraction. "Oh! Did he seem okay to you? He got a couple of cuts last night. He said they were just scratches, but he may have just been covering it up so I wouldn't worry about him."

Andrew paused in the middle of making the milkshakes to lean across the counter and place a hand over her folded ones. "He's fine, Serena; worn out for sure, but physically fine. You know how fast he heals."

One side of her mouth kicked up in a rueful grin. Yeah, she knew how fast he healed. It had annoyed her on more than one occasion that Darien could receive a bruise and that it would be completely gone in just a couple of hours. She healed faster than a normal person as well, especially in her transformed state, but even then her rate of healing was nowhere near as fast as his in his civilian form. By now he probably didn't even have any scars remaining from the blades the night before while she sat here with a dull ache in her leg from her half healed cut. Maybe she would find the opportunity to transform today while she was at the temple so she could speed up the healing process. It would be nice if she could hurry it through the horrible itchy stage that always happened when a cut or sore was almost healed.

Andrew grinned conspiratorially at her, almost as if he could read her thoughts. He was in the process of turning his attention back to the milkshakes when he jerked his eyes back to her, more specifically to the strap on her shoulder. "Serena, is that your school backpack?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. Things have been so crazy the past few weeks that everyone has fallen behind on their work, so Amy is insisting that we have a study group today. My grades have nosedived so much that I figure it wouldn't hurt to at least attempt to get some stuff done."

Her old friend's face registered about ten different degrees of shock. "You are seriously going to do school work on a Saturday…willingly?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it willingly," she grumbled. "Raye's got some mangas that she borrowed from me that she's threatening to burn if I don't show up."

He shook his head. "I don't care! You even entertaining the idea of doing Algebra or English on a Saturday is nothing short of a miracle." Then he lunged across the counter to wrap his hands in a very light and unthreatening way around her neck as he mimed strangling her. "Who are you, and what have you done with my Bunny?"

A tired, but genuine laugh bubbled from Serena. She slipped nimbly from his hands and at the same time grabbed Mina and pushed her into his grasp. "Here! If you want to strangle someone, do it to Mina! She's the one that came over and dragged me out of bed. So you have my permission to extract my revenge for me."

Andrew laughed and changed his stranglehold into a hug. "Now why would I want to cause harm to the person that's trying to save my little sister from eternal groundation?"

Mina's cheeks went pink at the feel of her crush's arms around her. She knew that it was strictly in a friendly, platonic way, but she did wish that there wasn't a counter between them.

All too soon he let her go and returned to the milkshakes. He also turned serious eyes on Serena. "Listen, Sere. I'm not going to go into 'preaching big brother mode'. I know you have a lot on your plate right now. But if you need some help with your schoolwork, feel free to come to me anytime. I overheard my mom talking to your mom the other night, and they're convinced that this is just a phase you're going through, but that's only going to buy you a little time. I don't want to see you get in trouble with your parents."

Her shoulders slumped. "I know. I'm just hoping that this Dark Kingdom thing will hurry up and get over with so that everything can go back to normal. I want everything to go back to the way it was before all of this started. I just want to be a normal girl again."

He gave her a smile of encouragement as he set a cup in front of her. "That's going to happen. I just know that you guys are going to win and then everything will be fine. But for now maybe this will help give you a boost."

She giggled and took a sip of the creamy chocolate concoction. "Thanks, Drew. This is why you're important to our group."

He cocked a brow at her. "My phenomenal milkshake making abilities?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "It's not just that. You are like our own personal morale booster. Whenever any of us are down you pick us back up with your smiles, kind words, and sweet treats. It makes you an essential part to our team."

"I don't know about that," he mumbled, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "You and the others are in a class entirely to yourselves, I'm just the guy standing on the fringes."

Her big blue eyes fixed on him. "That's not true. You may not have powers like the rest of us, but you are just as much a part of this as any of us. Don't you forget that."

He shook his head with a chuckle. "Well, now. I couldn't let Darien have all the fun with you beautiful women, could I? I'm just doing my small part to help even the odds."

Serena and Mina both laughed at his humor and after a few more minutes they left the arcade to head toward the temple.

Once outside, Mina turned to her friend with a sparkling smile. "You sly dog! You practically pushed me into Andrew's arms."

Serena shrugged, her tired eyes glinting in amusement. "I figured you'd appreciate his touches more than I would. You seemed to enjoy it."

"And people call me the love goddess," Mina barely whispered under her breath.

"What was that?" Serena asked curiously.

Mina shook her head. "Nothing! Now we better hurry up and get to the temple before Raye barbeques us."

* * *

Darien sighed as he pulled the towel he had been using to dry his wet hair off his head and pitched it into the laundry hamper. The heavenly smell of coffee drifted down the hallway from his kitchen, promising him a temporary pick me up, as he pulled a sweatshirt over his head.

He had stumbled home from the arcade earlier and had fallen into bed fully clothed before giving into an exhausted sleep. As usual his dreams had been filled with confusing images of what he assumed were memories of his past life, but none of them made sense. They were mostly just a jumbled up mess, one vision overlaying itself over the other. He would catch a glimpse of a familiar face here and there or hear a voice, but nothing concrete.

So instead of focusing on the swarm of images, knowing that if he did he would probably do nothing but confuse himself even more and wake up with a headache, he concentrated on trying to contact Serenity. But all he ever got was a vague sense of her presence, barely hovering at the fringes of his mind. He would hear her voice calling to him, but it was low and warped like a bad radio signal. It seemed that what she had said before was true. Each Rainbow Crystal that was recovered brought them that much closer to completing the Silver Crystal, and that pulled her farther away from him.

He had woken up, frustrated as he rolled over to look at his clock and saw that he had only been asleep for two hours. His body had craved more sleep, but his mind was wide-awake. So he had reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and into the shower. Dark Kingdom or not, he still had schoolwork to do.

He padded down the hall to his kitchen where he poured himself a cup of coffee. As he stood there he wondered how Serena was doing today. She had still been asleep when he had left her house earlier when he saw Mina arrive. He knew that the girls had plans to spend the day together, so Serena and Mina would be well protected, but he felt kind of at a loose end being here at home alone. So much of his time lately had been devoted to fighting and keeping an eye on Serena that it seemed strange.

He pushed away from the counter and headed for the living room where his stack of books and assignments waited for him. Might as well use this rare free time to catch up on his studies. He was just glad that the homework load was light this weekend.

He had just settled down at the coffee table and was starting on his chemistry write up when he heard a knock at the door. Figuring Andrew must have gotten out of work early today and was needing help with his Trig homework, he went to go answer it.

He was about ten feet from the door when the aura on the other side of it hit him hard. The swirling pink snapped with anger and irritation and even a little silver crackled around the edges. Uh oh, this could not be good.

He eased the door open and looked at the red faced, tear streaked blonde girl standing in the hall. "Serena?"

She sucked in a shuddering breath. "May I come in, please?"

He stood aside. "Sure."

She shuffled in, head down and shoulders slumped over so far that the ends of her pigtails almost dragged the ground.

Darien closed the door and turned to face her. "Okay, spill! What's wrong? I thought you were studying with the girls today."

She sniffled wetly. "Raye and I had a fight."

He sighed internally. Okay, so it wasn't as bad as he thought. This was just another case of Serena and Raye squabbling with each other and not anything to do with the enemy or Serenity. This he could handle. He wasn't really surprised by this news. Tensions had been running high between the two girls for days, a fallout was bound to happen sooner or later.

"I'm sure it's not that big of a deal," he told her in what he hoped was a sympathetic voice. "You know how temperamental Raye is. You two get into spats all the time. I'm sure once she calms down everything will blow over. You shouldn't get yourself so worked up over it."

Her head rose to look at him. Her eyes were red rimmed and swimming with tears. "No. It's more than that. I think she really hates me now." She leaned against the wall and began to slide down it.

Okay, it was time for an intervention. Darien grasped her under the arms and lifted her gently back to her feet. "All right, don't fall apart on me now, Meatball Head. How about I fix you a hot cocoa and you can tell me all about it."

She nodded weakly and let her backpack slide off her shoulder and to the floor. Then she slowly took her jacket off.

"What happened to your shirt?" he asked when he saw a large brown stain on the front of her soft pink sweatshirt.

She shrugged. "Milkshake mishap. That's part of the story."

He shook his head. "Okay, first thing's first. Let's get you something else to wear and get your shirt in the wash and then I'll get you that cocoa and you can spill your guts to me."

A reluctant giggle slipped past her lips as he grabbed her hand and hauled her into his bedroom. He went straight to a stack of freshly laundered clothes that was on top of his dresser, waiting to be put away, and grabbed the first warm shirt he could find. He gave it to her and pushed her toward the bathroom.

"Go change," he ordered.

She gave him a mock salute. "Yes sir!"

He stood outside the door and listened to the faint rustle of clothing as she changed. Then he heard the sound of water running. A minute later the door swung open to reveal a freshly washed faced Serena in his basketball hoodie. The shirt was so big on her that it went to her knees and the sleeves went way past her hands. He bit back a chuckle.

She narrowed her eyes on him. "Not a single wisecrack out of you, Shields! I know I'm as short as a leprechaun, but I don't need you to rub it in my face."

"I wasn't going to say a word," he replied, but his voice shook with repressed laughter.

"Yeah, right," she drawled. "Where's your washing machine?"

He led her to the kitchen and started heating water for her cocoa while she threw her shirt in the wash. When she wandered over and hopped up on the countertop next to the stove he turned to look at her.

"So what's the deal?" he asked lightly.

She heaved I deep sigh. "I don't really know. When Mina and I got to the temple earlier Raye seemed a little upset. You know her grandfather fell off the roof last night, right? Well she said that he had been acting funny today, walking around muttering about evil spirits and stuff. She wanted him to go to the hospital and get checked out, but he swore that he was fine. So we all settled down and started doing our homework. About an hour later we heard yells coming from outside and we ran out to see what was going on, scared that it was a youma attack."

She paused for a moment, a small grin appearing on her face. "I guess it really isn't funny, but I couldn't help but laugh at the time. Raye's grandpa had obviously been trying to train Chad or something, and he must have been really hard on the guy because he was in a heap on the ground. Grandpa was stomping around waving his hands in the air and saying that Chad was going to have to do better than that if he wanted to protect Raye and the shrine from the evil spirits that were lurking around. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but I couldn't stop myself. That little old man looked so funny that I began laughing."

"Hmm…" Darien mused. "Maybe he hit his head in that fall after all."

Serena's face sobered. "He might have. I know I shouldn't have laughed, but once I started I couldn't stop. Then Raye got to fussing at him for being so harsh on Chad and it was so comical that I laughed harder. After that she turned on me."

The kettle whistled and Darien picked it up to pour water into the mug he was fixing for her. "So what did she do?"

Tears threatened her voice again as she spoke. "She yelled at me. She called me a vapid, airheaded blonde just like she always does. But then…then she went really cold and said that I didn't have one shred of compassion in my soul for human suffering and pushed me down. I was holding a milkshake at the time and that's how the stain got on my shirt."

"She what!" Darien thundered as anger against Raye swarmed through him. Serena was the most caring and compassionate person in the world. How could she say something like that to her? And to push her down…

"She didn't really mean it," Serena hastily reassured him when she saw the rage on his face. "She was just upset and lashed out. I deserved it anyway. I shouldn't have been laughing. What can I say? I was delirious."

His hand tightened around the steaming mug. "But still! She went too far!"

Serena put a hand on his arm. "Hey! I think you're taking this worse I am. I thought you were comforting me, but now here I am comforting you. It's okay. I know why she did it and I'm cool with it. Once she has a chance to simmer down I'll go talk to her and work things out. Besides, the other girls jumped her pretty good about what she did."

A smirk kicked up his lips at the thought of Mina, Lita, and Amy ganging up against Raye. "Oh, did they?"

She smiled ruefully. "Yeah. I didn't stick around to hear all of it though. I was so upset at that point that I just grabbed my stuff and took off. I didn't feel like going home or to the arcade though, so I decided to come by and see if you were here."

"Ah! You were just dying to spend some time in my stimulating company, huh?" he drawled.

She rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself and save the witty comments for Andrew. They are more his forte than yours. Anyway, I was wondering if you could help me with my English assignment. Amy was in the middle of explaining things to me when everything happened, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. You actually have a way of making things make sense instead of sounding like a teacher."

He clutched his chest. "I'm wounded! I thought you came here for some friendly advice and a shoulder to cry on, but now I find you're only after me for my brain. What a disappointment!"

Serena laughed at his dramatics, fighting back the urge to throw herself into his arms and tell him that she was interested in him for far more than his brain. Besides she was still a little peeved at her discovery that everyone was watching her like guard dogs. She had looked over her shoulder a few times on the way here and was certain that she had seen Mina and Lita following her. But she hadn't brought up the subject to anyone yet. Things were too chaotic between them right now to start a new argument.

She jumped from the counter and picked up her cup of cocoa before walking toward the entry hall to get her bag. "Come on, Nerdboy! Show me how smart you are."

He growled after her, "I prefer being called Super Genius, thank you very much!"

* * *

"You were way harsh on her, Raye!" Amy scolded in a sharp tone.

Raye pushed the palms of her hands against her burning eyes. "I know, okay! I didn't mean for things to turn out like that. It just…happened! I lost my temper for a minute and acted without thinking. She probably hates me now."

Amy sighed and sat down next to her. "You know Serena better than that. More than likely she's beating herself up over this and blaming herself for it. It's pretty safe to say that she is probably feeling more concern than hatred for you."

Raye huffed a breath. "Probably. That silly Meatball Head! She really is too sweet and innocent for her own good sometimes."

"Would you really expect Serenity's reincarnation to behave any other way?" Amy asked with a giggle.

"No, I wouldn't," Raye admitted with a chuckle. "Serenity was always too forgiving as well, almost to a fault. But Serena is stronger. She's tougher than Serenity was."

Amy nodded. "Yes she is, but that's not a bad thing. Sometimes I think we sheltered Serenity too much back during the Silver Millennium. We were so devoted to her that we tried to keep anything that was even remotely unpleasant away from her. There's no way that she would have ever been able to stand up to Beryl the way she was. So as much as I hate to see her transform into Sailor Moon and fight, I can't help but feel that it's a good thing. It gives me hope that we'll be able to defeat Beryl for good this time."

Raye grinned. "You're right. She's not a pampered princess anymore. If someone had told me a thousand years ago that the legend of Sailor Moon was going to be revived and that Serenity was the one who was going to pull it off, I would have laughed at them. But I have to admit that Serena does a fairly good job."

The door to Raye's room opened and Lita stepped in. She looked at her two friends and sighed before saying simply, "She went to Darien's place."

"No surprise there," Raye replied. "No matter how much Serena tries to fight it, those two are growing closer and closer together. I can't wait to see the look on both of their faces when they get their memories back. It should make for quite a show."

Amy laughed lightly. "It should be interesting, that's for sure."

"Are you kidding? We'll probably have to peel them off of each other," Lita grumbled. "They'll be stuck together like super glue."

"Nah!" Raye scoffed. "We'll just sic Poppa Ken on Darien and watch him run for his life."

They all laughed as they envisioned the reincarnated earth prince running down the street while an enraged Ken Tsukino chased him with the shotgun he kept in the closet under the stairway. Serena's father wouldn't care if he was royalty, he didn't allow boys to get close to his daughter.

Amy wiped a couple of tears from her eyes and looked around. "Where's Mina? Didn't she go with you?"

Lita nodded. "Yeah, but then she said she had something to do and that she would catch up to us later."

Raye snorted. "Knowing that airhead, she's probably going to spy on Serena and Darien."

* * *

Kunzite felt a thrill of victory flood through him. This was far better than what he had dreamed when he had set out on his mission this morning. When he had first begun following Sailor Moon's civilian form this he had been afraid that he was beating a dead horse, but nothing could be further from the truth.

He had followed her and Sailor Venus's reincarnation to a game arcade, careful to stay out of sight. When he had seen them talking to a boy in there he had gotten excited, thinking that they had already led him to Tuxedo Mask. But a quick check of the blonde boy's aura had proven that he was nothing more than a simple earthling. There was no gold in his aura.

He had then followed them to a shrine where he had not been that surprised to find Sailor Mars's reincarnation. He had known from Jadeite's reports that Mars was living at a shrine, but he had not specified which one and there were too many scattered across the city to even count. But he had gotten the added bonus of finding Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter there as well.

The old man that was Zoicite's current Rainbow Crystal carrier target was also present along with a brown haired boy that was another candidate for being Tuxedo Mask. But his aura had read the same as the first boy's, no gold.

So he had bided his time, waiting impatiently as all of the scouts had disappeared inside the building. The old man and the boy had proved to be slightly amusing for a while as they had acted like trained monkeys, swinging from ropes and jumping off of rooftops. Clearly they were insane.

Then the boy had plummeted to the ground with a yell as the rope he was holding onto broke. That had brought the scouts streaming back outside to see what the commotion was. He had watched with glee as a fight broke out between the moon brat and Mars that had sent the blonde girl running away in tears.

He had carefully followed her, avoiding Venus and Jupiter, who were also following her, to a tall apartment building where she had rushed inside. Using his senses, he traced her aura to the top floor of the building. He made his way to roof of a neighboring building where he had an unimpeded view into the apartment across the way.

He had felt excitement when he sensed another aura mingling with Sailor Moon's, one that swirled with blue and green and was streaked with gold. He had finally located his target.

Luckily his senses were sharp. He couldn't see them from his position, but he reached out with his superior hearing, drowning out the noise of the city so that he could hear them. He heard the girl talking about the fight that she'd had with Mars and a lower, masculine voice responding to her. There had been something oddly familiar about that voice.

Then when he saw movement in the apartment, he had trained his eyes to zoom in through the glass doors. There Sailor Moon had been standing talking to a black haired boy that had his back toward to him. And then the boy had turned.

Shock had jolted through Kunzite like he had grabbed a bare electrical wire as he saw his face. Dozens of General Kunzite's memories had barraged his brain. As improbable as it seemed, Tuxedo Mask was Endymion! There was no mistake about it! His aura might not read exactly the same as it had in the Silver Millennium, but there was no denying the fact that he was looking at the reincarnated earth prince. He was identical to the man that he could see in his predecessor's memories.

He fought to control his excitement. Part of him longed to barge into that apartment and demand the Rainbow Crystals from Endymion and then drag him to Beryl like a sacrificial lamb, but he knew that would not be the wisest choice. Sailor Moon alone didn't intimidate him, but he wasn't sure what Endymion's power level was. His aura suggested that it was quite diminished from what it had once been, and up until now he had only utilized roses and physical attacks during a fight, but the prince could be hiding his true power in an attempt to stay anonymous. It was best to plan this out before acting.

A whoosh of air accompanied a swirling aura a split second before he found himself shoved into a brick wall a short distance away. He looked down into a pair of snapping blue eyes before drawling, "Well, fancy running into you, Venus."

Sailor V shoved her forearm into his neck as she growled, "What are you doing here, Kunzite?"

He smirked at her. "Now, now, there's no sense in getting your feathers ruffled. I was just doing a little reconnaissance for my mission. You know what that's like, right? I was in need of some information and decided to do a little digging. How did you know I was here?"

A snarl ripped from her throat. "You suck at cloaking your aura almost as much as you suck at sensing others. I felt your disgusting presence a block away."

A cocky look appeared on his face. "Evidently I haven't been doing too badly at it, my pet. I have been spying on you and your rag tag little group for almost three weeks and you never sensed me before. I must have slipped up in my excitement of my little discovery and allowed some of my aura to leak through. It's not everyday that I come across a reincarnated monarch." He glanced toward the apartment he had been watching.

She followed his gaze and felt her blood run cold when she saw Serena and Darien sitting together at his coffee table with their heads bent over their books. Which one had he discovered, the prince or the princess, or worse…both?

Kunzite's next words answered that for her. "So our rose wielding, cape wearing, masked hero is Endymion. That's a bit of a turn around from the armored swordsman he once was, but I guess he's been desperate to stay hidden from Beryl. Not that I blame him, she can be quite…domineering, to say the least. But I have your little moon friend to thank for leading me to him. I'll have to find some way to thank her."

Orange light burst out from Sailor V as she called out, "Venus Power!" In a flash she transformed into Sailor Venus, complete with tiara and orange-skirted fuku.

Kunzite chuckled. "So the real Sailor Venus has decided to put in an appearance. Did I strike a nerve with you, my dear?"

She pointed a glowing golden finger at his head. "I won't let you get near either one of them. I'll kill you before I let that happen."

In a quick move her reversed their positions, grabbing her arm and twisting it up behind her so that it was pinned between her back and the wall and she couldn't use her crescent beam.

He leaned down so that his face was half buried in her hair and his lips were close to her ear. "Why so protective of the prince, Venus? I thought your duty was to Serenity. Or are you just trying to keep him safe for her? He doesn't seem to be pining for her too much with the way he chases Sailor Moon around. In fact, he seems to have replaced one moon brat with another."

Venus arched her body violently, shoving him away from her. "You leave them alone!"

Kunzite chuckled as a portal opened behind him and he stepped through it. "I'm sure we'll meet again, Venus."

She stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where he had disappeared before swinging her gaze back toward Darien's apartment where he and Serena were sitting, totally oblivious to the fact that anything was going on.

Her eyes filled with tears. Now they were both in extreme danger. Not only did Kunzite know that Darien was Tuxedo Mask and Endymion, but he knew that Serena was Sailor Moon as well. Her identity as Serenity was still safe, for now. But how long did they have before that secret was exposed too?

Without stopping to think, she launched herself off the roof of the building, traveling quickly over the rooftops until she reached the tranquility of Hikawa Shrine. She didn't even realize that she was still transformed into Sailor Venus until she burst into Raye's room and Raye, Lita, and Amy all jumped from the table and squealed, _"VENUS!"_

She let her transformation fade away as she slumped to her knees. Her shoulders shook as she forced out in a trembling voice, "We're in trouble! We are so much trouble!"

* * *

Darien looked around in surprise as he found himself in his and Serenity's garden. After days of trying to get back here and failing he had almost given up hope of ever seeing it again. His head whipped around, searching for his dream princess, but he seemed to be all alone in the middle of the roses.

That concerned him, but not enough to overwhelm the shock he felt when he stopped to take a really good look around and realized that he could see…really see for once. There was no mist hanging over the garden and blocking his view. He could see everything.

There were hundreds of rose bushes scattered around, covered in bright red blooms. The fountain nearby bubbled cheerfully and the water sparkled under the light of the full moon hanging in the clear night sky above. There was also a gazebo that he had never been able to see before because of the mist situated a short distance away.

But the most impressive sight was the massive castle looming not too far away. It seemed to be made out of a soft golden colored marble and gleamed gently in the night.

A strange feeling washed over him as he looked at the castle and his surroundings. It was a warm, comforting feeling. If he had to put a name to it, he would say that it almost felt homey.

He took a step forward and paused when heard a clinking sound. Looking down, he saw that he was dressed in black armor with silver accents. A sword was strapped to his side and a long, red lined, black cape, just like the one he wore as Tuxedo Mask, hung down his back. He surprised at how comfortable the armor was to wear. It didn't feel heavy or clunky. It felt right.

He heard a gasp and then a fluttering sound and spun around just in time to see a small figure in a black hooded cloak hurrying away. As the cloak blew back in the breeze he caught the barest glimpse of long hair the color of spun gold.

"Serenity," he whispered. And then louder, "Serenity!"

He began running after her, trying to keep her in sight, but the garden was constructed like a maze and she had a head start, making it hard to keep up with her. He followed her as fast as he could, twisting and turning down the different paths, keeping his eyes peeled for the sign of the edge of that black cloak disappearing around a corner so that he would know which way to go.

Finally he burst out of the maze and into a lush green field. He could see her just ahead, running faster than he ever thought a princess would be able to. It looked as if she cast a quick glance over her shoulder toward him before she came to a sudden halt. She began glowing silver in the bright moonlight.

He felt a moment of panic as she seemed to begin to fade away. She was leaving him. He ran as fast as he could to her and grabbed her by the arm. "Serenity!"

As soon as he touched her, her form turned solid again. But she kept her head down and covered by the black hood. "You shouldn't have followed me," she whispered.

He shook his head. "Of course I followed you. How could I not? I have been looking for you for days."

She twisted in his grasp. "No! This is wrong! I shouldn't be here!"

He moved so that he was gripping both of her shoulders. "Would you calm down! It's just me here. It's okay."

She fell still, but he could hear her shuddering breaths coming from the depths of her hood. Then two crystal drops fell from under it to splash on the ground.

Unable to take any more suspense, he reached up to push the hood back. "Serenity…"

The rest of his words were lost in shock as the hood fell to reveal silky golden hair tied up in a hairstyle that he knew only too well. He would know those meatballs anywhere.

"Serena!" he choked out.

She raised her face to look at him. It was definitely her, right down to the light dusting of golden freckles across her nose. Her blue eyes were twin pools of glimmering sadness as she stared at him.

But there was one thing that was different about her. Right above her eyes, in the center of her forehead, was a gold crescent moon symbol.

"You…you're…" he stammered, unable to form any coherent words.

Her tears spilled over and trailed down her cheeks before she flung herself at him and cried, "Endymion!"

And then her lips met his.

It took a moment for this fact to register through his shock, but once it did he wrapped her tightly in his arms and began kissing her back. All the while he was whooping with glee on the inside. Serenity was Serena! Serena was Serenity! They were the same person! She had been in front of him the whole time and he never knew it!

On the heels of this came another revelation. Evidently Mina was just a stand in to help protect Serena's identity. Serena had said that she refused to be with him until their memories were restored just to be sure that he didn't develop any feelings for Mina afterward. But now they wouldn't have to worry about that because she was the true princess and they could be free to love each other.

Head swimming, he poured himself into the kiss, letting his tongue travel past his lips and lick sensuously at hers like he had dreamed of doing so many times. His knees almost buckled when she opened to him and her soft moan reverberated in his mouth. He felt her fingers creep up to twine in his hair as she explored his mouth the way he was doing hers. She met him stroke for stroke, giving as well as receiving.

The need for air finally had them pulling apart slowly as they gazed at each other in wonder. He leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, "I love you."

She gave him a trembling smile and said softly, "I love you too."

And then she was gone.

For once Darien didn't jerk awake. He came awake slowly, eyes blinking open to the soft glow of afternoon sunlight shining in through his balcony doors. He went to raise his head from where it had been laying on his open Trigonometry book and groaned when he felt the twinge of a crick in his neck. He laid it back down and then moved around experimentally, enjoy the slip and slide of silk under his cheek.

Silk?

He jerked upright, biting back a curse and grabbing the back of his neck as he looked down to see that he had indeed been resting on a pillow of silk, golden silk.

Serena was across the table from him, slumped over her almost complete English assignment. Somehow her yards of hair had become strewn across the table and trapped under his cheek.

As he gazed at her sleeping face trickles of the dream he had just had began flickering through his mind. His breathing sped up and his heart began banging a staccato rhythm against his ribcage as he remembered the revelation that he had come to.

Serena was his moon princess!

It was all he could do to keep from snatching her up in his arms right then and kissing her senseless the way he had in his dream, but he held back for three reasons.

#1-Because she was dead asleep and she would probably freak out to be woken up that way.

#2-She had been walking around with dark circles under her eyes for weeks and he was reluctant to disturb her while she was resting.

And #3-He was pretty sure that she had no idea that she was Serenity. She seemed to be completely sold on the fact that Mina was, so she needed to be informed of the mistake first before he made his move.

She twitched little in her sleep, her face scrunching up the way it did when she was trying to think hard about something. As she moved her head slightly he thought he saw something on her forehead.

He reached out with shaking fingers to gently brush back her bangs, and just like in his dream there was a softly glowing crescent moon on her brow. It just cemented what he already knew Serena was Serenity.

Not that it made a damn bit of difference to him. He didn't care if she was a reincarnated princess that he had been engaged to in the past. He had fallen in love with her long before this, and he loved her for who she was. This just meant that she couldn't use his past relationship with Serenity as a reason to keep them apart anymore.

He pulled his fingers away as the crescent moon flickered and faded away and she began stirring. A few seconds later her eyes blinked open and she smiled at him sleepily.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sleepyhead," he said in a gentle, teasing tone.

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're one to talk. You fell asleep before I did." She sat up slowly, wincing. "Oh, wow! Remind me not to fall asleep in that position ever again. My neck and back are killing me."

He grinned ruefully. "Same here. I guess we were just too tired to care."

She stretched a little, trying to work out the kinks. "I guess so. What time is it?"

He glanced at his watch, grinning goofily as he thought about the fact that she had given it to him. "Um, it's almost four."

"Crap!" she moaned, slamming her book closed and stuffing her papers into her folder before cramming them into her backpack. "I've gotta run. I want to go by the shrine and talk to Raye before I have to get home for dinner. I'm sure she's had time to cool off by now." She jumped from her seat.

He scrambled after her and caught up with her in the kitchen as she fished her sweatshirt out of his dryer. "Serena, wait!"

"No time!" she declared as she ducked by him and ran down the hall toward his bedroom. He heard the thump of his bathroom door closing. She was back in less than thirty seconds, now dressed in her own shirt.

"Thanks for the loan," she gushed in a rush. "I left yours on your dresser. I hate to run out on you like this but…"

He grabbed her arms where she was trying to shove them into her jacket. "Serena, would you calm down for just a minute? I need to talk to you."

She slithered out of his grasp and finished pulling on her jacket before bending to pick up her backpack. "Can it wait until later? I'm really in a hurry."

"No, damn it! This can't wait! It's important! It won't hurt Raye to stew for a little while longer," he snapped.

She straightened up and looked at him, wide eyed. "Darien, what's gotten into you?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I had a dream just now while we were napping on my coffee table."

She nodded. "Okay. Did you want to tell me about it?"

"It was about me and you," he replied hesitantly. "In the past."

The blood drained from her face so fast that he was scared that she was going to pass out. "Oh no!" she whispered and slumped against the wall behind her. "So now you know."

His eyes widened. "So you already knew? How long have you known? When were you going to tell me?"

Her head snapped up, eyes blurring with tears. "I was never going to tell you! I was hoping that when you got your memories back that I would be the one person that you wouldn't remember. I wanted to take that secret to my grave."

He stood right in front of her and put a hand on the wall on each side of her head. "But why keep this from me? Did you think that me knowing that you are Serenity would change my feelings for you?"

She gasped. "Wait a minute! You think that I'm Serenity?"

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes. Isn't that what we were just talking about. I had a dream that I was in the rose garden of the palace where I used to live. I heard a noise and saw a person in a cloak running away. I knew it was Serenity, so I chased her down. When I caught her I pulled back the hood and it was you. That's when I knew. So don't you see? We can be together now because you are my princess."

He dipped his head, intending to kiss her pale, trembling lips. But she ducked under his arm and sidestepped him. A slightly hysterical laugh burst from her throat.

"You don't know how much I wish that were true," she said in a cracked voice as her tears spilled over. "I've wished it many times over the last several weeks. But this time you're wrong."

He shook his head. "No! I know I'm right about this. It all makes sense now, why we feel this connection. You always talk about soul mates and fate. Well we are soul mates. We are fated to be."

She began backing toward the door. "You can't always be right about everything, Darien. It's a nice dream to have, but this time you're wrong. I am not Serenity. I am the one that betrayed my princess by stealing her fiancé."

Darien reared back like he had been slapped. "What are you saying, Serena?"

She was sobbing openly now. "I'm saying that there was an attraction between us even in the past. And although you were engaged to Serenity, our past selves fell in love. That's why I've been so adamant about waiting until after the Silver Crystal is found before even thinking about starting a relationship between us. I want to be sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is no future for you and Mina. I betrayed my princess once, and I won't do it again."

Before he could move or say anything she had opened the door and was gone. He remained frozen for about five seconds before his numb feet finally moved. He wrenched the door open and looked into the hall, but she had already disappeared.

He swore loudly and raced back into his apartment to grab his jacket and keys. She was out there alone and upset with no one to help her if she was attacked. He had to go after her.

He was shoving his arms into his varsity jacket when he heard three thumps from his balcony. He looked up in shock to see Sailor V, Mercury, and Jupiter standing there.

Sailor V slid the door open hurriedly. "Where's Serena?"

He sighed. "She just ran out the door. We had a little…disagreement. I was about to go after her."

"Damn!" Jupiter swore. "Of all the rotten timing!"

A ball of anxiety began writhing Darien's stomach. "What's going on?"

"We have a bit of a situation," Mercury said quietly.

"A Dark Kingdom general has discovered your identity," Sailor V said quickly. "He also knows that Serena is Sailor Moon. In fact, all of our identities may be compromised. Things might be fixing to get really ugly."

Right on cue the scout's communicators began beeping like crazy and then Raye's panicked voice came over them. "Zoicite…here at the shrine! I need back up now!"

Then Serena's voice answered her. "I'm almost there Raye! Just try to hang on for another minute."

A second later Darien felt her transform.

* * *

**A/N **And the angst monster rears its ugly head once again…lol! I'm thinking that the next chapter will probably see the end of the hunt for the Rainbow Crystals, and then we'll be ready to move on to the big reveal and so on. I've been really thinking hard about how I want to do the whole Starlight Tower scene. I prefer the manga version over the anime. It just seemed more heartbreaking to me with the way that Sailor Moon kissed Tuxedo Mask and begged him to run away before she jumped up to the top of the tower to face Kunzite and the way she put herself in danger to try to protect Mina since she thought that she was Serenity. I'm not sure how that's exactly going to play out yet. It may end up being a mix between the two. If you guys have any ideas or thoughts about how you would like to see things play out, I would be happy to hear them. I always value your insight so I can try to deliver an enjoyable story to you. So don't be shy to leave me review and tell me what you think. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	19. I'm Blonde, Not Stupid!

**A/N **Okay _Bad Boys _readers, I almost made it two postings in one day like I said I was going to try to, but if you'll pardon the expression, Mother Nature has been a bitch around here lately. I'm a Tennessee girl, born and bred, but sometimes the weather in the southern U.S. can be a lot to handle. Luckily my family and friends are safe, but my thoughts and prayers are with those that got hit by these storms harder than we did here. I know April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but damn!

So on a lighter note, now that my power is back on and my internet signal is reliable again, I have an update for you guys. So let me get my hugs out and we'll get this show on the road. BIG HUGS TO:

**Comet Jim**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**saveme57**

**Chibi Kitt**

**YingYing**

**sabina21**

**Mahria**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**Fedski**

**afallenblackrose**

**jade2nightwing**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**Seredhiel05**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**rainbabie**

**GoldenDragon326**

**blk0912**

**JuliaGulia17**

**saban moon**

**hope4life0414**

**Lilcala**

**KellyZipcode**

**Sailor Saiyan007**

A million thank yous to you all! You guys rock, as always! Now I'm going to let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 19

I'm Blonde, Not Stupid!

* * *

"Raye!" Sailor Moon yelled as she reached the top of the steps of the Hikawa Shrine. Deep down she knew that she shouldn't be screaming Raye's civilian name just in case she had found a chance to transform into Sailor Mars, but at this point she didn't care. Even though she and Raye had fought and harsh words had been said between them, they were still the best of friends. And right now her blood was humming with the fact that her friend needed her badly.

She pounded across the courtyard and began flinging open doors. "Raye! Grandpa! Chad! Are you guys here?" Great! Now she was risking her secret identity too. The others would probably be yelling at her by now for acting so recklessly if they were there, but they weren't, and she knew that she needed to find Raye and make sure that she was okay.

As she continued searching through the buildings, she briefly wondered why Zoicite would be attacking here. Had he found out that Raye was Sailor Mars and decided to ambush her once she was alone?

Then she remembered something, something that she had forgotten about until this moment. The day before when she had shown up at the shrine for the usual study group she had been walking past the stand where grandpa and Chad had been busy selling charms to a group of middle school girls when she thought that she heard her wand beeping. Anxious, she had hurried a distance away where no one would see her and pulled the wand out of her bag to check it. But it was still and silent, so she thought that she had just been hearing things.

But maybe she hadn't been. Perhaps the wand really had gone off to let her know that a Rainbow Crystal was nearby. But who had it picked up on? In addition to grandpa and Chad, there had been about a dozen young teenage girls there as well. It could have been any of them. But the fact that Zoicite had decided to strike here made her think that it had to be either Raye's closest relative, or the young man that had become a good friend to her despite Raye's attempts to keep him at a distance. Zoicite was usually pretty good about pinpointing the crystal carriers' locations.

But there was no sign of the Dark Kingdom general anywhere as she finished her search as quickly, and now as quietly as possible. There was only one place left to look, and that was in the building that held the Hino family's personal living space.

She had just placed one foot on the porch when she heard a loud roar and two bodies crashed through the door to the sacred fire chamber. They hit the ground hard and rolled, the larger body curled protectively around the smaller.

"Raye! Chad!" Sailor Moon screamed when she realized who they were.

A low growling sound caught her attention, and she looked up just in time to see a…well, it looked like an escapee from some kind of a research facility, dash out of the room.

"Whoa! What kind of cosmetics were they testing on you, buddy?" she squealed.

The baboonish looking creature stopped and turned to look at her. It was small and hunched over, using its hands on the ground to help keep its balance, just like a member of the primate family. Its eyes rolled crazily around in its demonic red face as it drooled and snarled.

She took a few steps back. "Uh…nice little monkey. I'm not going to hurt you." She slowly reached her hand for her tiara.

The creature…youma…whatever it was, suddenly let out a series of yowls as it sprang at her.

"Eek!" Sailor Moon squeaked and jumped quickly out of its path. "You sure move fast for such a little guy. But if that's how you want to play, then okay!" She whipped her tiara off and began charging it up.

"Wait!" a hoarse voice rasped as fingers grabbed her ankle. She looked down to see that she had landed near Raye and Chad and that her friend was the one that had stopped her.

Raye pushed Chad's arm off of her and stumbled to her feet. "You can destroy him, Serena! That's my grandpa! You have to heal him!"

"Just what I was afraid of," Sailor Moon muttered as she shoved her tiara back onto her head and pulled out the crescent moon wand instead. "Do you think you can get him to stand still long enough for me to heal him?"

Raye nodded. "Give me just a sec." She reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out one of her sacred sutras that were used to ward off evil. She held it between two fingers in front of her face and closed her eyes.

The creature began charging toward them.

"Anytime now, Raye," Sailor Moon said worriedly.

Raye muttered a chant under her breath before her eyes popped open and she said loud and clear. "I call upon the powers of Mars. Evil spirits, begone!" She flung the sutra as hard as she could.

It flew through the air and hit the creature right between the eyes where it stuck in place. The little demon ground to a halt and began to howl as smoke rose up from the enchantment. It tried to pull it off, but it wasn't budging.

"Now, Serena!" Raye cried. "Heal him now while he's not moving!"

Sailor Moon raised the wand and felt the now familiar spark in her chest as she poured the healing energy into the wand. "Moon Healing Activation!"

The white light burst from the tip of the wand and washed over the little creature in shimmering waves. After several long seconds it turned back into Raye's diminutive grandfather and he collapsed to the ground.

"Grandpa!" Raye exclaimed and rushed to his side.

Sailor Moon followed her anxiously. "Is he okay?"

"I think so," Raye said softly. Then she looked up with tears glimmering in her eyes. "Thank you for coming to help, Serena. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up. It was nice of you to do so, especially after the way I treated you earlier. I'm sorry."

"Oh Raye!" Sailor Moon cried and threw her arms around the raven-haired girl. "I'm sorry too. I never should have laughed like that. I've just been so tired lately that I feel like my body is acting on its own. Please say that you'll forgive me!"

"Of course I do, Meatball Head," Raye answered gruffly.

"Hey! What did we miss?" Jupiter panted as she reached the top of the long stairway, leading the charge, which included Tuxedo Mask, Mercury, and to Sailor Moon's surprise, Sailor V.

"I'm not entirely sure yet," the moon scout replied. "I was a little busy before trying to heal Grandpa Hino, so I haven't gotten the full story yet. I'm assuming that your grandfather must have been a Rainbow Crystal carrier, right Raye?"

She nodded. "I didn't even realize that Zoicite was here or that anything had happened until I heard Chad yelling. I came out of my room and saw that thing chasing him. Then it saw me and began chasing me too. I saw Zoicite for just a moment, and he definitely had a Rainbow Crystal. Then he just disappeared. I started to transform, but Chad was with me. So we closed ourselves up in the fire room. I didn't know that the monster was grandpa until I looked in the fire and saw a vision. Then he came bursting through the window after us and threw us through the door. That was when you showed up, Serena."

Sailor Moon threw an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. "All's well that ends well. That's what my mom always says. At least nobody got seriously hurt."

"No, it's not all well," Raye spat. "Grandpa knew that something was going on. That's why he was acting so strange today. He was trying to tell me that something was coming, but I didn't listen to him. Now, because of my ignorance, the Dark Kingdom has gotten their hands on another crystal. I'm a failure as a sailor scout and you should kick me out!"

"Oh, Raye!" Sailor V said softly. "You don't really mean that."

"Yes, I do, Mina!" Raye declared. "I'm supposed to be the spiritualist of the group. I should have seen this coming. But instead I ignored the warning signs and let our enemy get the drop on me. I may have endangered the entire mission."

Sailor Moon had heard enough. She stood and folded her arms across her chest. "Now you listen here, Raye! You are not going to up and quit on us now! You are Sailor Mars and an important part of this team. We all make mistakes sometimes because we are only human. Sure, we may have superpowers now, but deep inside we are nothing more than a group of high school students. So what if the Dark Kingdom got another crystal. There's still one more out there to be found and we already have two on our side. So quit the pity party already! We'll find that last crystal and then find a way to get the others back from Beryl. Then Mina will get her Silver Crystal and blast the bad guys and we can go back to normal again. So don't you dare say that you're giving up the fight now. Got it?"

Raye blinked in wide-eyed amazement. She had never heard her petite blonde friend speak with quite so much passion and conviction, at least not in this life. For just a moment, as she stared up at her, she saw Serenity looking out at her from Serena's eyes. She felt humbled and thoroughly chastised for even suggesting that she would leave her post as one of her princess's protectors.

"Yeah! What she said!" Jupiter growled. "If you ever come up with another crazy idea like that again I'll haul you off somewhere and administer some electroshock therapy to your ass!"

Mercury shook her head. "While I'm not as violently inclined as Jupiter, I have to agree with her and Sailor Moon. We function best as a team, and in order to do that we have to have all of our members working together."

"So don't think you're going anywhere, girlfriend!" Sailor V interjected. "Face it! You're stuck with us."

Raye sniffled a little. "You guys are the best!" Then she looked toward Tuxedo Mask. "You sure have been quiet through all of this. Don't you have some words of wisdom of your own to add?"

He held his hands up and chuckled. "Ah, no. I've learned than when you girls all get to babbling like this, it's best for me to just keep my mouth shut. It's sort of an inbred self-perseverance thing that most men are born with. Besides, I think the others said everything that needed to be said."

"Oh my god! Somebody call a doctor!" Sailor Moon said, trying to sound like her normal, teasing self. "He must be sick if he's passing up on an opportunity to give one of his lectures."

She blushed as his burning blue eyes bored into her from behind his white mask. She knew from his expression that her act wasn't fooling him one bit. The scene that had happened between them in his apartment just a short time before was probably still just as fresh in his mind as it was in hers. And from the way he was looking at her she knew that he wanted to talk some more about it, but all she wanted to do was go home and get some peace and quiet where she could think. Maybe she could find some way to slip away without him seeing.

She thought the perfect opportunity had arrived when Chad groaned and sat up. He looked around for a moment in a daze, and then his eyes widened when he saw Raye with her grandfather and surrounded by the group of heroes.

"Aw man!" he complained. "You mean the sailor scouts came to my rescue and I was passed out through the whole thing? That is seriously not cool…not cool at all!"

"And that's our cue to leave," Sailor Moon said brightly before leaning down to whisper in Raye's ear, "I'll call you later." Then she leapt up into the branches of the nearest tree and headed in the direction of her house, jumping from tree to tree.

She reached the edge of the shrine's property and jumped from the top of the wall that surrounded it to the roof of a building across the street. She figured she'd go most of the way home this way and find someplace to change back to her civilian form once she got closer to the house. Hopefully she would be able to outrun Darien if he was trying to follow her and could avoid any more confrontations with him for at least a little while longer.

She was just about to leap to the next building when a hand grabbed her arm. Acting on instinct, she turned and swung a fist without thinking, and found her hand caught in someone else's.

"Whoa!" Jupiter chuckled. "I guess those lessons you've been having with Shields have paid off after all. That was a hell of a punch for a shrimp like you."

"Geez, Lita! You scared the crap out of me!" Sailor Moon gasped. "I didn't know anyone was following me."

Jupiter smirked. "Well you were sure running like you thought a pack of cracked out gerbils were on your heels. I didn't think I was going to be able to catch you there for a minute."

Moon grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. So what's up?"

"Mina wanted me to catch you before you headed home," Jupiter told her. "We were looking for you right before we got Raye's call. She found out some information today and wanted to talk to you about it. She said she'd wait for us down in the alley back there." She hitched a thumb over her shoulder.

"Oh! Okay," Moon shrugged and walked back to the other side of the building. She and Jupiter dropped down behind a dumpster and detransformed before making their way toward the street.

Near the alley's entrance stood Mina, Amy…and Darien. Serena sighed at the sight of him and carefully smoothed her face into what she hoped was a casual expression.

"All right! What's up with this impromptu meeting?" she asked in a forced cheerful tone.

Mina, who had been pacing in agitation, spun around to pin her with an unreadable expression. "Something pretty serious actually. I had a little run in with someone today, the last of Beryl's generals."

Darien straightened up from where he had been leaning against the wall. "Kunzite?" he asked sharply.

Mina nodded. "To make a long story short, he somehow found out that Serena is Sailor Moon and has been following her. So by now it's pretty safe to assume that he knows all of our civilian identities. He also knows that Darien is Endymion's reincarnation. This could mean big trouble."

"Wait a minute!" Serena interrupted. "Are you saying that you were face to face with this guy all alone? Does he know your identity too?"

Mina sighed. "Yes, I had a bit of a confrontation with him. But don't worry about that. He knows not to push me too far or he'll be biting off more than he can chew, and Serenity's identity is still a secret as well. But what bothers me is that he made threats against both of you." She looked pointedly at Serena and Darien.

Darien snorted. "If he's working for Beryl, I'm sure it's safe to say that he's after all of us, not just Serena and I."

Amy clicked her computer shut where she had been looking at something. "That's true enough, but there are certain things that would make the two of you more of a target than the rest of us."

"I don't get it," Serena grumbled. "Okay, I see why he would go after Darien because he's the prince. But why single me out from the other scouts."

Darien rolled his eyes. "Duh! Because you're their leader."

Amy shook her head. "No, that's not it. What you guys have to remember is that Beryl was insanely obsessed with Endymion during the Silver Millennium. She was also murderously jealous of Serenity and any other woman that even dared to look at him. Once Kunzite goes to her with the information that Tuxedo Mask is Endymion's reincarnation…"

"She's going to come after Sailor Moon with a vengeance," Darien finished for her.

"Exactly!" Mina confirmed. "I'm sure Beryl's been keeping up with the battles, and she's not going to be happy with the fact that the object of her obsession has been whisking another girl out of danger's path."

Lita pounded a fist into her palm. "And that's not counting the fact that if Kunzite spills the beans about Serena's real identity that she could be targeted at any time."

Serena crossed her arms again, much like she had earlier when she had delivered her speech to Raye. "So if you just found out about this today, then why have all of you been stalking me for the last three weeks?"

Amy flushed guiltily while Mina and Lita looked around like they were trying to find something to take the attention off of this subject.

"What are you talking about, Meatball Head?" Darien grumbled.

She spun and poked him in the chest with a finger. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Darien Shields! I'm talking about the fact that I haven't had a moment to myself in weeks. Someone is always with me every time I leave my house! I'm walked to and from school like I am a dog and guided from class to class like I'm some kind of an idiot that might lose her way if left alone. I can't even go to the bathroom without a chaperone. Are you guys scared that I'm going to try and drown myself in the toilet? And then I discover that I'm being watched even when I'm at home. If that's not stalking then I don't know what is."

"How did you find out about that?" Mina asked in shock.

Serena huffed. "How and where I found out is not important. I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid! And I don't like the idea of having every move I make being scrutinized by people that are supposed to be my friends, so knock it off! I need my space and you guys are suffocating me!"

"We're doing it for your own good, Serena!" Darien argued. "I don't think you realize exactly how much danger you're in."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And that brings me back to my original question. If this information was just found out today, then why have you all been hanging all over me like slobbering watchdogs all this time?"

Darien hung his head and mumbled something.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch it," Serena asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

His head rose so that he could glare at her. "I said that Serenity came to me in a dream and told me that your life is in danger, so I've been keeping an eye on you to make sure that you stay alive damn it! Are you happy now?"

She knew that stress and lack of sleep were what was making him so short tempered, but it was playing havoc on her moods as well. And right now she felt like she was only half a step away from turning into a raving lunatic.

Her voice dropped to a hiss. "Let's get something straight between all of us right now. I may be the leader of the scouts, but I know that all of you look at me like I'm just some pathetic little girl that needs someone to hold my hand every step I take. So I'm not the strongest of the group, but that doesn't make me helpless. Believe it or not I can take care of myself. And if by some chance I found myself in a situation where I needed help, I can call for it just like any of the rest of you would."

She spun on Lita and Amy. "I know I can't tell Mina or Darien what to do, but I'm telling the rest of you, and you can pass it on to Raye, that I want you to back off and give me some space. There will be no more dogging my footsteps or watching my house. If I get one little inkling that a sailor scout is anywhere near my house and spying on me there will be hell to pay. Are we clear on that?"

Both girls bowed their heads and mumbled, "Yes."

Then Serena whirled on Darien and Mina. "And as for you two. Like I said, I can't order you around, but I would hope that you would respect my wishes enough to do this for me. I'm trying to hold on to some semblance of a normal life, and I can't do that if I feel like I'm always under a microscope like a lab specimen. So please, I'm begging you, cut me some slack, okay."

Mina nodded slowly. "Okay."

Darien jammed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall again. "I'll think about it."

Serena blew out a frustrated breath. "You're going to fight me on this, aren't you?"

He merely shrugged.

"Argh! You're still such a jerk sometimes!" she screeched. "It's been a long day and I'm going home. If you value your life, Shields, you won't follow me. I won't be responsible for what I may do to you if I catch you stalking me like a pervert." She spun on her heel and marched away.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Lita asked Darien when he didn't move from his spot.

He shook his head. "I'm going to let her go for now. She only said that she didn't want someone watching her constantly. That doesn't mean that I can't cruise by her place several times a night to check on her. If you're that worried about her though, why don't you go after her?"

Amy sighed. "We can't. Serena is our leader, and when she gives an order we have to follow it."

"That's right," Lita said glumly. "Of course there is one person that could override that order." She looked to Mina.

Of course, what she didn't say was that they were telling him the facts backward. Serena was Serenity's reincarnation, and as such they were honor bound to follow any direct order that she gave them. As the head scout, Sailor Venus had the authority to overrule the princess in the interest of her safety. All she had to do was say the word.

Mina looked like she was about to cry. "Let her go for now. She's upset and stressed out enough as it is. If we go against her it will only make her mad at us, and the last thing we want to do is push her away. I'm sure she'll call us if she needs us."

"But, Mina!" Lita protested. "What if Kunzite goes after her and we're not there? It could be a disaster!"

"We're just going to have to trust her!" Mina snapped back. "She has proven to us over and over that she can fight, so I am going to put my faith in her. Besides, after what I picked up on from my first run in with Kunzite I don't think he's running to Beryl with every tidbit of information he gets. He knows exactly who I am and he hasn't told her yet."

She realized her mistake as soon as she heard the sharp intake of breath behind her. Darien had been so quiet that she'd forgotten that he was even there. She ground her teeth together and turned around to face him.

"Let me get this straight," he growled. "Today wasn't the first time that you confronted Kunzite?"

She stared at him stoically for a moment before she sighed and shook her head. "No. I had a little, er…altercation with him back several weeks ago when he tracked me down."

"And he knows who you are?" he persisted in a deadly calm voice.

She nodded. "Yes."

He pinned her with that penetrating sapphire gaze of his. "And who exactly are you? Because, no offense, I'm seriously starting to doubt that you are Serenity."

"Don't be silly, Darien," she said with a shaky giggle. "I told you that I am Serenity, and that's who I am."

'And I say you're lying!" he fired right back. "I knew something didn't feel right from the very beginning. If Serenity and I were supposed to be so close in the past I should have felt something for you. But I feel no different toward you now than I did months ago. You are a friend and nothing more. So what are you, Serenity's body double or something?"

She quailed under the fury burning in the reincarnated prince's eyes. "I…I…"

"Just tell him, Mina!" Lita exclaimed. "It was stupid to think that we could trick him. Of course he would know the truth."

Darien slumped back against the wall. "So you're not Serenity."

Mina shook her head. "No. I'm not. I am Sailor Venus. "I was Serenity's cousin back during the Silver Millennium. And because of the resemblance between us I did stand in for her on many occasions. I have taken over her identity now because it is important to keep her hidden until the Silver Crystal is found and returned to her."

"So when were you planning on telling Serena that she is really the moon princess?" Darien sneered.

Mina's temper snapped. Darien may be the reincarnated prince of earth, but she was the leader of the sailor scouts and didn't have to take any crap off of him. "Who said that Serena was Serenity? I only said that I wasn't Serenity."

Darien's own temper bubbled over. "And I didn't get to be the top of my class by acting stupid! I know how to read the signs. There is some kind of a bond between Serena and I. We can feel each other's emotions. And you talked about the resemblance between you and Serenity. You may be a few inches taller than Serena, but you look enough alike that you could pull off the switch if someone didn't know you well. So fess up already!" He grabbed her by the arm.

Mina jerked away from him and hissed. "Don't presume to order me around, _Endymion_! My allegiance is to Serenity, and to her alone. The only reason why I have concerned myself with your safety is because I know that it would break her heart if something were to happen to your sorry ass! If you want to know who Serenity truly is then I suggest that you hurry up and remember on your own because I'm not telling you a damn thing!"

She spun around to face a speechless Amy and Lita. "And I forbid you two to say anything to him on the subject. If the idiot prince thinks that he is so smart, then let him figure it out on his own! I'm washing my hands of it! I have a job to do, and damn it, that's what I'm going to do!"

She turned and stomped out of the alley. Her anger was so great that it was crackling around her almost like a living thing.

Lita let out a low whistle. "Damn, Shields! Are you trying to set a world record for how many women you can piss off in one night?"

Darien ran a hand through his hair. "I don't see what she's getting so bent out of shape about. All I asked her to do was confess to the fact that Serena is Serenity."

"No, you didn't, Darien!" Amy snapped. "You got belligerent and confrontational. Instead of asking for answers you demanded them. And if there is one thing that Venus can't stand it's domineering, overbearing men. It's always grated on her nerves, even back during the Silver Millennium."

He sighed in defeat. "So I guess you can't tell me anything now either."

Lita shook her head. "Afraid not. Her orders are just as binding as Serena's. I kind of wish I could tell you everything, but our hands are tied."

"Not exactly," Amy said with a mischievous smile. "By my calculations Mina was heading toward home, not Cherry Hill. So that means…" she trailed off suggestively.

Darien began to grin. "That means that neither Serena or Mina have been able to get to Raye yet and issue any orders. So I might be able to get her to talk."

"That is a huge possibility," Amy replied.

"I've got to go! See you later!" Darien exclaimed as he raced out of the alley.

"Amy, you sneak!" Lita chuckled in pride.

Amy shrugged. "I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just thinking about what is good for Serena."

* * *

Serena walked out of her bathroom and drew up short at the sight of the disheveled ball of black fur on her bed. "Luna! What in the world happened to you?"

Luna looked up from where she had been attempting to smooth down her rumpled coat. "I had a small mishap with some alley cats. It's nothing to concern yourself with."

"Don't tell me that!" Serena exclaimed. "You look like you have been thoroughly pounced!" She picked up a cat brush and sat down on the bed before pulling Luna into her lap using the brush to put the glossy black hair back in order.

Luna purred at the luxurious attention. "It's really not that big of a deal, Serena. Artemis offered to walk me home, but I told him that I would be fine on my own. I cut down an alley as a short cut, but I got cornered by what I guess you could call the locals. Anyway, another cat came to my rescue and I got away. So no harm, no foul. I just know better than to take anymore shortcuts."

"Oh, Luna!" Serena sighed. "You really have to be more careful. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you!"

The feline nudged her mistress's chin with her head. "I'm fine, Serena! Don't worry about me. But I was wondering if you would do something for me."

"What do you need, Luna?" Serena asked.

Luna sighed. "After Hercules, that's the cat that saved me, came to my rescue, the little girl that owns him came looking for him. I felt a strange vibe then, so I was wondering if you would come with me so that you can check her out with the crescent moon wand. I could be wrong, but I think the girl might be a Rainbow Crystal carrier."

Excitement lit Serena's eyes. "That would be sweet if we could get the drop on the last crystal before Zoicite!"

"The last crystal! What do you mean?" Luna asked in surprise.

Realizing that Luna didn't know about the events that had happened at Hikawa Shrine earlier, Serena gave her a brief rundown.

"So the Dark Kingdom now has four of the crystals," Luna muttered at the end.

"But they don't have all of them," Serena stated firmly. "If we can get our hands on the last crystal that will give us three. Then we'll find some way to get the others and put an end to this."

"Let's not count our chicks before they're hatched," Luna cautioned. "I may be completely mistaken about this whole thing, but with the way things are going right now we really can't afford to not check it out just in case."

Serena patted her now back to perfectly groomed feline advisor on the head. "We'll check it out in the morning and see if we pick up on anything first. If we do, then maybe we'll be able to coordinate something with the others and strike before Zoicite finds out what we're up too. The only thing that I'm wondering about is how we would be able to remove a Rainbow Crystal from a person ourselves. Up until now Zoicite has always beaten us to it and I had to heal the person after they turned into a monster."

Luna jumped from her lap to sit on the foot of the bed. "It's a lot easier than you would think it would be. All you would have to do is use the healing power of the moon wand. It would have the same effect as the negative crystal that Zoicite uses and would summon the crystal from the carrier's body. It would also have the added bonus of cleansing the person at the same time and keeping them from turning into a monster."

"That would be nice," Serena sighed as she wandered over to her vanity table and began unwinding her hair buns. "It also makes me wish that I had been able to find all of the other carriers before Zoicite did so they wouldn't have had to go through that experience."

"But you found them all in time and were able to turn them back to normal. That has to count for something," Luna pointed out.

Her young charge nodded. "It does. So many of them have been people that I know personally, and I am grateful that I was able to help them, it's just that…"

Luna leapt from the bed and went to rub up against her mistress's leg. "What's bothering you, Serena?"

Serena bent down and picked her up before carrying her back over to the bed and setting her down on it. "Hold that thought for just a moment, okay." She scurried over to her window and opened it wide.

"Serena! What on earth are you doing?" Luna hissed as the girl scrambled out to stand on the windowsill and grab the roof overhang to pull herself up and look over it. After a moment she slid back inside and turned to look intently out over the neighborhood before she closed the window, leaving it open a crack for Luna, and turned back to the feline.

Luna huffed indignantly. "Now do you want to tell me why you were crawling out your window to hang from the roof in your pajamas and bare feet? Were you thinking of joining the circus as a trapeze artist?"

Serena sat cross-legged on the bed and hugged a pillow to her chest. "I was just making sure that I wasn't being spied on again. Did you know that everyone has been watching every move I make for the past three weeks?"

If cats could have blushed, Luna would have as she looked down guiltily.

"Ah ha! So you knew about it too!" Serena accused.

Luna looked back up, her cinnamon eyes blazing. "They were only doing it because they care about you and wanted to make sure that you stay safe."

"I know that, Luna!" Serena groaned as she flopped back on the bed. "And their concern only makes me love them all the more. But I wish everyone could see this from my point of view. It makes me feel so helpless to have them hovering over me all the time. It's like I'm a toddler that has to have constant adult supervision, and I hate it! Am I that bad of a scout, Luna?"

"No you are not!" Luna protested. "In fact, I couldn't be prouder of you. You have grown and matured so much over the last few months, and you've turned into quite a formidable fighter. Not to mention that you are getting stronger by the day."

"Then why do they treat me like a child?" Serena snapped. "I am supposed to be Sailor Moon, the leader of the scouts. Instead I feel like Sailor Loser that everyone has to take care of. Was I like this even back during the Silver Millennium?"

"Of course not!" Luna scoffed. "You weren't a loser then and you aren't one now. I don't want to hear anymore of that nonsense from you, young lady!"

Serena sat up and hugged her pillow close again. "What was I like back then, Luna? I know you say that you don't have all of your memories, but I know that you can at least tell me some. I'm tired of not knowing who I was, so please, tell me what you can."

Luna sighed and shook her head. "Okay."

* * *

Raye quietly closed the door to her grandfather's room, smiling a little at the sound of his soft snores. She was so grateful that he seemed to have recovered so quickly from his earlier ordeal. Other than just being extremely tired, he seemed to be back to his usual cheerful self. He also didn't remember anything about Zoicite's attack or his transforming into a monster, so that was a blessing as well.

Of course she knew that she had Serena to thank for that. If she hadn't gotten here as fast as she had or reacted as quickly as she did, things could have turned out a lot worse. She owed her friend a lot.

She glanced at her watch and saw that it was only 9:00. It was a Saturday night, so it wasn't too late to call Serena up to thank her again and give her an update. She had spoken briefly to her earlier when her perky blonde friend had called, but she had been busy trying to get grandpa and Chad fed and into bed, so she hadn't been able to talk long. Now that things were calmed down she had time for a chat.

She poked her head quickly into Chad's room to check on him and found him sprawled out on his stomach across the bed, snoozing away. She refilled his water glass on the bedside table and left a couple of aspirins there if he needed them. The poor guy had taken a lick to the head when he had protected her when they were thrown through the door. It wasn't serious, but it was enough to give him a headache.

Satisfied that her patients were tucked in for the night, she left the room to continue on to her room. She pulled up short when she saw someone sitting on the steps of the wooden porch. "Darien?"

The black haired boy stood up and smiled when he heard her. "Hey! How's your grandpa and Chad doing?"

"They're fine," she replied, getting over her shock of finding him there. "So what brings you here? I figured you would be riding herd on Serena after what Mina found out this afternoon. She did get a chance to tell you about it, didn't she?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she told me. In fact, there was a little bit of a showdown that happened after we left from here. Can we sit down for a little bit and talk? There are some things that I wanted to ask you."

She sighed inwardly, but motioned for him to follow her. As the spiritualist of the group, it was her duty to offer advice to her friends whenever she could. And she definitely considered Darien to be a member of their group.

She fixed them each a cup of tea, and once they were seated at the kitchen table Darien spilled out the whole story. He told her about everything from Serena's blow up when she yelled at all of them to stop following her everywhere to Mina's eventual confession that she wasn't Serenity.

Raye let out a hiss of breath. "Wow! I'm actually kind of glad I missed that little episode. It sounds like it was intense. I can't say that I'm really surprised though. We've all been walking around on pins and needles for weeks. I still feel bad about the way I snapped at Serena earlier. I was way out of line. I'm just lucky that she's not one to hold a grudge."

Darien chuckled. "No, she just isn't that kind of person. She's almost too naïve for her own good. Sometimes I think that she would look at the devil and still try to find some good in him."

"She probably would," Raye laughed lightly for a moment. "So what's really on your mind, Darien? I don't think you came here just to talk about Serena's virtues."

He sighed. "No, I didn't. I had a dream earlier that has me confused. I know that visions and things of that nature are your forte, so I thought that maybe I could get your input on this."

She was immediately intrigued. He sounded so serious. "I can try. Why don't you tell me about it."

He raked a hand through his hair. "Okay. You know I told you before that I have dreams of Serenity, but that I can never see her face. Well earlier I had one that came in clearer than any dream that I've had yet. Serenity was there, but she was covered in a black hooded cloak. She ran from me when I called out to her, so I chased her down. When I caught her I pushed back the hood…and I could see her. It…it was Serena. She looked exactly the same except that she had this golden crescent moon on her forehead. She even called me Endymion."

He paused for a moment, figuring that he didn't need to tell her about the kiss that he and his dream Serena had shared. Some things did need to stay private after all. "Anyway, Serena and I had both fallen asleep at my coffee table while working on homework, and when I woke up I found the same symbol glowing on her forehead. I know I probably should have waited, but I was so excited at the thought that Serena was really Serenity that I told her right then. She didn't take it very well and got upset before running out of my apartment. But I'm right, aren't I? Serena is Serenity, isn't she? Mina's confession only makes me that much more certain."

Raye chewed on her bottom lip. Damn Mina, Luna, and Artemis and their insistence that Serenity's true existence needed to be kept a secret until the Silver Crystal was completed. She understood the need to keep her princess safe from Beryl, but if Kunzite went to the dark queen with Darien's true identity then Serena would be in mortal danger from the jealous witch's wrath anyway. So why not let the two of them have some happiness together now when they were both hurting so much?

But unfortunately her hands were tied. As each of the scouts had been awakened, Venus had sworn each of them to an oath to not reveal the moon princess's true identity unless it was a life or death situation. And while there was definitely a cloud looming over Serena's head, no attempt had been made against her yet other than the youma that were sent out to fight all of them. But there were a few loopholes.

She sighed. "Listen, Darien. There are a lot of things that I wish I could tell you, but I have sworn a binding and sacred oath that prevents me from being able to. But I will say this, Serena and you are meant to be together. It's like you are two halves of a whole. So don't give up on her. But at the same time don't push her too hard either. She is in the same boat that you are with conflicting dreams and flashes of memory that are confusing to her, and she needs time to figure out which way her life is going. Right now she is feeling vulnerable and needs friendship and support more than anything. And though she'd rather die than admit it, she values you being by her side more than anything."

Darien laid his head on the table with a thump. "I'm trying to be as supportive as I can. But it seems like every time I get close she shoves me away. It's driving me crazy!"

Raye shook her head. "That's because she knows that you want more and she's confused about what to do. For now I would just suggest being the best friend that she could ask for. Believe me, there will be time for romance later once the Silver Crystal is found. But right now she must be kept safe at all costs. Whether she believes it or not, Sailor Moon is the most powerful of all of the scouts, and we don't have a hope and a prayer of beating Beryl without her. So stand by her, give her strength, and everything will work out in the end."

He raised his head to look at her in gratitude. "Thanks, Raye. You've really helped me out."

She smiled. "I only wish that I could be of more assistance. Now get out of here! I've had a busy day and I'm about ready to crash."

He grinned. "Okay. I'll see you later. Thanks again."

He left her and made his way outside. Once he had made his way into the shadows of the leafless sakura trees, he made sure that he had had his aura completely cloaked before he transformed into Tuxedo Mask. He was going to honor Serena's wishes and stop stalking her day and night, but she wasn't going to stop him from popping by every so often to check on her.

As he jumped through the trees and then across the rooftops on the way to her house, he thought about what Raye had told him. She had never confirmed that Serena was Serenity, but she hadn't denied it either. That gave him hope that he was on the right track. But he also thought about what Raye had said about Serena needing support. His poor little angel. If what she was dealing with was as confusing as what he was going through, then she probably was feeling half insane.

He made a promise to himself right then and there. No matter how much he wanted to pursue a relationship with Serena right now, he was going to put it off until a more appropriate time. Right now she needed his help, and he was going to devote himself to assisting her one hundred percent. They would deal with whatever was brewing between them later.

He landed in the tree outside Serena's house, but stayed on a branch a few feet below her bedroom window when he saw that her light was still on. The last thing he wanted to do was alert her to the fact that he was there when she was already upset. But her window was cracked open, and her voice carried out to him.

"Am I that bad of a scout, Luna?" he heard her ask.

"No you are not!" Luna's indignant voice protested. "In fact, I couldn't be prouder of you. You have grown and matured so much over the last few months, and you've turned into quite a formidable fighter. Not to mention that you are getting stronger by the day."

"Then why do they treat me like a child?" Serena snapped. "I am supposed to be Sailor Moon, the leader of the scouts. Instead I feel like Sailor Loser that everyone has to take care of. Was I like this even back during the Silver Millennium?"

"Of course not!" Luna scoffed. "You weren't a loser then and you aren't one now. I don't want to hear anymore of that nonsense from you, young lady!"

Tuxedo Mask stretched up onto his tiptoes so that he could peek into Serena's bedroom window. He saw her sit up from where she had been laying across the bed and hug a pillow close to her chest.

"What was I like back then, Luna? I know you say that you don't have all of your memories, but I know that you can at least tell me some. I'm tired of not knowing who I was, so please, tell me what you can," she asked softly

Luna sighed and shook her head. "Okay."

Tuxedo Mask held his breath as Luna began to speak.

"You really weren't all that different then than you are now, I suppose. You were always bright and bubbly and were the virtually the bright spot of the Lunarian court. Being that you were a descendant of the royal line, you were highly sought after. Royalty and noblemen from across the galaxy sought your hand, but you denied them all. You were extremely dedicated to your duty to the Silver Alliance," Luna told her.

"And I was close to the princess?" Serena whispered.

Luna hated the fact that she wasn't being 100% truthful, but at the same time she wasn't exactly lying. Serenity had been the life of the Lunarian court. Although her antics and sometimes persistent questions had driven a lot of people to distraction, everyone had adored her. Bards had written songs about her gentility and kindness, and not a day had gone by without at least one declaration of love accompanied by a marriage proposal had been delivered to the palace. But the moon princess had gently and discreetly turned them all away. The idea of marriage hadn't interested her, much to her mother's chagrin, at least not until the prince from earth captured her attention, but Luna wasn't going to go that far into the story.

"You were close to all the girls," Luna said. "All of the sailor scouts were chosen at a very early age, and as such they spent much of their formative years living on the moon. You all grew up together as the best of friends. You were nearly inseparateble. Wherever one of you were, they others were usually soon to follow. Many jokes were made about the princess and her little ducklings."

Serena smiled wistfully. "I wish I could remember that. It sounds like we had a lot of fun times together. I know we're close now, but it would still be nice to remember how we used to be."

"Not much has changed," Luna replied as she stood and arched her back. "The group of you are a little more rambunctious than you used to be, but that's to be expected. Times are different now than they were back then. Life in a palace court could be strict and rigorous at times, and in those days sixteen was considered to be an adult age."

Serena snickered. "Are you saying that we're childish, Luna?"

The feline shook her head. "No, just more carefree. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm going to go meet with Artemis now. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Luna," Serena told her.

Tuxedo Mask heard her say this and panicked. He had to get out of here before he was busted. All Serena had to do right now was walk up to her window and look down and she would be able to see him. He made a quick decision and dropped straight down from the branch he was on to land silently on the ground. He started to make a run for the bushes that separated the Tsukino's yard from the neighbor's, but a hasty glance up showed him Luna already slithering out the window. He ducked behind the tree instead.

The petite black cat landed gracefully on the ground and looked around curiously for a moment before taking a few steps away. Thinking that he was home free, Tuxedo Mask was surprised when she stopped and spoke to him. "Did you hear anything useful, Darien?"

Tuxedo Mask looked sheepishly around the trunk of the tree. "You knew I was there?"

"I had my suspicions," Luna chortled. "Just be glad that Serena didn't see you. She's really upset about finding out that she was being kept under watch. You heard what she said earlier. She thinks we all see her as a failure."

"That's ridiculous!" he snorted. "She's done more in this fight than all the rest of us put together. How can she see that as failing?"

Luna shrugged a shoulder. "I don't think she sees herself as a bad fighter. She just believes that she is a poor leader. Serena is the type of person that wants to take care of those around her, and knowing that everyone else is banding together to protect her instead makes her feel weak. As much as I hate to say it, we're going to have to back off and let her take care of herself. Despite her sometimes flighty ways, she is a smart girl. She knows that there's danger lurking out there and she'll be on the lookout for it and call if she needs help. We're just going to have to trust her."

He sighed and looked up toward Serena's bedroom window before nodding. "I guess you're right. I just don't want the Dark Kingdom trying to use her to get to me, and I'm afraid they might try to do that. I'm sure you've heard about the confrontation between Venus and Kunzite already."

She nodded. "Yes, Artemis told me about it. He also said that…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened. "Wait a minute! How do you know about Venus?"

He grinned smugly. He'd never thought that the intelligent feline would stumble so easily into his trap, but she had. Now if he just played his cards right he might get the answers he was looking for.

He leaned casually against the tree. "Oh, I guess you haven't heard about that conversation yet…" He told her about his dream, how he had finally been able to see Serenity, and how he had seen the crescent moon symbol on Serena's forehead when he had woken up.

He skipped over the part about confronting Serena with what he knew and moved straight to his confrontation with Mina. "So I asked Mina who she really was and she told me that she was Sailor Venus. Then I asked her why she hadn't told Serena yet that she is Serenity."

Luna looked a little skeptical. "And Mina confirmed that Serena is our princess."

"More or less," he hedged. Granted Mina had never actually said the words, but her anger when she had stomped away had spoken volumes.

"I don't believe that," Luna said with a shake of her head. "Mina would never endanger our mission that way. You must have misunderstood her."

He shrugged. "It is what it is, Luna. All I know is that Serena is the princess and I'm going to do what I can to try to keep her safe and at the same time not piss her off. You know it's the truth, so don't bother trying to deny it."

Luna stared at him for a long, wild-eyed moment before gasping, "I have to go," and darting off into the darkness.

He smiled grimly. His suspicions were confirmed. Luna would have never acted the way she had if he wasn't right. If he had been wrong then she would have told him, but instead she had become defensive exactly the way Mina had. And neither one of them had ever actually said that Serena wasn't Serenity. It was like they couldn't bring themselves to say the words, as if it would be blasphemous.

He knew that Luna was running off at that moment to probably go blab to Mina about what he'd said, and he really couldn't find it in him to care. He knew the truth, and that was all that mattered.

He gave the lit bedroom window one final longing look, fighting against the urge to go back up there just to see her again. "Stay safe, Serena. I'll be back," he whispered, and then he jumped to the roof of the neighboring house to head for home.

He hated leaving her alone and unprotected, but the last thing he wanted to do was push her away. He would set his alarm to go off every two hours and make a quick sweep by just to check on her. He would have to content himself with that.

Raye's words from earlier about how Serena needed friendship and support bounced around in his head. Starting tomorrow he was going to be the best and most supportive, yet non-smothering friend Serena could ask for.

And if Mina or anybody else didn't like it, they could kiss his ass!

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Beryl's grating laugh echoed eerily around the chamber. "Excellent! Now there is only one more crystal left to find. Do you have any ideas as to its location yet, Zoicite?"

The dark blonde general bowed his head. "Not yet, your majesty. But be assured that I am working tirelessly on it. I have my computer constantly scanning for even the slightest sign of its presence. The moment I have it I will go and retrieve that crystal for you. I promise you that."

"Very well," Beryl conceded as she set the newly acquired light blue crystal next to the others. "Just don't screw it up and lose it to Tuxedo Mask like you did those other two. Speaking of which, how is the search for Tuxedo Mask going, Kunzite? We need those crystals from him as well as using him to track down Endymion."

The platinum haired man spoke in a carefully controlled voice. "I'm afraid the search is not going as swiftly as I would like, my queen. The boy has proven to be quite adept at disappearing, so tracking him is hard. But I am closing in on him and hope to discover his identity soon."

Beryl's eyes narrowed. "I sincerely hope so. I grow weary with all of this waiting. I want those crystals and I want my prince, and I want them as quickly as possible! I have spent three weeks stockpiling the energy that will be needed to convert Endymion to our side and now all I am waiting for is for you to deliver my future king and the key to my ruling the Earth to me. Now get back to work!"

Both men bowed and backed out of the room. Neither one of them spoke until they were alone together in the privacy of their common room.

Zoicite threw himself down in a chair in front of his computer. "So I'm assuming that following the girl today must have been no help at all."

"Quite the contrary," Kunzite replied smoothly. "Sailor Moon proved herself to be quite useful."

Zoicite tapped the keys on the keyboard as he checked his scans. "So did she lead you to Tuxedo Mask so we can kill him already and get our hands on those crystals?"

"Oh, she did much better than that," Kunzite said loftily. He waited until Zoicite looked up at him curiously before simply saying, "She led me straight to Endymion himself."

"What?" Zoicite cried, jumping up from his chair. "Why didn't you tell Beryl about that? I thought the whole point of finding Endymion was so that we could give him to her to keep her distracted from what we are doing. I say we go get him right now and throw him to the bitch. Where is he?"

Kunzite held up a hand. "Patience, my bloodthirsty friend. You didn't let me finish my story first. You see, there is a bit of a dilemma because Endymion also happens to be Tuxedo Mask."

"Shit!" Zoicite hissed. "That is a problem. That means we have to get those crystals from him before we turn him over to Beryl or else she'll end up with them."

"Exactly," Kunzite confirmed with a nod. "If we take them first, Beryl will just naturally assume that he gave them to the sailor scouts for safekeeping when she sinks her claws into him. She'll be so busy taking out her vengeance on the scouts because she thinks they have the crystals, and on Sailor Moon in particular for daring to be close to Endymion, that she will never realize that we have all seven crystals until it is too late. Then the world will be ours to command."

Zoicite snickered evilly. "That's if the moon brat survives us. She is the perfect tool for forcing Endymion's hand and could easily end up being an _innocent _casualty."

Kunzite shrugged. "If she dies, she dies. I'll kill her myself if she gets in our way or if Endymion proves to be difficult. That stupid sap of a prince always has seemed to have an unnatural fondness for Lunarian women, and Sailor Moon wouldn't be the first one of them to die because of him."

Zoicite chuckled. "True. Speaking of Lunarian women, have you come up with any clue about Serenity's whereabouts? She's the main one I'm worried about. If she shows up it could mean big trouble for us. The Silver Crystal will recognize her as being its true mistress and try to return to her."

"I'm not worried about her. She's weak!" Kunzite scoffed. "That frail little princess killed herself before because she was too scared to try and take a stand against our forces, and I doubt she's changed much since then. I'm actually beginning to sincerely doubt that the scouts even have a clue as to where she is. The little coward is probably hiding away somewhere so she won't get dragged into this."

Zoicite still looked a little apprehensive. "So you don't think there's even the slightest possibility that Sailor Moon could actually turn out to be Serenity? I mean think about it. If Endymion is Tuxedo Mask, then perhaps Serenity could be Sailor Moon. It makes sense."

"No, it doesn't!" Kunzite protested. "I may not remember much about the past, but I do know that Serenity was so pathetically kind that she wouldn't even swat a fly, much less kill a youma. You've heard Beryl say that yourself. And Sailor Moon is a fighter. She's a stupid little girl, but she does have a streak of reckless bravery in her. I can vaguely recall an old legend of there being a scout of the moon that only showed herself in the direst of circumstances. Hell, Endymion was probably screwing her on the side while he was courting Serenity."

Zoicite's eyes narrowed. "I recall no such legend. What else do you remember that you're not telling me?"

He remembered Sailor Venus when no one else seemed to, probably due to the Silver Crystal's magic in its attempt to protect its princess, but he didn't feel the need to share that information. "I remember nothing else. It's just that I had a brief flash of my predecessor's memory once when Beryl was complaining about Sailor Moon and I recalled that particular story. Don't you get random memories from time to time?"

"Sure," Zoicite grumbled with a shrug. "But I ignore them for the most part. It's not like the good general actually had any interesting memories. Who cares about what king ended the war in the west or which herb works best for curing the common cold? And don't even get me started on the way that idiot used to moon over that pale, mousy princess of Mercury. I guess some human men just have no taste."

"That's pretty obvious," Kunzite said in agreement, although secretly he could see why the general that had formerly inhabited his body had been attracted to Sailor Venus's golden beauty. He wouldn't mind having a taste of that himself.

He shook his head to rid him of the thought. He had work to do. "Okay, back to business. You concentrate on finding that last crystal. I'm going to spend a little more time watching Mr. Princey and Miss Moon. If they have any daily routines they follow it should be easy to set a trap for them."

"Will do!" Zoicite conceded as he turned his attention back to his computer.

* * *

"Luuunna!" Serena complained. "We've been up and down every street in this neighborhood at least ten times now. I've seen just about every kind of cat imaginable, shorthaired, longhaired, big, small, with stripes and without, but I have yet to see a fat, white cat. Are you sure you didn't eat some bad tuna and have a hallucination about what Artemis would look like if he gained ten or fifteen pounds."

The feline on her shoulder sighed. "I'm positive, Serena. That cat was no figment of my imagination. He was real. The little girl that came looking for him called him Hercules and I'm pretty sure that they have to live somewhere around here but I didn't follow them to find out exactly where. But if we find Hercules, we can follow him to the girl. Maybe we should have called in the other girls after all. We would be able to cover a larger area that way."

A growl rumbled in Serena's throat. "I'm perfectly capable of walking around and looking for a cat, Luna. I don't see any reason to involve anyone else in this unless we actually find something. If we find your mystery rescuer and I get anything weird off his owner, then I'll contact the others. You asked me to do this for you, so that's what I'm doing. But if you don't think I'm up for the job…"

"Oh, put your hackles down, Miss Independent!" Luna fussed. "I didn't mean it like that. I just…oh, never mind! Let's give it a rest for now. We've been out here for over two hours and we're obviously not getting anywhere. Maybe this was a wild goose chase after all."

"Or maybe your new friend is just staying inside today. It is still wintertime out here even if it is warmer than it was a few weeks ago," Serena mused. "We'll just have to keep checking back. If Hercules does live around here, we're bound to come across either him or the girl at some point. Now I'm heading to the arcade. Are you coming with me, or do I need to escort you home to save you from all of your admirers?"

Luna sniffed disdainfully. "Very funny, Serena! It's not my fault that those common alley cats have absolutely no breeding to speak of. But to answer your question, I think I'll just go to Mina's since it's only a couple of blocks away. If you could just take me down to the next corner I should have no trouble making it the rest of the way."

"Works for me," Serena chirped, already imagining the smooth, creamy taste of the chocolate milkshake that she would soon be indulging in. She was actually in a pretty decent mood and felt better than she had in weeks. There had been no youma attacks to drag her from her bed last night and amazingly she'd had no nightmares. Endymion had tried to intrude on her dreams twice, but she'd easily woken herself up from those and had quickly fallen back asleep with no problem. So she felt rejuvenated after getting some much needed rest.

The best part of all was the fact that she had seen no sign of any of her friends stalking her. She had gotten up the two times that she had woken up and had taken a good look around outside, even crawling out her window again to check the roof, but she hadn't seen one flutter of a fuku skirt or a cape anywhere in sight. It looked like the others had taken what she'd said seriously, and she was glad. She was determined to show them that she could be a good scout and leader.

She'd also kept her eyes peeled since she'd left her house earlier and while she'd been searching for Hercules, but as far as she could tell she wasn't being followed. In fact, the strangest thing that had happened to her today had been when a man with silvery white looking hair had snarled at her after she had accidentally bumped into him as she was leaving a store after buying a soda. She'd apologized and he'd just glared at her with hard gray eyes, but she'd simply shrugged it off. Maybe the guy was having a bad day. She knew what that was like.

Now that she was feeling like herself again, she felt bad about yelling at her friends the night before. She didn't regret putting her foot down about them respecting her space, but she could have handled it better. She hoped that they would be at the arcade so she could apologize for being so crabby. After all, she knew that they meant well.

And Darien…well, she wasn't exactly sure what to do about him. He'd seemed so adamant that she was Serenity when they had woken up from their unexpected naps, and she'd run out of his apartment before she'd really had a chance to gauge his reaction to her telling him who she really was. Then later everything had been so tense when they had been in the alley with Mina, Lita, and Amy…they probably needed to have a nice long talk. He had become her rock, and she didn't his misinterpreting a dream to come between them.

"Is this good?" she asked Luna as she set her down only a block away from Mina's house.

"Yes, this will be fine. I'll catch up with you later," her advisor told her before dashing away down the sidewalk.

Serena shook her head and smiled before strolling leisurely the few blocks to the arcade. It was still quite chilly out with the temperature hovering in the mid-forties, but the sun was shining brightly, making it a beautiful winter day.

In what seemed like no time she was passing through the doors of the arcade. Her eyes immediately went to the stool at the end, looking for that familiar head of ebony hair. When she didn't see it her gaze shifted to the booth in the back, but it was surprisingly empty.

There was one familiar face in the semi-crowded arcade though, and a bright smile appeared on her face as she weaved her way through the patrons.

She slid onto an empty stool and leaned her elbows on the counter. "Hey, Drew!"

The sandy haired blonde looked up with a smile. "Hey, Sere! You're looking bright and chipper today."

"I had a _quiet _night," she said conspiratorially.

"Ahh!" he drawled. "I kind of figured that. I called Dare earlier and asked him if he would come by in a little bit to help me with a problem on my Trig homework and he sounded almost as disgustingly happy as you look. It's amazing what a full night's sleep can do for you, isn't it?"

"It sure is," she agreed. "Can I get a chocolate shake, please?"

"Sure thing!" he quipped with a grin. He was so glad to see his oldest friend in a good mood again that he set a handful of game tokens next to her glass with a wink. "Have some fun on the house. Maybe you'll finally crack Mina's high score on Sailor V."

"Wow! This day just keeps getting better and better! Thanks, Drew!" she squealed as she grabbed the milkshake and tokens before scrambling off the stool. In less than a minute she was pounding cheerfully away on the controls to her favorite game.

Andrew shook his head and chuckled. His adopted little sister may be growing up by leaps and bounds, but she still had her moments. If he squinted his eyes just right, she would look like she was about ten years old again.

He got sidetracked then by a fresh group of kids wandering in, looking for some food and entertainment, and got back to work waiting on them. The busy pace kept him hopping for about a half hour before it let up. He drew in a deep breath as he scanned the customers to make sure everyone was taken care of and then did a double take. He had sworn that the stool at the end of the counter had been empty just a minute before, but now it was occupied.

"What's up?" he greeted Darien as he walked toward him. "When did you sneak in here?"

His black haired friend laughed. "I didn't sneak in. I walked in the door like any normal person. You were just too dense to notice." The he hitched a thumb over his shoulder in Serena's general direction. "How long has she been at it?"

Andrew glanced at his watch. "Quite a while, actually. She's starting to get red in the face, which means she's losing. I'll probably have to stage an intervention before long to save the game from coming to any harm. You know how violent she can get when it comes to video games."

Darien nodded. "Sad, but true. Tell you what, why don't you pour me a cup of coffee and then I'll go rescue the game from Serena's wrath. How's that sound?"

"You're on!" Andrew instantly agreed. "I'm all for anything that keeps me from having to get between Serena and her fix. That way I know I'll get to keep all of my limbs. She may look like a harmless little bunny on the outside, but on the inside she's a savage tiger. So you go right on ahead."

"Nah! You just have to know how to handle her right," Darien quipped.

Andrew's eyebrows rose curiously. "And since when have you ever handled Serena? The last time I checked she had handed your ass to you many times."

Darien shrugged as he picked up his coffee and stood. "It just took me a while to perfect my technique. Don't worry about it. I've got everything under control."

"Yeah right!" Andrew muttered as he watched Darien approach Serena and waited for the show to start.

Several regular arcade patrons saw this as well and began watching with rabid curiosity. It had been a while since they had seen the petite blonde girl go up against the tall dark haired boy, so this ought to be good. Surely they had a nice little supply of pent up aggression stored up in them by now.

Andrew reached under the counter where the notebook that he kept the stats on the battle between Serena and Darien had developed a fine layer of dust from not being used in so many weeks. He was just about to give the signal that the betting pool was open for people to put their money down on their favorite to win, odds would run high for Serena in this case, when his mouth and the mouths of about half the people in the arcade fell open in shock.

No one could believe what they had just seen. Darien Shields had walked right up to Serena Tsukino, while she was in the middle of a game, and had placed a hand on her shoulder as he bent down to speak quietly in her ear. And instead of flying into a rage at the interruption, the blonde girl had simply looked up, nodded, and then picked up her milkshake before following him to a small, secluded table in the very back corner of the arcade.

It took a minute for the noise level to return to normal in the arcade, and then the rumors started flying.

"Okay! I know that I've seen them being a little friendlier to each other than normal, but are they like, going out or something?"

"No way! I heard that Shields has some twenty year old college chick that he's been banging."

"Really? I could have sworn that he swung the other way. The hot ones usually do."

"Anyway, I heard that Serena and Asanuma had something going on before he left."

"Ooo, they would make a cute couple. They're both blonde."

"Yeah, but he's a playboy. He'll just break her heart. She'd do better with Shields. He's got money, looks, and brains. Not a bad combination."

"But they are nothing alike. I just can't see the two of them getting along long enough to be friends, much less have a relationship."

"You're probably right. I bet Darien just got bullied by one of the teachers into tutoring Serena or something."

"That makes more sense."

Andrew cleared his throat and addressed the group of his fellow schoolmates. "Do you hens mind taking your clucking down a few notches? You're worse than a bunch of gossiping old biddies! Don't you have anything else better to do than standing around and speculating about other people's lives?"

"Ha! You're one to talk, Furuhata," one of the girls giggled. "I bet you have all the low-down on them. So what gives? Are they an item or not?"

"Are who an item?" a new voice asked as a blonde girl pushed her way through to the counter.

"Mina!" Andrew exclaimed in relief. "Just the person I needed to see."

She smiled brightly. "Really?"

"Yes, really," he motioned her behind the counter. "Come back here for a minute. There's something I need to talk to you about." He ushered her into the staff room and closed the door behind them.

The rumors started anew.

"Oh man! Do you think something's going on between those two?"

Andrew leaned against the door, panting. "Thanks, Mina. You just saved my life. I had to get away from that crowd for a minute."

Her smile faltered slightly. "Oh, so you didn't really have anything to talk to me about then?"

He chuckled. "I do if you're interested in the latest Sere/Dare gossip."

Her expression tightened just a bit. "What gossip?"

He related the story of what had just happened to her and her face fell a little more with every word he said. By the end, she wasn't smiling.

"Hey! I thought them getting along was what we wanted," he teased. "Isn't that what we've been plotting and scheming since before Christmas?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And I'm happy for them, really I am. I'm just preoccupied with other business, if you catch my drift."

Andrew pushed away from the door. "You need to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, Drew. There are just some things that need to still be kept secret. I hope you can understand that."

"Sure, I get it," he said. "I've read all the comic books and seen the movies. No matter who knows their secret identity, there are always a few trade secrets that the heroes keep to themselves. But I do have a nice sturdy shoulder here if you need to lean on it for a minute."

She laughed shakily and then gave in, leaning her cheek against his shoulder and taking comfort from his presence. The whole mission seemed to be unraveling around the edges, and she was trying her best to hold it together for just a little while longer. They needed all the Rainbow Crystals so that they could restore the Silver Crystal, but she was at a loss as to how to go about it. Beryl was a crafty opponent, and she had Kunzite and Nephrite on her side. And while the generals she possessed were not the true generals, they still retained some of the same skills. Zoicite had been a brilliant strategist and Kunzite…well, he had been one of the most gifted warriors she had ever seen. It definitely complicated things.

And in the middle of all of this she had Darien running around playing Sherlock Holmes. She didn't really blame him for digging around for information. She probably would too if she was in the same situation of not remembering who she was and trying to locate her soul mate. She wanted to trust him with the truth of Serenity's identity, she really did. Serena needed him fully by her side. But it was so risky for him to know the truth without having any of Endymion's memories. Endymion knew how his generals and Beryl worked and he would be prepared for them. As Darien he may be taken off guard. And while she knew that he would never willingly sell Serena out, the Dark Kingdom had ways of getting information and he could inadvertently reveal her to them. She didn't know what to do.

'_Just tell him, Venus. He has the right to know,' _her conscience, which for some reason always sounded like Kunzite's voice, whispered to her. She knew that if the real Kunzite, her Kunzite, was here he would be ranting and raving at her for keeping such a secret from his prince.

She sighed and stepped away from Andrew. She had some heavy duty thinking to do. "Thanks for the shoulder, Drew," she said softly.

He grinned at her. "I hope it helped. Now how about a milkshake to help perk you up some more?"

The promise of sugar to help fuel her worn out brain brought a smile to her face. "Lead the way."

* * *

Serena swirled the straw through her milkshake. "So what did you want to talk about?" she asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. She'd known that she would have to face Darien at some point, but he had taken her by surprise when he had approached her a few minutes ago. At least he seemed calm compared to the way he had been yesterday.

Darien took a steadying breath. He had practiced over and over what he wanted to say to her, now he just hoped that he could deliver the words without flubbing everything up. "I wanted to apologize for losing it yesterday. Like I said, I had a really crazy dream and I guess I just went psycho for a moment since you were in it and then you were there when I woke up. I jumped to some premature conclusions without any proof and forced you into a difficult situation, and I'm sorry for that."

Serena's eyes widened. Well that was a relief. She had been afraid when he'd asked to speak to her that they were going to have to hash the whole thing out again, but it seemed that his normal, level headed way of thinking had already taken care of that. Thank goodness.

A relieved giggle escaped her. "It's okay. Believe me, I know how crazy some of the dreams of the past can be. Remember the night I freaked out on you because I saw you die in my dream?"

He chuckled and rubbed his side. "My ribs remember your foot crashing into them. You are violent when you sleep."

She waved a hand. "Ah, you're a tough guy. Besides, with the way you heal you probably didn't even feel it ten minutes later. The point is that I've had my psycho moments because of these dreams too."

"Yeah," he grumbled. "But this was the first time I'd ever actually seen you in one. Most of the time it's just confusing, jumbled up visions. I'll see a familiar face every now and then, but that's about it. This was an actual dream, and you were there. It was even clearer than the ones I usually have about Serenity."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Well we'd already figured out that we knew each other in the past, so it makes sense that I would pop up in your dreams at some point. You've been in and out of mine for weeks now."

Darien pretended to pout. "You say that like it's a bad thing. Don't tell me, you thought I was a jerk back then too."

"It's not that it's a bad thing," she mumbled, fighting to hold back a blush as she thought about some of the more, um…romantically oriented dreams. She definitely wasn't going to confess to those. "But it is unsettling sometimes. And I don't like the nightmares when I have to see you die. Those are the worst. But there's one thing I don't get. What gave you the crazy idea that I was Serenity?"

Now came the difficult part. Darien had spent most of his life putting on an act in front of others to hide his true self. He hadn't really had to do it in a while, so he hoped his acting ability was still up to par. He was convinced, without a shadow of a doubt that she was Serenity, but now he had to convince her that he truly thought she wasn't.

He shrugged. "It was a pretty easy mistake to make actually. Serenity is the only person I've ever dreamed about being in that garden with me, even though I could never see her clearly. Then there you were. I called you Serenity and you didn't correct me. You also had a crescent moon on your forehead, right there." He reached forward and pressed a fingertip to the spot he remembered.

Serena laughed and pulled away. "Okay, so I can see where that could be confusing. After all, the names Serena and Serenity sound an awful lot alike. But I was from the moon back then. Maybe all people from there had moon marks on their heads."

Encouraged by her reaction, he chuckled. "Could be. And I did call you Serena after I pulled that ridiculous hood off your head. But you may not have even had the same name back then. I don't have the same name. What name do I usually call you by in your dreams?"

She fought back another blush as she thought of how her dream prince was in the habit of whispering her name in her ear while he held her. "Um…Sere," she finally muttered. "You always call me Sere. I guess your past self was too lazy to say my full name. But it's not a big deal. Most people still call me that to this day. It's a common nickname for Serena."

A little devil of glee danced in Darien's head. Sere was also a convenient nickname for Serenity as well. He couldn't help but tease, "And do I have a nickname?"

She glared at him. "Yeah, one comes to mind. How about _jerk_? That one seems to suit you quite nicely." When he simply looked amused, she sighed. "I guess you do. I've called you Endy a few times in my dreams. And people around here call you Dare all the time."

He could tell she was getting agitated, so he decided to change the subject. "Did you finish that homework assignment I was helping you with yesterday?"

She gaped at him for a moment, surprised by the abrupt change. "Are we moving on to talking about schoolwork now?"

He shrugged. "I figured we've gotten the heavy stuff out of the way, so I thought I'd make sure that you've gotten caught up on everything. That's what friends do."

A light smile touched her lips. "Friends. Are we back to that point again?"

He reached across the table and took her hand. "I'm always going to be your friend, Sere. No matter what our relationship may have been in the recent or distant past, or what our relationship may be in the future, I'm always going to be here for you."

She squeezed his hand. "Thank you. And to answer your question, Mr. Honor Roll, yes I got the assignment done. I was practically finished with it when I left your place. Now I just have to remember to do that stupid chapter review in Biology tonight. I'm almost flunking that class too."

"If you need any help, give me a call," he said smoothly. "I'll be happy to walk you through it."

She pulled her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest. "Should I call you, or can I just stick my head out the window? I'm still a little steamed over you stalking me."

He held his hands up. "I've stopped, I swear! You were right. You are a big girl and can take care of yourself. I do admit that I swung by your place a couple of times last night to check on you, but that was only because I was awake and decided to go out and make sure that there were no youma running around." Okay, that was a tiny white lie. He had set his alarm to off every two hours and then would hurry to her house where he would spend a few moments watching her sleep. Then he would dash back home and nap before doing it all over again. But she didn't need to know that.

She looked a little skeptical. "Okay. I'm fine with that as long as you're not spending all night keeping me under surveillance. If anything comes up, I'll call for help. Speaking of which, I'm sorry for going atomic on you last night. I know you and the girls are just looking out for me and I handled that whole situation badly."

He waved away her concern. "It's cool! I don't blame you for being ticked. You're Sailor Moon, and you don't need us up under you all the time. In fact, I pity the generals if one of them decided to come after you. You'd probably mop the floor with them."

She shuddered at the thought of the generals. Zoicite scared the crap out of her. She hadn't seen the new one, Kunzite, yet, but if was anything like the others…Brrr…that was scary.

"You're the one I'm worried about," she told him. "They know who you are, and you're way more important than I am. This Beryl chick seems to be pretty hung up on you and they might come after you."

He gave her a cocky grin. "Are you doubting Tuxedo Mask's excellent fighting skills? I'm hurt!"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm seriously starting to doubt Darien Shields' supposed intelligence. The same thing goes for you that goes for me. If anything happens, you call for help. And I want you to do me a favor."

"What's that?" he asked.

Her blue eyes pinned him seriously. "I want you to stop doing whatever it is that you've been doing lately that blocks me from sensing you. I don't like the way it feels. It's like you just suddenly disappear and it's creepy."

One black eyebrow rose up in that sardonic way that always made her feel like slapping him. "I thought you said it was creepy when I used the bond between us and that you didn't want me to use it. You told me to voice my feelings instead of broadcasting them."

"Very funny, jerkwad! You know what I mean," she hissed. "I said that I didn't want you spying on my moods or what's going on in my head because it's an invasion of privacy. I never said to take it away completely. If one of us found ourself in trouble it may be the only form of contact we have. How am I supposed to call you for help if I can't reach you?"

She had a point there. He would make sure to not block his aura anymore. If she felt him transform, then so be it. "Duly noted. I won't do it anymore."

She nodded and turned to look over her shoulder. She saw Mina, Amy, Raye, and Lita sitting at their usual booth. "I should go talk to the girls. I need to apologize to them too for the way I acted last night and I want to ask Raye how her grandpa and Chad are doing."

Darien hid his disappointment. "Oh, okay. I guess I'll see you later. Like I said, if you need anything, call me."

"I will," she promised as she got up from her seat. She started to walk away, and then turned back around. There was a question burning inside of her that she just had to ask. They had talked about everything that had happened the day before except for the fact that she had confessed to sneaking around behind Serenity's back to see him during the Silver Millennium. Whether or not this was because he chose to ignore it or if he didn't believe her, she wasn't sure.

"Hey, Darien," she started hesitantly. "You know how I said we were kind of together in the past?"

He had the nerve to grin at her, the snake! "Yeeesss…" he drawled out.

She felt her cheeks begin to burn. "Well, my dream self didn't say or do anything weird, did she?"

He went still, thinking back to that dream and what she had said and done.

"_You shouldn't have followed me,"_

"_No! This is wrong! I shouldn't be here!"_

"_Endymion!"_

_The taste of her tears as her lips moved under his._

"_I love you too."_

Darien shook his head. "No. You didn't do anything."

She heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay! I'll catch you later!"

She started to leave again, only to turn back around and dash back to the table to get her milkshake that she had forgotten.

"Not a peep out of you, Shields!" she growled at him as he bit his lip to keep from laughing at her forgetfulness.

He couldn't stop the chuckles, and she glared at him before she spun on her heel to stomp away. He had to give her credit; she only tripped over nothing twice and was able to stay on her feet both times. She made it to the girls' table without winding up on the floor once. She was getting better.

"Jerk!" Serena muttered as she slid into the booth next to Mina.

"Trouble with Darien?" her fellow blonde asked lightly.

Lita snickered. "Yeah! Your face is as red as this cherry." She plucked the cherry from the top of her milkshake and popped it in her mouth.

Raye rolled her eyes. "What did he do this time, mistake you for someone that actually has a brain?"

Serena blew a raspberry at her.

"Say it, don't spray it, Meatball Head!" Raye screeched.

"Ahem!" Amy said politely. "Could we please go one afternoon without listening to you two bicker? I don't think it's asking too much for a little peace and quiet every now and then."

"Sooo," Mina purred. "What were you and Darien doing back there in the corner? It looked kind of cozy to me."

Serena elbowed her. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Mina! It was nothing like that. Darien and I are just friends. We had a little disagreement yesterday and we were talking it out, that's all."

"Ooo, a lovers' spat!" Lita chortled.

Serena's face went almost purple this time as she swelled like a puffer fish.

"She's gonna blow!" Raye shrieked as she dove under the table, taking Amy with her.

Serena threw back her head and wailed, "IT WASN'T LIKE THAT! WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME?" Then she slumped forward, forehead banging against the table.

Mina patted her back consolingly. "There, there, poor baby! Of course we believe you. We were just teasing you a little. Please don't get upset!"

Serena grinned at the table. No matter what powers she might have come into as Sailor Moon, wailing was still her greatest weapon when it came to everyday life. She carefully schooled her face into tragic expression before she raised her head. "We really were just talking, honest."

"Well…did you set him straight," Raye asked hesitantly as she crawled back into her seat.

Serena smiled superiorly. "Of course I did. I just had to make him see that I was right and he was wrong."

Amy shook her head. "What were you two arguing about this time?"

"Oh, nothing important! I don't even remember what started it now," Serena said quickly and took a sip of her shake to cover the lie. She was horrible at lying and she knew it, but she didn't want to share Darien's mix up with them. It was best to keep it between the two of them. She didn't see the confused look Raye shot at her.

Mina looked up and caught Darien's eye as he walked toward the counter, shaking his head and grinning at Serena's theatrics. Perhaps she had misjudged the reincarnated prince after all. She had thought for sure after hearing Luna's report last night that he would be running around insisting that Serena was the moon princess. The fact that he was stepping back and sheltering Serena showed that he was more like his past self than she had originally thought.

"Anyway," Serena's voice pulled Mina's attention back to her. "That's enough about me and the jerk. I wanted to apologize to you Mina, Lita, and Amy for spazzing out on you last night. I had no right to yell at you guys like that. But I do hope that you'll respect my decision that I don't have to be watched all the time like a naughty child. We're all in danger in this fight and we have to look out for each other. Agreed?"

They all agreed with her. Although all four of them shared a look that said while they would back off and give their princess the space she wanted, they would be keeping a careful eye out for any danger that might threaten her.

"So, Raye!" Serena chirped in her normal, bubbly tone. "How are your grandpa and Chad doing today?"

* * *

Darien tossed his keys up and down in his hand as he stepped into the elevator of his apartment building and pressed the button for the top floor. He'd been out later than he'd planned on being, but he wasn't complaining.

He'd waited at the arcade until Andrew had gotten off. Then the two of them had gone to the Furuhata's house so that he could help his friend with the problem he'd been having in Trig. Mrs. Furuhata had insisted that he stay for dinner, claiming that they hadn't seen much of him since Christmas, and it was impossible to turn that woman down when she'd made her mind up. Not if you wanted to live anyway.

Then Mr. Furuhata had to show off his new entertainment system that he'd gotten, so he'd ended up staying for a movie as well. Andrew had just dropped him back off at the arcade to pick up his car when he'd gotten a panicked phone call from Serena saying that she couldn't figure out her Biology.

So he'd transformed and charged to her rescue. It had taken a while, but she'd finally muddled out something that would keep her teacher happy for now. After reluctantly saying goodnight, he'd slipped back out her window to finally go home. He had school tomorrow too, after all, and he needed some sleep. Of course he would have to get up a couple of times to check on Serena.

The elevator dinged and he stepped out into the hall. He paused for a moment though when he spotted the girl standing by his door.

"Mina," he greeted in a carefully casual tone. "What are you doing here?"

She shifted her weight uneasily. "We need to talk."

He walked forward and unlocked his door. He gestured for her to go in. "Okay, come on in."

He flipped on the lights and tossed his keys down on the small table in the entry hall. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"A water will be fine," she said as she wandered into his living room to look around. It was extremely clean for a teenage boy living alone and was almost painfully spartan in its simplicity.

Darien walked in and handed her a bottle of water. She took a seat on his sofa while he settled into a chair.

"So what can I do for you?" he asked in that same forcefully polite tone.

Her head snapped up. "You can start by cutting the bullshit and treating me like normal. I know we butted heads last night, so I would rather you act pissed at me instead of going on with this fake nice routine."

His eyes narrowed. "Fine! You want me to cut the bullshit, then that's what I'll do. What I want is answers, Sailor Venus! So unless you're here to give me some truths, I really don't have much to say to you. Is that cut and dried enough for you?"

"Damn temperamental man!" she muttered as she viciously twisted the top off the water and then took a long swig of it. "Okay, look. This is going against my better judgment, but I've decided that you deserve to know the truth. What I tell you tonight stays between us. The other girls don't need to know that I've told you. They'd probably be pissed that I'm the one that blabbed after I swore them all to secrecy. But I'm trusting you with this, and if Serena gets hurt I'm going to take it out of your ass! Understood?"

Darien sat back and folded his arms. "Try me!"

She took a deep breath. "I am Sailor Venus, the real leader of the Sailor Scouts. I answer to no one but Princess Serenity, who yes, is Serena. Now I'm going to tell you the real story of the moon kingdom, and about my princess and the prince she fell in love with and how it all came crashing down in one bloody night on the moon…"

* * *

**A/N **So Venus is finally coming clean and going to tell Darien everything! Of course he had already figured out the whole Serena/Serenity thing, but now he's about to get the really big picture. I hope you guys don't think I left you at a huge cliffhanger here, but we'll get into Darien's new knowledge in the next chapter. Basically Mina is just telling him the same Serenity/Endymion, star-crossed lovers story that we all already know, so I didn't see the need to rewrite the entire thing. So Kunzite is looking to set a trap for our fave couple and there's only one Rainbow Crystal left to be found. Who will get to it first? I guess we'll find out next time! Remember, reviews and suggestions are much appreciated, so drop me a line. I promise I don't bite! Catch you guys next update! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	20. Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!

**A/N **Holy crap! I don't know what happened! I think my computer had a blonde moment (I can say that without malice since I'm a blonde). I thought I uploaded this yesterday, but I guess something didn't go right. I knew something was wrong when my inbox stayed empty, but I just now had the chance to sit down and check things out. For whatever reason the story didn't update. So here's hoping it works this time. Sometimes computers make me feel like I'm losing my mind. Anyway, let me get those hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

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(Squeals!) Over 450 reviews now! Thank you so much! Rekindled has now surpassed _What If_ in reviews. Actually, I've been thinking of going back and revising _What If_ at some point after I finish this story so that season one and season two will flow together a little easier. I guess that's what I get for writing the R season first. But that was a few years ago. I just don't want there to be any big discrepancies between the stories since I hope to eventually twist all five seasons. But we'll see what happens. Okay, moving on! I have a nice long chapter for you here.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 20

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't wake me up!" Serena wailed as she pounded down the sidewalk.

The black cat on her shoulder swayed crazily and dug her claws into the fabric of the jacket under her paws in an attempt to keep her balance. "I'm sorry!" she muttered quietly so she wouldn't be heard by the people that crowded the sidewalk as they made their Monday morning commute to work. "It's not like me to sleep through your alarm like that. I must have stayed up too late last night."

Serena snickered. "Ooo! What were you and Artemis doing last night?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Serena! Artemis and I were busy researching, just like we always do. Not only were we trying to see if we could track down the last Rainbow Crystal, but we were also trying to pinpoint the Dark Kingdom's base of operation. We know that Beryl and her crew are hiding out somewhere, but unfortunately we have come up with nothing so far."

"But you're still pretty sure that we will be able to find the last crystal if we find that cat, aren't you?" Serena asked her.

"I still think that it's a distinct possibility," Luna answered. "But I'm afraid all we can do at this point is keep checking that neighborhood on a regular basis until we come across him. We should probably take another look this afternoon."

"Yeah, yeah," Serena muttered as she came to a stop in front of the alley next to the arcade and plucked Luna from her shoulder to set her on the ground. "But it will have to wait until after the detention I know I'll have. I'm so late that I know that there is no way that Miss Haruna's going to let me off the hook. And I'll probably have to say something about this to the girls. They'll be suspicious if I don't show up for my milkshake like I always do. We could probably use their help anyway since your mystery cat is being so elusive."

"Maybe not, Serena," Luna said suddenly. "I think I just found him."

Serena's head snapped up. "What! Where?"

Luna lifted a paw to point down the alley. "There he is!"

A fat white cat was at the other end of the alley, waddling his way toward the next street.

"I don't believe this!" Serena screeched as she scooped Luna back up and began running after him. "I spent all that time walking around and looking for him, and he just conveniently shows up out of nowhere. Here kitty, kitty, kitty!"

The cat in question looked back, and at the sight of the maniacally exuberant girl bearing down on him he let out a startled meow and broke into a surprisingly fast run for such a large, overweight feline. He dashed out onto the crowded sidewalk.

Serena darted out behind him a few seconds later, ignoring the strange looks that people were giving her as she searched around frantically for a sign of that cat, but he seemed to have vanished in the crowd.

"That's just great! Where did he go?" she grumbled.

"Go that way, Serena," Luna mumbled softly as she gestured to their right. "I think I just caught a glimpse of him."

Serena tore off in that direction at her top speed, ducking and weaving in and out of people and calling out apologies to the few that she still managed to bump into. Two blocks later the businesses melted away into an upscale neighborhood with large houses, but the cat seemed to have vanished.

"I think we went the wrong way, Luna," Serena grumbled as she slowed to a walk.

Luna shook her head. "I was certain he came this way."

Just then a little girl stepped out onto the front porch of a house about three houses down from where they were.

"That's her!" Luna hissed.

"Hercules! Hercules, where are you? Here kitty!" the little girl called.

A rustling sound came from a garbage can set near the curb, and then the enormous feline came crawling out from behind it and sprinted for the house.

"There you are, Hercules!" the girl cried as she dashed down the steps to haul the giant ball of fur into her arms. "I was worried about you. You need to come inside now because it's almost time for me to go to school."

Serena set Luna down on the sidewalk and pulled her backpack around to rummage in it. She pulled out the moon wand and almost immediately it began beeping and flashing. "It looks like your hunch was right, Luna. That girl must be our last crystal carrier. Should I go ahead and try to take it now?"

"No!" her feline advisor cautioned as the girl's mother came out and then ushered her inside. "We need to wait for a chance to get her completely alone. And it would probably be a good idea to have the others involved as well just in case the Dark Kingdom senses us going after the crystal and tries to stop us. We know where it is, so hopefully it will stay safe until this afternoon when we can all come back."

"I guess you're right," Serena sighed. "I should probably get to school now. I'll talk to everyone at lunch and we'll try to come up with a plan."

Luna nodded. "Okay. I'm going to call Artemis and have him come meet me here. We'll keep an eye on things and call you if anything happens."

"Right!" Serena agreed. "But here's hoping that we can get to this one before the Dark Kingdom can. I'll catch you later!"

Neither one of them noticed the tall, dark figure that had been watching them from the shadows between two houses before it teleported away.

Serena's feet pounded the sidewalk as she ran back a block before cutting back over to the street that the arcade was located on. Her school was just a few blocks away from there. In less than five minutes she reached the front gate of the school.

She stopped to catch her breath for a moment as she wondered what horrors Miss Haruna would heap on her for being late this time. Detention was a given, but knowing that dragon lady she'd probably assign her additional work in both Algebra and English to get back at her for being this tardy.

"Might as well face the music," she grumbled as she trudged across the courtyard to the front steps.

The first thing that struck her when she walked in was how quiet everything was. Usually there was the quiet hum of voices coming from the classrooms as teachers gave their never ending lectures and the sound of rustling papers from the restless students. But today everything was as silent as a tomb.

She tiptoed past the office where she saw only one secretary, who was sitting behind her desk and too intent on filing her nails to notice her, and crept toward the door to the first classroom. She peeked in and was surprised to find it empty. The next few classrooms were exactly the same.

"What is going on?" she muttered. "I know this isn't a school holiday. Is this some kind of a crazy Dark Kingdom attack?"

'_Don't be stupid, Serena!' _she scolded herself. _'You know this can't be a Dark Kingdom attack. There would be unconscious bodies laying everywhere. Not to mention the fact that this would be the stupidest place for them to attack since there are sailor scouts crawling all over the place. Of course that could also make it a prime target if what the others said is true and that last general has figured out who we are. What if he came for Darien? What if he figured out who Mina was too?'_

"Calm down!" she whispered to herself as she realized that she was severely close to hyperventilating thanks to her overactive imagination. There was a simple way to make sure that everything was okay.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she withdrew into her thoughts. There it was! That faint hint of awareness that hovered on the fringes of her mind that signified her unusual bond with Darien. He felt close. At least she thought he did. She had never used their bond to try and find him before the way he had with her, so she couldn't be for sure.

She reached for it tentatively with her thoughts, brushing aside the slight feeling of guilt that was welling up inside her. She was always preaching to Darien about not using the strange link between them to spy on her moods, and now here she was the one doing it. But she had a reason to, she argued with herself. Besides, she wasn't going to use it to spy on him. She was just going to lightly touch it to make sure that he was okay. That was all.

But as soon as her pink aura came into contact with the soothing swirl of blue and green that she associated with Darien, hers flashed bright silver while his turned brilliant gold. And then she felt him. She jerked back, not wanting to delve too deeply into his emotions. The quick flash she'd received was enough to reassure her that he was fine and wasn't dead or being held prisoner by the Dark Kingdom. She'd felt a little nervousness and anxiety from him in that brief moment, but not the heart pounding adrenaline rush that would be associated with an attack.

A large door at the end of the hall swung open and she ducked inside an empty classroom before peeking around the doorframe. She saw a teacher step out of the auditorium and walk off down one of the adjoining halls. But in the few seconds the door was open she heard the principal's voice as it was amplified by a microphone.

Serena smacked herself on the forehead. That's right! They were supposed to have an assembly first thing this morning. That's why nobody was in their classes. Everyone had been told on Friday to report to the auditorium this morning. How could she have forgotten? Okay, it had been a hectic weekend. But still! It was times like this that she could actually understand why Darien and Raye called her a Meatball Head.

Then hope bloomed inside of her. If she could sneak into the assembly without getting caught, then she could pretend like she had been there the whole time and go on to class afterward like nothing happened. Miss Haruna would never know that she was late and she wouldn't get detention. It was perfect!

She looked around carefully to make sure that the hallway was completely empty before she left her hiding spot and tiptoed quietly toward the auditorium. When she reached the door she eased it open slowly so she could peek inside.

Luck was with her. There was no one near the door and all of the faculty and students were seated and facing forward as the principal spoke onstage. And whether it was by fate or the gods smiling down on her for once, she spotted an empty seat at the end of the back row. If she could just make it there she would be home free.

She slipped inside, staying back in the shadows near the wall as she edged her way slowly toward the empty seat. The real challenge came when she had to leave the cover of darkness and cross the half dozen yards of wide-open space to the seat. She looked around, making sure that everyone's attention was focused in another direction, and then she hunched over to make herself as small as possible and ran for it.

She was halfway to her destination when the person sitting next to the empty spot shifted in his seat and looked up right at her. She gasped as Darien's dark blue eyes bore into hers with a burning intensity.

And then the inevitable happened…she tripped.

All heads turned around at the resounding crash she made as she and her backpack hit the floor.

Onstage, the principal chuckled. "Well, Miss Tsukino. It's so nice of you to finally decide to join us this morning."

* * *

"Dare! Chill out man! Have you got ants in your pants or something?" Andrew mumbled around a yawn as he watched his friend pacing back and forth across the dead brown grass of the school courtyard.

Darien stopped his neurotic habit and shoved a slightly shaking hand through his hair. "Sorry. I had kind of a rough night."

'_Ha! That was an understatement!' _he thought sarcastically. The truth was that he hadn't slept a wink all night. How could he after the gruesome little fairy tale Mina had told him?

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

Darien stared at Mina in horrified shock for several long, silent seconds after she finished her story. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly as he tried in vain to get his voice to work.

Finally he was able to rasp, "Serenity…killed herself?"

Mina nodded as she wiped tears from her cheeks. "She did. She loved you more than her own life. There was no way that she was going to live without you. Beryl would have killed her anyway. Serenity just decided to end things on her own terms rather than sit there waiting like a lamb to be slaughtered by that witch."

Darien shook his head. "No! She wouldn't do that. Serena would never…"

"We're not talking about Serena! We're talking about Serenity!" Mina interrupted him. "I was almost dead at the time, thanks to Kunzite, but I saw the whole thing happen as I lay there bleeding out and was helpless to do anything to stop it. What you have to remember is that even though Serena is Serenity's reincarnation, she is not exactly the same person. Not that I would ever speak ill of Serenity, but Serena is a much stronger person than she was. Serenity was a giving and loving soul just like Serena, but she was raised as a princess. She was sheltered from the horrors of life and was even spoiled to a point. I'm not saying that she was weak, but Serena has been raised as a normal girl this time without having to endure the pressures of being a royal. That has grounded her while letting her personality flourish. She stands up for what she believes in and is fiercely loyal to those she cares for."

Darien couldn't help but smile at that. "Yeah she is. Remember how mad she got that day at the arcade when that jackass, Hijiro, came in and insulted us. I think she was more upset by what he said than we were."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Mina insisted. "Don't get me wrong, Serenity was loyal, but she hated conflict and tried to avoid it. The only time I remember her ever rocking the boat was when she decided that she wanted to marry Endymion. She stood up to her mother and the entire council and swore to them that she would marry no one else. It took forever to cut through all of the red tape. And even then there were a lot of people that were against an alliance between the moon and the Earth. But she was in love, and she wasn't going to let anything stand in her way. But Serena is like that all the time. God help the Dark Kingdom if we can manage to get Queen Serenity's Silver Crystal into her hands, because they'll be toast."

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

"Hey man! The first bell is about to ring. We better get inside. We've got that stupid assembly to go to," Andrew's voice cut through his reverie.

Darien nodded and hitched his backpack up onto his shoulder. He had been watching the gate intently for a sign of Serena and the other sailor scouts, but it was obvious that they were running behind this morning. Despite Serena's insistence that using their bond to sense what the other one was feeling was an invasion of privacy, he couldn't help but reach for it. Irritation and sleepiness snapped along the link, letting him know that she had overslept and was rushing to try and get ready for school.

His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy dashed through the gate without their fifth member.

Mina glanced at him as she passed and arched a brow. "She's running late."

Raye rolled her eyes. "So what else is new? I think Serena's trying to turn sleeping into an Olympic sport. If that happens she'll be sure to be a gold medal contender."

Darien ignored the dark haired girl's mutters and leaned down to whisper in the blonde's ear, "Is she really okay?"

Mina turned her head to look quizzically at the reincarnated prince, and she felt a flood of compassion for him as she read the anxiety in his tired eyes. The poor thing must not have gotten any sleep after she'd left him the night before. But in her defense, he had asked for the truth.

She smiled gently and reached over to pat his arm. "She's fine," she reassured him softly. "Her mother was fussing at her to get out of bed when I got there. I started to stick around, but Mrs. Tsukino insisted that I go on ahead and I didn't want anything to seem suspicious if I stayed. I heard Serena's wailing start up about the time I reached the corner, so she'll probably be blowing in here at some point."

He gave a tight nod and followed the group inside where they all made their way toward the auditorium. What he really wanted to do was rush off and find Serena so that he could bask in her soothing presence, because right now he felt so jumpy that he thought he might leap out of his skin at any second. He also felt a deep-seated need to see her. After all of this time he had finally discovered, without a shadow of a doubt, who his princess was, and he wanted her with him.

He just wished that Serena could accept the truth of who she was. But at the same time was grateful that her identity was being kept a secret. He had been mad before about Mina posing as Serenity, but now that he knew the whole story he understood why she was doing it. Beryl had a murderous grudge against Serenity, and if word got out that Serena was the moon princess that evil witch would be all over her in about two seconds flat. There was no way that Serena could take Beryl on right now, even if she had become a good fighter. She needed the Silver Crystal first. It was the key to unlocking everything.

The auditorium was filling up fast, so Darien slipped into a seat in the back row with Andrew beside him while the girls ventured down several rows to where there were four seats together. He kept the seat at the end open in case Serena happened to make it in time and glared daggers at several people who attempted to sit there. He checked the bond with Serena and could sense that she was running now. Would she make it before the bell?

The bell rang a half-minute later and shot that hope down. Oh Serena was not going to be happy about this. Now she was going to end up with detention and probably get a lecture from Miss Haruna. That always put her in a foul mood.

He settled back into his seat with a sigh as the principal took the stage and began droning away in his flat, boring voice about how spring was right around the corner and about all of the events and activities that would be happening in the coming months. It made him wish that he had left to go find Serena when he'd had the chance. It was better than sitting here slowly going brain dead. But it was too late to do anything now. Even as stealthy as he was, he'd get caught for sure if he tried to sneak out.

He spent the next minutes playing mental peek-a-boo with Serena as he jiggled his leg nervously. As much as he longed to see her, he couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive about facing her now that he knew more about their past. Serena was really good at reading people and their emotions, and he was afraid that she would sense a change in him. He wanted to keep things between them on an even level for now, so that meant keeping things light and friendly. He just hoped that his acting was good enough to pull it off.

He almost jumped out of his seat at one point when he felt a small jolt of surprise come from Serena, but it passed quickly and he settled back down. A few minutes later he drew in a relieved breath when he felt her draw very close. She must have finally arrived. Too bad she would probably have to sit in the office and be berated by the secretary until this stupid assembly was over. But if he was lucky he might be able to catch a few minutes with her before they had to go to class.

He was shocked a few minutes later when he felt her aura practically on top of him. A flicker of movement to his left had his head snapping in that direction where he saw Serena dashing from the shadows near the wall toward the empty seat next to him. Her head flew up, and for a long second their eyes met and held.

And then, of course, she tripped. She hit the floor with a thud, causing every head in the auditorium to turn toward her.

Onstage, the principal chuckled. "Well, Miss Tsukino. It's so nice of you to finally decide to join us this morning."

Laughs and giggles broke out throughout the crowd as Serena flushed dark red and scrambled up from the floor to slide into the empty seat where she slumped down like she wished she could disappear.

Andrew leaned across Darien to grin and whisper, "Nice entrance, Sere. Very subtle."

"Ha ha!" she muttered. Then she glared up at Darien. "Well, I'm waiting."

He blinked hard. "Waiting for what?"

She sniffed quietly. "For whatever high and mighty comment you have to make about my clumsiness this time."

He smiled softly and shook his head. "Are you okay?"

She stared at him like he was an alien from another planet for a moment before she nodded and grumbled, "I'm fine." She tugged the hem of her skirt down to hide her reddened knees from her fall.

He snickered softly. "Bad morning?"

She rolled her eyes. "You have no idea. A lot has happened, but I'll wait until lunch when we're all together before I tell the story so I don't have to repeat myself."

He was instantly on guard. "It's nothing bad, is it?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. In fact it might be a good thing, but I'll fill you in later."

"Ahem!" someone cleared their throat quietly behind them. "Serena, do I need to separate you from Darien in order to keep you from talking through this entire assembly?"

Serena looked over her shoulder to confront a seriously not amused Miss Haruna. "No, Miss H. I'm shutting up now."

The auburn haired teacher stayed behind them until the principal dismissed everyone to go to class. Then she placed a hand on her troublesome student's shoulder before she could slip away into the crowd. "Come with me, Serena. I believe we need to have a little talk."

"Yes ma'am," Serena replied weakly as she trailed after her teacher. Her shoulders slumped dejectedly and her head was bowed so low that her hair almost dragged the floor. She shot a parting look over her shoulder at Darien that was so full of misery that it was all he could do to keep from running after her and snatching her away from the irate teacher. But that would look highly suspicious.

"Wow! Poor Bunny!" Andrew sighed sadly. "It seems like the poor girl just can't catch a break lately. I hope Miss H. isn't too hard on her."

"Me too," Darien replied glumly before shouldering his bag and trudging off to class.

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"I've come across a very useful tidbit of information, Zoicite," Kunzite announced as he strolled into the generals' common room.

"Hmm…" the dark blonde man mused, not looking up from his computer screen. "And what would that be?"

Kunzite sat down in a chair and swung his legs over the side of it. "Well I found it to be useful information. But if you're not interested…"

Zoicite sighed and turned around. "Okay. You have my attention. Now what did you find out that is so important? Did you discover Serenity's identity so we can get rid of the brat before she causes us trouble, or did you locate the Silver Crystal?"

"Nothing quite that momentous," Kunzite replied with a smirk. " I was following the moon brat this morning to try and determine if there is a set pattern to her days, when she stumbled onto the carrier of the last Rainbow Crystal."

Zoicite's eyes widened. "Did she get it?"

Kunzite yawned boredly. "No. Believe it or not, she simply walked away from it and said that she would come back later with the other sailor scouts to take it then."

Zoicite looked floored. "She walked away from it! Is the girl that stupid?"

"Obviously she is," Kunzite sneered. "But that works out good for us because now we know where the crystal is as well."

"Who's the carrier?" Zoicite asked excitedly as he jumped from his seat. "I'll go and get it now since Sailor Moon was idiotic enough to leave it behind."

"Calm yourself, Zoicite," Kunzite cautioned. "All of the sailor scouts and the prince are in school now, so they won't attempt anything until this afternoon. That gives us time to do some planning. This just might be the perfect opportunity to set a little trap for Sailor Moon, because you know that wherever she goes, Endymion follows."

Zoicite began to grin evilly. "You're right. It could prove to be an opportune time to relieve him of those crystals he's holding."

"Precisely right, Zoicite," Kunzite agreed. "Let's see if the little prince will be willing to trade himself and the crystals for the life of his girlfriend."

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

"That's it! It's official! I hate my life!" Serena almost screamed as she threw her backpack under the table in the cafeteria and then slammed herself down into a chair before she buried her face in her arms and burst into tears.

"There, there," Mina crooned as she rubbed her friend's back soothingly. "It can't be that bad."

"It is!" Serena's muffled moan rose up from the depths of her folded arms. "Where's a youma when I need one? I wouldn't even bother transforming. I would just stand there and say _'Come and get me!' _Trust me, I would be a lot better off."

"Come on, Serena," Lita cajoled from across the table. "Look! I made that fried shrimp that you like so much. Why don't you have some?"

"I'm not hungry!" the distressed blonde wailed.

That statement caused everyone at the table to freeze in place.

"Am I going crazy?" Andrew finally mumbled. "Did I just hear Serena turn down food?"

Raye nodded. "Yeah. It must be a sign of the apocalypse coming because I know that there is no other way that she would ever turn down the opportunity to stuff her face."

Serena's head jerked up to reveal her blotchy, tear wet face. "Go ahead and laugh at my misfortune! None of you get what I have to go through!"

"What's going on?" Darien demanded as he approached the table. He appeared to be highly concerned when he saw that the object of his affection seemed to be an emotional wreck.

Serena groaned at the sound of his voice and buried her head once more. "Nothing's going on!"

"Serena's just being a drama queen," Raye snickered. Then she suddenly jumped in her seat and glared at the top of the blonde head across from her. "Hey! That was my leg you just kicked!"

"I know!" Serena muttered. "Not bad for blind aim, huh? Now do me a favor and keep your smartass comments to yourself. I don't want to hear them."

Lita let out a low whistle of admiration while Amy's head popped out from behind her textbook of choice for the day to stare at Serena in shock. It wasn't often that Serena stood up to Raye like that.

Darien sighed and set his bag down before taking a seat next to the now quietly crying girl. "Serena, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

She shook her head furiously without raising it.

He bumped her shoulder with his in a friendly gesture. "Come on, Serena. You can tell me."

When she remained stubbornly silent he reached for her hair, intending to give one of her pigtails a small tug. But as his fingers touched the golden silk it became more of a caress. "Please, Sere, talk to me," he begged gently.

Maybe it was the tone of his voice. Or maybe it was the use of her nickname. Whatever it was got a reaction out of her. She kept her head down, but turned it so that her cheek was pillowed on her arms and she could look up at him through blurred, teary eyes.

She sniffed hard. "You won't believe what that devil woman did to me."

He sighed. He had been afraid of this ever since Miss Haruna had ushered Serena from the auditorium that morning. "What did she do this time?"

Serena sat up abruptly. "What didn't she do seems to be more appropriate! Of course I had to sit through the lecture about how I need to be more responsible, as if I don't get enough of that from Luna! Then she gave me three days of detention. Three days! And then to add insult to injury she gave me extra assignments in both Algebra and English for disrupting the assembly. Can you believe that?"

"I can," Raye snorted. "I don't see why you're acting so surprised, Meatball Head. That woman has been threatening you for weeks because nine times out of ten you show up late. She was bound to crack down on you sooner or later. Maybe now you'll learn to get your butt up out of bed in the mornings like the rest of us do."

"It's not like I sleep in on purpose!" Serena fired back, starting to sound angry. "Unlike some people around here that have gotten at least part of their memories back and stopped having wacky dreams at night, I'm still dealing with it, okay! I told you before that I didn't want to hear any more of your crap, so just zip it!"

"Okey dokey!" Mina said, coming in between the two glaring girls. "I think it's time to take a breather and calm down. Raye, back off! Serena, why don't you eat a little something? You look like you are about to spontaneously combust."

Lita nodded and pushed a container toward Serena. "Here, Serena! Please take some of the shrimp. I made it especially for you because I know it's your favorite. You wouldn't turn me down, would you?"

The first genuine smile of the day appeared on Serena's face. "All right, already! You know I can't say no when you turn the puppy dog eyes on me." She reached for the food.

Amy pushed her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose. "And don't worry about the extra work Miss Haruna gave you, Serena. You know that I'll help you as much as I can."

"Same here," Darien chimed in, bumping her shoulder again. "We'll all help you through this. We're not going to let you suffer alone just because you had a bad start to the day."

Serena smiled shyly at him. "Thanks." Then her eyes widened. "Omigosh! I guess that now I'm done having my little freak out I should tell you guys what I found out this morning. Luna will turn me into catnip if I don't."

"Sounds serious," Darien chuckled as he began unpacking his own lunch.

She turned to look at him gravely. "It is. I found the last Rainbow Crystal."

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Zoicite hissed as he and Kunzite hid in the shadows between two houses across the street from where the head general claimed the last crystal carrier lived.

"Of course I'm sure," Kunzite scoffed. "It's very simple actually. They will be returning for this girl's crystal in hopes of getting to it before us, and we will be waiting to greet them. I'll get the drop on the moon brat and hold her hostage while you take care of getting the Rainbow Crystal from the girl. Endymion and the scouts would never dream of making a move against us as long as I hold Sailor Moon's life in my hands. Once you have procured the last crystal I will strike a bargain with the prince. If he agrees to turn over the two crystals he holds and come with us, I'll tell him that I'll let his little tramp go."

Zoicite snickered. "You're not really going to turn her loose once you get your hands on her, are you?"

Something that sounded close to a chuckle rumbled in the platinum haired general's throat. "Hell no! I couldn't give a care either way, but Beryl wants the girl dead. I figure if I deliver that on top of giving her Endymion and the last crystal that she'll be so far up on Cloud 9 that she won't be paying any attention to what we are doing. By the time she realizes that something is wrong it will be too late. We will already have taken over."

Zoicite still looked a little worried. "And you're positive that we have the right target?"

"I'm as positive as Sailor Moon is," Kunzite replied. "And she seemed pretty sure of herself this morning. She pulled out that wand of hers when she saw the girl, and it did something. That talking fleabag that was with her seemed convinced as well. So I would say that it's pretty safe to assume that we have the right person."

The dark blonde general seemed to relax at this. "And what about the other scouts? What are we going to do about them? Are we going to try and take them out as well?"

A twisted smirk curled up Kunzite's lips. "I don't think we'll have to do anything. If memory serves me right, the shadow warrior that is locked inside this last crystal has a really nasty personality. Once the negative energy from it has merged with the host it should prove to be more than enough to take care of those little bitches. Especially since they won't have their precious Sailor Moon there to cleanse it the way she usually does."

"That's true," Zoicite said smugly. "Are you sure that you can handle them all at once though? What if they decide to go on the offensive even though you are holding one of their own?"

Kunzite snorted. "They won't. They're too goody-goody for that. Their compassionate little hearts would never allow them to take the risk of injuring one of their own. You just concentrate on getting that last crystal, Zoicite, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Zoicite quipped. "If things go in our favor, we could be ruling the world by this time tomorrow."

"Indeed we could," Kunzite agreed. "Now keep your eyes peeled. It's getting to be the time of day for people to be getting off of work and out of school. Our opportunity may come at any moment."

* * *

Miss Haruna closed the book she was reading and looked at the clock. It had been almost an hour since school had ended for the day and her classroom was empty except for one student that was sitting at a desk staring at the Algebra book in front of her with determined eyes.

The auburn haired teacher sighed. She wished she could figure out what was going on with this girl. She hated punishing Serena like this, she really did. She had been a student of hers for many years now, ever since she had shown up in her classroom as a fresh faced bundle of energy her first year of middle school. And somehow fate had thrown them together every year since.

Serena had never been a stellar student, but she had always maintained acceptable passing grades and was usually a joy to have in class. As her teacher though, Miss Haruna had known that there was a sharp intelligence buried inside the blonde girl's brain, and she had always pushed her to try and do her best.

But she had sensed a change in the girl that she secretly called one of her favorite students during the last few months. Her own high school days weren't so far in the past that she didn't remember them, and she knew that they could be tough, but Serena seemed to be going through a really rough patch right now. Some people might be afraid that the teenage girl had fallen into drugs or some other bad scene, but Miss Haruna had taught everyone in her little band of friends as well and didn't believe that was the case at all.

"Serena," she spoke up softly. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Serena blinked and looked up. "Yes ma'am."

Miss Haruna got up from her chair and walked around to the front of her desk where she leaned up against it. "Serena, I'm concerned. I don't just mean the sudden and rapid decline of your grades. I'm concerned about you. You are almost always late to class now, and when you do finally make it you come dragging in like you haven't slept at all. You've become easily distracted and seem to spend most of your time spacing out. Is there something going on that you would like to talk about?"

Serena's eyes widened. "No ma'am. I know that I've been a total space case lately, but I promise that I'm going to try really hard to do better."

Miss Haruna frowned a little at the obvious evasion of her question. "I know that high school and being a teenager can be tough. Believe it or not it wasn't that long ago that I was exactly in the same spot that you are now. You're growing up, and as you get older you have to start shouldering more responsibilities. I know how that feels."

'_Lady, you have no idea!' _Serena thought to herself as she pasted on what she hoped was a convincing smile. "It's nice that you're concerned, Miss H., but I'm fine. I promise."

The teacher didn't look completely sold, but she smiled and said, "Okay. If you're sure. I just want you to know that I'm here for you to talk to if you need to. I know you are a smart and capable girl, Serena. And to show how much I believe that I'm going to waive the rest of your punishment. I'm canceling your other detentions and the extra assignments."

Serena was floored. "Really?"

Miss Haruna held up a hand. "Don't get too excited yet. I want you to promise me that you'll try to get to class on time and do your best on any assignments that are given. You are friends with both Darien Shields and Amy Mizuno. I'm sure that they would be happy to help you with anything you have problems with, and I am also available if you need me to explain anything to you. Okay?"

A big grin split Serena's face. "Yes ma'am! I'll try my best!"

Miss Haruna giggled. "Alright! Now get out of here!"

Serena grabbed her books and shoved them into her backpack. "Thanks, Miss H.!" she squealed as she ran out the door so fast it was amazing that there wasn't a sonic boom.

The teacher just shook her head.

Serena blew through the hall and down the stairs, grateful to finally be out of there. It had been bad enough to have to sit there for an hour and try to muddle her way through some of her homework, but Miss Haruna's questions had made her even more uncomfortable. There were secrets in her life now that no one other than her closest friends could know.

She burst through the doors and was halfway across the courtyard before she finally registered the brisk, cold air of the late winter afternoon and realized that in her hurry to escape the school she hadn't even bothered to put her jacket on. She set her backpack down on the ground and began struggling to put her arms through the sleeves of her jacket.

Suddenly hands were on her collar, helping her slip effortlessly into the garment. "Need some help?" an amused voice asked.

She jerked her head around to glare at the boy that was standing behind her. "What are you doing here, Darien? I thought I made it clear that I don't want people spying on me anymore."

He held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Geez! Don't go getting your meatballs twisted too tight, Meatball Head! I'm not stalking you. I went home to change clothes before meeting the others at the arcade and just happened to be walking by when I saw you come out. It's just a coincidence."

Serena held back a snort. Yeah right! That was one heck of a coincidence that Darien just happened to be passing by at the exact moment she was leaving the school. But she was so happy to see him that she didn't care. Still, she rolled her eyes. "Do you really expect me to believe that? Honestly, Darien! You're as transparent as glass sometimes."

He flinched inwardly. He sure hoped he wasn't. If he were he'd be in big trouble because she would be able to see all of his turbulent emotions. He focused on giving her a mischievous grin. "Okay, maybe I waited around for a minute or two. But I really did go home to change."

She looked him over. Gone was the stuffy school uniform with its tie and button down shirt. In its place was a pair of faded jeans and a gray pullover under his varsity jacket. She grinned at him. "Uh huh! And it took you a whole hour to change?"

He tried to look offended. "I also went ahead and finished up a few questions I had left on my Chemistry homework, Miss Know-It-All!"

Serena huffed a laugh. "You're such a bookworm! How did someone as nerdy as you end up becoming a superhero?"

Darien sucked in a relieved breath. Either Serena had believed him, or she had chosen to ignore the fact that he had been waiting for her. In truth he had gone home and changed clothes, but he had been back in less than fifteen minutes and had been keeping an eye on the area ever since.

"It's probably my dashing good looks," he quipped lightheartedly.

"Yeah! That must be it," Serena drawled sarcastically. "Well since you're here, you may as well walk with me. We have a crystal to go catch, remember."

"Yeah, I remember," he grumbled. "So do you think we'll be able to get it?"

She nodded. "I just need to catch the girl alone for a minute where I can get a clear shot at her. Luna assured me that the cleansing power of the wand will removed and purify the crystal without harming her in any way. She won't even know that anything happened."

Darien grinned. "That's good. It would be nice to get our hands on the crystal without having to go through a lot of hassle for a change. Not to mention that it would seriously get under Zoicite's skin that we got to one before him for once."

Serena shivered. "Yeah, I could definitely go without dealing with him for a change. I really hope he doesn't catch on to what we're doing and decide to put in appearance. That would suck."

He suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop. "Serena, I want you to promise me that you'll stay close to me today. We don't know how much Kunzite has told Zoicite about our identities, and if he does show up he may decide to go after you. So promise me that you'll stick close."

She shook her head and sighed. "I'm more worried about him going after you. After all, according to what we've heard you are the one that Beryl has a sick obsession with."

He put his hands on both of her shoulders and turned her to face him. "That may be, but if they can't get their hands on me I'm afraid that they'll try to use you against me. They know that I would do anything they wanted if it means keeping you safe."

Serena longed to reach up and cup his concerned face in her hands, but she settled for patting him on the shoulder as she grinned. "Don't be such a worrywart! I'm a lot better fighter than I used to be. Isn't that what all of our practicing and training was for? And Lita's been showing me some things too. I'll be fine. Besides, Zoicite may not even show up. If things go right we'll have that crystal in less than five minutes and still have time to go to the arcade for a celebratory milkshake afterward."

Unable to help himself, Darien pulled her into a tight hug. "Just be careful. I would die if something happened to you because of me."

"Darien!" she squeaked in surprise when she found herself suddenly plastered against his chest. She allowed herself the luxury of indulging in a moment of weakness and leaned against him for several seconds, soaking up the feeling of warmth and security, before pushing gently away from him and stepping back with a laugh. "What has gotten into you? I'm the one that usually freaks out over this Dark Kingdom crap. You're supposed to be Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected. We have the advantage this time. Usually the attacks drop on us from out of the blue and take us by surprise, but this time we've had a chance to plan. Everything will be fine as long as we all work together. We're pretty tough as a group."

He blew out a breath and grinned ruefully. "You're right. I guess I just felt a little overwhelmed for a minute. Now let's go meet the girls. Raye will eat us alive if we're late."

Serena giggled. "She'll gripe at us anyway. That's just the way she is."

They walked companionably, side by side, both of them fighting the urge to take the other one's hand in theirs. When they reached the arcade they slipped around the side of the building instead of going inside. Four girls and two cats were waiting for them in the back alley.

"About time," Raye grouched as she pushed away from the wall. "I was starting to think the two of you got lost."

Serena grinned and shot Darien a look that said, _'See what I mean'_.

"Don't start!" Amy snapped in an uncharacteristically sharp tone as she clicked her computer closed. "We have work to do and don't have time for a repeat of the squabble-fest from lunch. Quite frankly I get a headache if I have to listen to the two of you bicker for too long."

Lita chuckled. "Now I see why you're called the scout of ice, Amy. You can be cold when you want to."

"So are we ready to do this?" Serena asked them.

Amy nodded. "As ready as we're going to be. The rest of us took a quick swing by the location after school and scoped it out. There are plenty of places for us to keep watch. Nobody was home yet, but you said that the girl was still an elementary school student, so we're hoping to maybe catch her when she arrives home."

"I'm sure she won't be alone," Darien muttered. "So what do we do about any parents that are around? We don't want to pull any more civilians into this if we can keep from it."

Raye sighed and pulled a few sutras from her pocket. "I've got it covered. If we draw any unwanted attention these will put a person into a trance for a few minutes. They won't remember anything."

"It's the best thing we could come up with," Mina commented. "Now here's hoping that we can pull this off without alerting Zoicite or Kun…Kunzite to what we are doing."

Darien looked up at Mina when he heard her stumble over Kunzite's name. She had admitted during her tale the night before that her past self and those of the other scouts had been involved with the men that had been Endymion's generals. He had gotten the feeling from the harsh way she had spoken about the former head general that there were still some pent up feelings inside the normally bubbly blonde. It seemed that he was right.

Mina smiled weakly at Lita as the taller brunette patted her shoulder comfortingly. Then she seemed to give herself a shake. "Anyway, you guys be careful. I'm going to stay here with Artemis in the control room and monitor things from there."

Amy, Raye, and Lita all nodded, although they knew that Mina was only saying that for Serena's benefit. They knew that she would be following them and would stay out of sight unless something happened that required her to get involved.

"Are you going with us then, Luna?" Serena asked the black feline.

Luna nodded. "I want to tag along since I was the one to first have the suspicion about the crystal's whereabouts."

Serena snickered. "Suuurre you do. I bet you just want to go because you want another look at that large hunk of kitty."

Luna heaved a sigh and shook her head. "Honestly, Serena! Please try and be sensible for once."

"I was only kidding," Serena told her as she pulled her brooch from the bow on her shirt. "Now let's get this show on the road. Moon Prism Power!"

Lights and ribbons exploded around her as she began her transformation. The others quickly called out their transformations as well, and when all the lights had faded the sailor scouts and Tuxedo Mask were ready for action.

"Let's do this!" Sailor Moon declared and scooped Luna up in her arms.

"Right!" everyone agreed. And in blurs of movement they jumped straight up to the roofs.

Mina grinned and turned to look at Artemis. "Are you coming with me?"

He rolled his eyes. "I think I'll just stay here and monitor things from the control room."

She giggled. "Do I detect a note of jealousy in that voice? Could it be that you might be just a little bit concerned about your precious Luna since there's another cat sniffing around?"

Artemis scoffed. "Please! Like I would be concerned about that. Besides, she's not _my _precious Luna. She just happens to be a good friend and colleague."

"Whatever you say, Artie," Mina replied in a voice that shook with humor.

The white cat glared at her. "It's the truth! And don't call me by that detestable nickname. You know that I can't stand it."

Mina patted him on the head. "Okay, okay! I was just joking. Don't get your tail in a knot. I guess I better get moving since I have to go the long way by foot."

* * *

"So I guess you were wrong about us having this wrapped up in five minutes, huh?" Tuxedo Mask snickered to the girl next to him.

"Oh! Shut up!" Sailor Moon growled and jabbed an elbow toward his ribs that he neatly sidestepped. "Don't you dare start being a jerk right now. We've been casing this place for over a half an hour. If they don't get home soon we'll have to call it quits and try some other time. My mother will strangle me if I'm not home in time for dinner."

He grinned at her. "At least you don't have to worry about doing those extra assignments for Miss H. anymore. I still don't see how you got out of that and the rest of your detention."

She shrugged. "I don't either. It's not like I did or said anything. Maybe she was just having a rare moment of humanity."

Across the way, Jupiter snorted. "Yeah right! More than likely she has some poor new sucker that she's done sunk her claws into and she's anticipating some hot dates that she doesn't want to be ruined by her having to lord over detention."

Mars made a scathing sound. "It will be short lived. He'll end up being a bum just like all of the other guys that she's dated. And when the relationship turns sour she'll start taking it out on all of us poor students again like she always does."

"Heads up guys! We might have something here," Mercury said suddenly from where she was peeking out from in between the two houses where they were hiding. She flicked her earring and her visor appeared over her eyes. "Yep! I think we have a live one. There's a black car approaching with a woman and a little girl, and the girl looks exactly like Serena's description, reddish curly hair and brown eyes."

Everyone crowded around to get a better look and watched as a black car pulled into the driveway of the house they had been watching and a woman with shoulder length brown hair got out and retrieved a bag of groceries from the backseat. The passenger side door opened and a little girl of about ten got out carrying a pink backpack.

The two climbed the steps to the front porch where the woman unlocked the door and pushed it open. Almost immediately a large white blur streaked out.

"Hercules! You silly kitty!" the girl laughed in glee. "Momma, can I stay outside and play with Hercules for a little bit?"

Her mother smiled. "Just for a little while. It's still chilly out here and I don't want you getting too cold. I'm going to go in and start dinner, okay."

"Okay!" the girl chirped and dropped her backpack onto the porch before running back down the steps to where Hercules was sitting on the dry, dead grass, licking a paw.

Jupiter rubbed her hands together. "Well that sets things up nicely for us, doesn't it? Hell, I bet Serena could have handled this on her own. I could have stayed at the arcade and had another milkshake while I tried to talk Andrew out of his recipe for caramel apple strudel."

Mercury flipped her visor off. "Don't write this off as being simple so quickly. We don't have the crystal yet."

Sailor Moon pulled the moon wand from her hidden pocket and it was flashing and beeping madly. She suddenly looked uncertain. "So how should I do this? Should I just zap her from here or what?"

"We should probably move in a little closer," Tuxedo Mask murmured. "It would be a good idea to be close by when the crystal shows itself so that we can grab it and get out of here before anybody notices anything."

She chewed on her bottom lip. "And hitting that girl with the power from the wand won't hurt her, right Luna?"

The black feline nodded. "I promise it won't. She will go into a daze and maybe feel woozy for a minute, but it will pass. She will be fine. In fact, she'll never even remember that we were there."

"I agree with Darien," Mercury said. "We should move a little closer to her before we act."

Sailor Moon nodded firmly. "Let's get it over with then."

They began sneaking out from their hiding place in a line. But for some reason a feeling of foreboding shuddered down Sailor Moon's spine at the same moment that Mars muttered, "I don't know. Something doesn't feel right."

The blonde scout reached to grab a hold of Tuxedo Mask's cape in front of her, when suddenly an arm wrapped around her waist and jerked her back. A second arm locked around her throat just a moment after a strangled screech tore from her vocal chords.

The others whirled around and stared in shock at the sight of Sailor Moon being held in the grasp of a tall, well-built, platinum haired man.

"Kunzite!" Tuxedo Mask snarled while the scouts growled in anger.

Kunzite smirked. "Well, well, it's nice to see that this particular body has been remembered so fondly. What's the matter, Endymion? Are you not happy to see the physical appearance of your former head general?"

Heat was radiating off of Sailor Mars in shimmering waves. "Hey asshole! Let Sailor Moon go right now!"

Jupiter cracked her knuckles. "That's right, you bastard! If you hurt one hair on her head I promise your death will be slow and painful!"

Kunzite clucked his tongue. "Such animosity! I thought the scouts prided themselves on controlling their emotions while in battle. I guess being reincarnated loosened those inhibitions." He jerked his foot back as Sailor Moon slammed down the heel of her red, high-heeled boot. "Uh uh, Lady Moon. You won't get the drop on me that easily. I know every trick in the book. So just sit tight and be a good little girl for the moment."

"What do you want, Kunzite?" Tuxedo Mask growled, his heart thumping wildly in his chest at the seeing the girl he loved being held in such a dangerous position by the enemy. This was what he had been afraid would happen.

Silver-gray eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I'm just looking for a little cooperation. Zoicite!" The dark blonde general appeared at his side instantly. "Go retrieve the Rainbow Crystal from that little human while I entertain our guests."

"Like hell!" Jupiter and Mars both yelled as they prepared to spring.

"Easy girls," Kunzite cautioned them as he tightened his grasp on Sailor Moon and picked her up so that her feet were dangling several inches above the ground. "If you attempt to interfere I will snap her neck before you can blink. Are you willing to sacrifice the life of your sister scout for the sake of that crystal?"

Both hot tempered scouts rose back out of the crouches they had fallen into, but both of them were still wound tighter than bowstrings as they clenched their fists and glared.

Zoicite winked outrageously at Mercury. "Try not to miss me too much. I'll be right back. This won't take me but a minute." He disappeared in a swirl of darkness.

Kunzite snorted what could almost pass as a laugh. "Now on to more pressing issues. I want to discuss the terms of your surrender of yourself and the two Rainbow Crystals you hold, Endymion. But first there is one other little piece of business to take care of."

He looked around expectantly. "Come on out, Mina! I know you're around here somewhere. You would never let all of your friends come on a mission as important as this one and not follow along. I know you better than that."

When Sailor Moon heard him try to call Mina out she began thrashing wildly in his arms. This had to mean that he knew that Mina was the princess, and she couldn't allow her to put herself in harm's way because she had been stupid enough to have been grabbed by the enemy. And she knew that if Mina had indeed followed them that it was exactly what she would do.

Kunzite's arms tightened like steel bands around her middle and neck, crushing her ribs and severely restricting her airway. "Stay still, you little hellcat!" he snapped.

She went limp in his arms as she began to feel lightheaded and dots began swimming across her vision. She concentrated instead on trying to draw in what oxygen she could. The last thing she wanted to do was pass out right now.

Tuxedo Mask took a step forward. "Let up on her, Kunzite! You're choking her."

Those hateful gray eyes narrowed. "You may have pushed around the former inhabitant of this body, _prince_, but you are not the boss of me. I am running this show right now. And if the moon brat ends up being a casualty, then so be it."

"Let her go, Kunzite!" Mina demanded as she came around the corner of the building. "You said that you wanted me here, so here I am."

He smirked at her. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't hiding somewhere and waiting to take a cheap shot at me. Get over here and stand with your friends so that I can keep an eye on all of you."

"You're such an ass!" she growled as she went to stand with the scouts and Tuxedo Mask.

"And you're always so quick with your compliments," he returned smoothly. "Now back to business. What I want is simple, Endymion. All you have to do is hand over those crystals and come with me back to Queen Beryl, and I'll let your little girlfriend go. The choice is yours."

"Don't do it…" Sailor Moon managed to choke out as she saw the look of determination appear on Tuxedo Mask's face. She wouldn't let him give himself up for her. He and Mina were the important ones here. She was just a minor player.

"Shut up, brat!" Kunzite snarled in her ear as his arm tightened once more.

The black dots that she had been seeing grew thicker as her vision grew fuzzy around the edges. How she wished the moon was out right now so that she could use her _Twilight Flash _attack. It may not be strong enough to take out Kunzite, but if she were able to release it she might have been able to break free of his grasp. Instead she was caught like a rat in a trap under a moonless sky.

"Stop!" Tuxedo Mask cried desperately. "I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt her!"

Mina grabbed his arm and held him back as she whispered something frantically to him.

'_Damn it! There has to be something I can do to get myself out of this! Think, Serena!' _Sailor Moon screeched to herself as she fought against the unconsciousness that was creeping up on her. Everyone kept telling her that she was the leader of the sailor scouts for a reason. There had to be a way for her to get herself free without having to sacrifice Darien. She couldn't let him give himself over to the Dark Kingdom. There was no telling what they would do to him then.

She gasped as a sudden feeling washed through her. She felt weightless and detached from her body as a loud hum of noise rushed through her ears. The world around her suddenly exploded in white light…and then everything faded to black.

* * *

"Damn it, Darien! Just hold up for a minute before you go rushing into this blindly!" Mina hissed at the distraught earth prince beside her.

His eyes were visible under the white mask and they cut through her like blue blades as he glared at her. "Bullshit, Mina! If I don't do something he is going to kill her."

"He won't kill her as long as you don't give in to him!" she insisted quietly. "He knows that he needs her alive to try to get you to agree to his terms. If you give up he'll probably kill her anyway."

A beeping sound filled the air, and Mercury glanced down at the computer in her hand in shock for a moment before jerking her surprised gaze back up in Sailor Moon's direction. "Oh my god!" she whispered, slightly in awe.

They all gasped when they saw Sailor Moon's tiara fade away to be replaced by a blazing, golden, crescent moon mark on her forehead. Before any of them could draw a breath, white-hot energy seemed to burst from every pore on her body. Kunzite was blasted back at least twenty feet from her before her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped toward the ground.

Tuxedo Mask dashed forward and caught her before she slammed into the dead grass. "What the hell was that?" he exclaimed as he brushed long, gold hair away from her pale face and watched as the crescent moon symbol flickered and faded away.

"Serena's power," Mercury replied shortly as her eyes darted back and forth across her computer screen, studying the readout of what had just happened.

Kunzite groaned as he sat up, pulling everyone's attention toward him.

Mina's eyes were a vivid, molten blue as she glared at the general. "You son of a bitch!" she snarled. Then she thrust a hand holding a small pen like device into the air. "Venus Power!" Golden light and stars flared to life around her, and when it faded Sailor Venus stood complete in her orange fuku.

Kunzite had the nerve to chuckle. "Nice to see you again, Venus. I figured that you'd come out to play if I threatened your little friend. It seems the moon brat has more power than I originally thought. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised by that. The damn lunarians were always stingy with information about themselves. They sat up there on the moon, lording over the galaxy like they thought they were some kind of gods. But in the end they discovered that they weren't as invincible as they thought."

Venus gritted her teeth. "You better shut the hell up while you're ahead, Kunzite!"

He smirked as he climbed to his feet. "Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting that you were Queen Serenity's niece and a member of the lunarian royal family." He sneered at the sight of Sailor Moon being held in Tuxedo Mask's arms. "Perhaps you should be grateful that you took more after the Venusian side of your family. They seem to be made out of stronger stock than those pale, fragile moon people."

"I hope you're ready to back up that mouth of yours!" Jupiter growled as she and Mars moved forward to flank Venus on either side. Her antenna was already extended from her tiara and ready to go at any second.

"You got that right!" Mars seconded, tiny flames burning at her fingertips. "Don't think you can get away with attacking and insulting our friend and not have to pay the price."

Kunzite rolled his eyes and then looked toward Tuxedo Mask. "I don't get you. How can you fall under the spell of a lunarian twit, not once, but twice now and turn your back on what's best for your planet? And what would your dear princess say if she knew that you have been playing around with one of her scouts, hmm?"

Tuxedo Mask bit back a snarl. Despite his enjoyment of the physical exercise martial arts provided, he did not consider himself to be a violent person. But at this moment he would have given almost anything to have a sword in his hands so that he could run the arrogant man before him through and watch the gloating fade from his face. Yeah, murder would not necessarily be a bad thing at this moment. But when Sailor Moon shifted in his arms and let out a soft whimper he knew that there wasn't anything in this world that would make him let go of her right now.

There was a swirl of dark energy next to Kunzite as Zoicite reappeared. "We have a problem," the dark blonde murmured.

Kunzite raked him with a contemptuous glare. "What kind of problem? Did you not get the crystal?"

Zoicite shook his head. "There has been a mistake somewhere. The girl is not a crystal carrier."

"That's impossible!" Kunzite exclaimed. "We both saw Sailor Moon's wand react to her."

Zoicite nodded. "I know. And the dark crystal reacted as well. But when I tried to remove the Rainbow Crystal, nothing happened. It must have been a false lead."

Sailor Mercury listened to their conversation as she began typing on her mini computer. There was no way that this was a false lead. The moon wand never would have reacted the way it had unless they had been in close proximity to the Rainbow Crystal. She pulled up the last scans that she had run right before Kunzite had shown up. Maybe the girl's mother was the target instead.

But that couldn't be, she thought a moment later as a picture of the little girl holding her cat appeared on the screen. The amount of energy radiating around her was consistent with that of a Rainbow Crystal. Unless…the sudden insight made her gasp.

Zoicite's bright green eyes swung to her and took in her surprised expression. A second later a feral grin unfurled on his face. "Ah! I see now. Thank you so much, Mercury. It's the cat and not the girl that holds the crystal."

"And where is the cat now?" Kunzite hissed menacingly.

"Um…it ran away when I attacked the girl," Zoicite muttered sheepishly.

"Find it!" Kunzite ordered harshly. "And don't come back telling me that you can't. It's just a stupid ball of fur. Track it down and get that damn crystal from it!"

Zoicite bowed his head. "Yes sir!" Then he vanished once more.

"And as for you," Kunzite spat as he turned back to Tuxedo Mask. "Don't think I'm letting you off easily. Your time will run out sooner or later, and then the Dark Kingdom will have you." He shimmered and then disappeared.

"Damn! He got away," Venus muttered. "Mercury, try to track down that cat. Maybe we can still get to it before Zoicite does. Jupiter, go check on that girl. I can see her passed out on her lawn from here. Mars, do a quick sweep of the area to make sure the gruesome twosome aren't still hanging around."

The scouts all jumped into action at her authoritative sounding voice.

Venus detransformed and hurried over to where Tuxedo Mask was still holding Sailor Moon. She huffed a soft laugh as she gently smoothed back the unknowing princess's blonde bangs. "Dang, Serena! When you do something you go all out, don't you?"

"What was that burst of energy from her? I didn't know she could do anything like that," Tuxedo Mask asked softly.

Mina smiled softly. "She probably didn't either. She might not have the Silver Crystal yet, but she's far from helpless. She has her own lunarian energy inside of her, and that's what allows her to fight. How else do you think she's able to use the wand and her tiara? They have to get energy from somewhere."

"I guess you have a point," he grumbled. "But she didn't hurt herself by doing that, did she?"

"I don't think so," Mina replied. "It was probably just a shock to her system and a little tiring to have all that energy rush out of her like that. She should be coming around any time now. I wish I had thought to bring a hamburger with me from the arcade. I bet if I waved that under her nose she'd wake up real quick."

As if those words were a magic spell, Sailor Moon stirred and a soft moan escaped her. "Did somebody say something about a hamburger?"

The urge to squeeze her was almost overwhelming as a flood of relief flowed through Tuxedo Mask. But he couldn't help but tighten his arms around her a little bit when her eyelids blinked open and he found himself almost drowning in her crystal blue depths. For a long moment they stared at each other like they were the only two people on the planet.

Mina backed up a few steps to let them enjoy their moment. She shared a conspiratorial grin with Mercury, who glanced up briefly from her computer to look fondly at her princess, awake and seemingly unharmed, in the arms of her prince.

But the moment was shattered a few seconds later when Mars came streaking down from the rooftops. "They're long gone. I checked a three-block radius and didn't pick up anything on them. Glad to see that you decided to rejoin the land of the living, Meatball Head."

Sailor Moon blinked hard as reality came rushing back and she realized that she was lounging comfortably in Tuxedo Mask's arms while he held her very close to his firmly muscled chest. A fiery blush bloomed across her cheeks as she murmured, "So…um…what happened?"

"You knocked Kunzite flat on his ass, girlfriend," Jupiter crowed as she reappeared. She loped over and ruffled Sailor Moon's hair fondly. "I mean you really let him have it."

"I did?" Sailor Moon said, shaking her head. "I don't remember any of that. All I remember is him squeezing me so tightly that I thought I was about to pass out. Then everything went white for a second."

"You had an involuntary release of your energy," Mercury told her as she elbowed Jupiter out of the way and began scanning her with the computer. "You probably did it subconsciously in order to free yourself from Kunzite. Your scans are within normal ranges. How do you feel?"

Sailor Moon wrinkled her nose up. "A little fuzzy, but I'm fine. So what happened? Did Zoicite get the crystal? Where's the little girl?"

"She's fine," Jupiter reassured her. "She's a little dazed and confused, but she just went inside her house."

Sailor Moon's eyes widened. "So does that mean that the Dark Kingdom didn't get the crystal?"

Mina shuffled her feet. "Not yet. We found out that the girl wasn't the carrier after all. It's the cat."

"What!" Sailor Moon screeched, causing Tuxedo Mask to jerk his head away from her as he grimaced in pain. "Are you seriously telling me that fat ball of fur has the crystal?"

"It looks that way," Mercury confirmed. "He ran off when Zoicite attacked his mistress. I'm trying to see if I can track him down before Zoicite gets to him."

"I bet Luna may have some idea about where to find him," Sailor Moon said as she looked around expectantly. "Where is Luna anyway?"

Mars pursed her lips. "That's strange. I didn't notice when she left."

"Oh no!" Sailor Moon groaned. "I bet she took off after Hercules when he ran away."

The Mercury computer began beeping shrilly. "I think I've got something." Mercury announced.

Sailor Moon wriggled her way out of Tuxedo Mask's arms. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

"How did I get myself into this?" Luna screeched as she pushed hard against Hercules, trying to force him inside a small drain tunnel. "Come on you overblown alley cat! I know you can squeeze in there."

She hadn't intended on following Hercules when she had seen him fleeing the scene of the attack, but for some reason she had felt compelled to. She had lost track of him about two blocks away from his house though and had been about to call it quits when she had suddenly found herself cornered by the same gang of territorial alley cats she had been chased by before. Then Hercules had appeared from out of nowhere and had grabbed her by the scruff of the neck before leaping to safety.

Her relief had been short lived however when he landed on top of a partially uncovered manhole and they had plummeted into the sewers. That was definitely not a location that would make it onto Luna's list of favorite places to be. After shaking off the jolt and trying her best to ignore the smell, she had started looking around for the best way for them to get out of there. Being around Hercules was very unnerving. The way he watched her made her nervous. Although she had felt a pang of sympathy for him when she saw the cut on his leg that he had gotten when he had rescued her from those other cats.

But everything that had happened was the least of her worries now. While she had been searching for a way out, Zoicite had shown up and declared that Hercules was the holder of the last Rainbow Crystal and not the girl like they had originally thought. Now they were on the run from the dark general. Luna had spotted this drain tunnel and thought that perhaps it might be too small for Zoicite to come after them, giving them a chance to escape.

She pushed against Hercules again. "Come on, Hercules! If you don't get in there Zoicite will get you!"

She fell forward as the much larger cat finally slid into the tunnel. She scrambled after him just moments before Zoicite's hands almost grabbed them both. She put her head against his rump and pushed hard, urging him to hurry down the tunnel. This had to lead out somewhere. And if they got out they may be able to make it back to the scouts. Then they would be safe.

She heard a scuffling sound behind them and looked over her shoulder. A screech clawed its way up her throat as she saw Zoicite scrunched down on all fours and crawling after them. She redoubled her efforts to make Hercules go faster.

She threw every bit of her weight into him. "Move it! I know you can go faster than that. I've seen you run. Now go!"

Then a scratching and squeaking sound filled the tunnel and she heard Zoicite howl in outrage. Glancing back once more, she saw the Dark Kingdom general trying to fight off the dozens and dozens of rats that were now crawling all over him. That could be just the break they needed.

There was a light visible now at the end of the tunnel, and just a minute later they emerged into a large storm ditch. Grateful to be outside once again, Luna kept nudging her large companion.

"Hurry, Hercules! We have to run!" she demanded.

Before either feline could move, there was a swirl of darkness before them as Zoicite appeared.

"It takes more than some common sewer rats to hold me back," he sneered. "Now kitty, give me your crystal." He held out the small, dark crystal in his hand and it began pulsating.

"Nooo!" Luna screamed as she saw Hercules begin writhing as if in pain. A hole opened in his chest to reveal a light purple crystal. A few seconds later it flew out and clattered to the ground.

"Well that was easy enough," Zoicite snickered as he walked over and bent to pick it up.

A flash of red had him jerking his hand back. Then there was a blur of black and the crystal was gone. He glanced around in confusion.

"Looking for this?" a cocky voice taunted him.

He looked up to see Tuxedo Mask, along with Sailor Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury, standing on the edge of the ditch. The masked hero held the crystal in his hand as he grinned superiorly at the enraged general.

"You can't have that crystal! It's mine!" Zoicite bellowed. "You can't do anything with the crystals you have anyway. Not as long as we hold the rest of them."

Tuxedo Mask laughed. "Your hands are just as tied as ours are. But don't worry, we'll find some way to get the others back as well."

Zoicite grinned maniacally. "We'll just see about that, Endymion! Beryl would chew you and your little gal pals up and spit you out like you are nothing. You'll never get your hands on the Silver Crystal. I promise you that." Then he disappeared.

"Hercules!" Luna's anxious voice had everyone's attention turning to where she was staring in horror as crackling dark energy enveloped Hercules.

When it faded a large, snarling, cat-like beast on two legs with long fangs and claws had taken the place of the fat, fluffy feline. He appeared to be all predator and his eyes glowed red-hot as he began scaling the side of the ditch toward where he could hear the sounds of thousands of people going about their everyday life.

"Oh, this can not be good," Jupiter muttered.

Mercury had her visor in place once more. "This one is different from the others we've faced. We're not dealing with a human mind here. His natural animal instincts have been intensified by the dark energy. And in the animal world it's either kill or be killed."

"So he's going hunting," Tuxedo Mask grumbled.

Sailor Moon scrunched her face up as she tried to recall what she had learned about animal behavior in school. "Are you talking about survival of the fittest, or whatever it's called?"

"Hey, you did learn something in school after all," Tuxedo Mask chuckled.

She jabbed an elbow in his ribs. "Not funny!"

Mars had her eyes closed in concentration. "He's conflicted. Yes, he has those predatory urges, but the lap cat inside of him is strong as well. If we can just get him to stand still Sailor Moon should be able to heal him with no trouble. He wants to be healed."

"Looks like Luna is already on board for that," Jupiter said.

Indeed, Luna had scrambled up the steep, sloped side of the ditch and had placed herself in the beast's path.

"Please, Hercules," she pleaded. "I know you don't want to do this."

For a moment it looked like he was going to take a swipe at her. But then his expression changed. He glanced back and forth between Luna and toward the top of the ditch where the entire population of Tokyo would be his for the killing. A strangled sound rumbled in his throat.

"Hercules?" Luna said softly as she took a hesitant step toward him. But then her feet slid out from underneath her and she began falling down the steep slope. After a couple of tumbles though, she stopped.

Opening her eyes, Luna saw that the beast that was once Hercules had caught her in one of his massive paws and he was staring at her with an almost beseeching look in his eyes.

"Luna!" Sailor Moon screamed and jumped over the railing and down into the ditch. The others followed right behind her.

"Stay back!" Luna demanded when a harsh snarl erupted from the beast holding her when he saw the five people approaching him. "Just give me a minute, okay."

They stopped where they were and watched warily.

"Calm down, Hercules," Luna said in a soothing tone. "Those people are my friends, and they can help you. Serena can turn you back into the cat you were. Don't you want that? Don't you want to be yourself again so you can go home to that little girl that loves you? I know she would miss you if you never came home again."

She read the acceptance in his eyes. "Then put me down and let us help you."

He seemed reluctant, but he sat her gently on the ground.

She trotted over to Sailor Moon and the others. "He's all yours, Serena. Work your magic on him."

Sailor Moon stepped forward, pointing her wand at the cat beast as he stared her down. "Moon Healing Activation!" she recited in a much lower tone than she usually used.

The healing energy flared from the wand and washed over the monster in waves. In only a few seconds he transformed back into his normal, fuzzy, overweight self before collapsing to the ground.

"Boy am I glad that's over," Sailor Moon sighed. "Things may not have gone like we planned, but at least we got the last crystal. Now I could seriously use a pick me up. Does anyone know what time it is? I wonder if I have enough time to go by the arcade for a milkshake before I head home."

Mars snorted. "Geez! Do you always have to think with your stomach?"

Tuxedo Mask chuckled. "You should probably go by the arcade anyway and let Mina know that you're okay. She wasn't very happy about you making her go back."

"Hmph!" Mercury sniffed daintily. "If I know Mina, she's lurking around here somewhere anyway."

"Of course I am!" a voice chirped as Mina slid down the side of the ditch to join them. "Nobody actually expected me to go back to the arcade, did they?"

Sailor Moon rolled her eyes. "I should have known. Nobody ever does anything I ask them to. You're even more stubborn than my brother, Mina! And that's saying something."

Mina flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "At least I'm prettier than he is. That makes it impossible for anyone to stay mad at me…right?"

"Save those moves for Andrew, V-babe!" Jupiter scoffed. "Now what should we do with Butterball here? I guess I could take him back and leave him at his house. He'll probably be waking up soon anyway."

"That would probably be for the best," Mercury stated.

"You should probably go with them, Luna," Sailor Moon said slyly. "I'm sure you would like to have a few minutes to say goodbye to your _friend_."

Luna visibly bristled. "Just what are you implying, Serena? I was only interested in him in a professional sense."

Mina waggled her eyebrows. "I don't know. You two looked like you were getting pretty cozy together."

"What!" Luna screeched. "We most certainly were not!"

"You two airhead blondes give it a rest!" Mars snapped. "Luna doesn't deserve this kind of torture from you."

Luna sighed in relief. "Thank you Raye."

Mars nodded. "You're welcome. Besides, we all know that you are completely devoted to Artemis." She smirked evilly.

All the girls burst into laughter while Luna choked in indignation.

Tuxedo Mask pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think I'm getting a headache from all of the squealing."

Sailor Moon nudged his arm with hers. "Aw, poor baby! That's what you get for being the only guy hanging around with a bunch of girls. Most guys would kill to be in your position."

He took one look at her happily smiling face and couldn't help but smile in return. The afternoon had been stressful, and he had been scared of losing her at one point, but luckily everything had worked out in the end.

* * *

The scene played out before him just like something from a horror movie. He could see himself; well at least his past self, lying in a pool of blood while the slender blonde girl in a white gown crawled to his side. The blood stained the snowy fabric of her gown and the golden streamers of her hair red, but she didn't pay any attention to it as she pulled his head into her lap and held him close as she cried.

Beryl cackled in the background and taunted the princess with her words, but he didn't pay any attention to what the witch was saying. He was completely fixated on _her_, Serena's carbon copy. He didn't speak or even move, at least not until he saw Serenity pick up the sword at his side.

Knowing what was about to happen, he panicked and ran forward. "No, Serena! Don't do it!"

"Endymion!" he heard her scream. And then the glinting blade of the sword was plunging toward her heart.

Darien gave himself a mental jerk to try and wake himself up. He did not want to see this, but he was powerless to stop it. More blood blossomed on the front of Serenity's gown as the sword penetrated her body.

Although the pain must have been excruciating, the only sound that escaped the moon princess was a sharp gasp. Darien sank to his knees, tears burning in his eyes, as he watched her body slump lifelessly across the chest of his former self. Her blood poured out of her body to mix with his on the ground. Beryl's maniacal laughter rang in his ears as the scene slowly faded away.

The next thing he knew he was by the fountain in his dream garden. Everything was just as clear and crisp as it had been the last time he had been here, but he barely noticed. All he could think of, over and over, was the sight of Serenity mourning over Endymion's dead body and then her taking her own life. Sure, Mina had told him about it, but seeing it was another story.

He was still on his knees, but he knew that, dream or no dream, his legs were too wobbly to stand just then. So he leaned his head against the cool stone of the fountain and closed his eyes as he tried to banish the mental images of what he had just seen.

He didn't know how long he sat that way. It could have been only minutes, but it just as easily could have been hours. Then a rustling sound reached his ears and he opened his eyes and stared in surprise.

"Serenity!" he gasped.

The moon princess stood near the entrance to the rose maze. Thankfully all signs of blood had vanished and she appeared whole. He marveled once again at how she looked exactly like Serena. In fact, if it weren't for the crescent moon glowing on her brow he would have sworn that it was Serena.

"Darien," she whispered in a shaky voice. She took two steps forward before her legs folded under her and she fell to her knees.

Darien may not have been able to move before, but he did now. He was at her side in less than a heartbeat. "Serenity, what's wrong?"

Her face was extremely pale and she was shaking all over, but she gave him a tremulous smile. "I wasn't sure if I would have the energy to come here or not, but I had to try. I felt your pain and I couldn't ignore it."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You shouldn't have come if it is too hard on you. You look so weak."

A light laugh escaped her. "It doesn't matter. I've been weakening for weeks now. Everyday Serena absorbs a little more of me. And now that all of the Rainbow Crystals have been uncovered it is only a matter of time before I merge with her completely. I am a little more drained tonight than usual because I used a good portion of the energy I have left today to help Serena escape from Kunzite."

"That was you?" Darien asked incredulously.

She nodded. "I had to do something. You were about to walk right into Beryl's hands, and I couldn't let that happen. Serena would have never forgiven herself if you had. So I gave her a little nudge in the right direction. It took a toll on me, but it was worth it. Serena is happy right now, eating ice cream and reading a manga, and you are safe. That's all that matters."

He shook his head. "Ice cream and manga at this time? She'll be late to school again tomorrow if she doesn't get some sleep."

Serenity swatted lightly at his shoulder. "Lay off the poor girl and let her have a little fun. Besides, it's still fairly early. You fell asleep on your couch while watching the news. She was getting tired when I left, so she'll probably be asleep soon. I should be heading back myself. My energy is so low that I doubt I'll be able to stay here much longer. Can you help me up?"

"Sure," he told her, and then stood before grasping both of her hands and pulling her gently to her feet.

She braced her hands against his chest as she swayed for a moment. Then she looked up at him with those large, luminous eyes and smiled. She whispered something in a language that he didn't understand, and then raised a trembling hand to sweep the hair back from his forehead.

Darien closed his eyes at the soothing touch. Then he felt like he floated away.

Tears filled Serenity's eyes as a golden glow surrounded the young man before her and the sweatpants and t-shirt he was wearing transformed into armor with a long, sweeping cape. When his eyes opened they were brimming with love.

"Endymion!" she sobbed.

The prince wrapped her tightly in his arms and held her shivering body close against his chest. He buried his lips in her hair as he whispered, "You're so weak right now, Sere. You shouldn't be using your energy to pull me out like this."

She shook her head as she burrowed against him. "I had to. I had to see you one more time. It could be my last chance. Soon we will be completely merged with Darien and Serena and it will be all up to them. I just wanted to see you one more time as ourselves before that happens."

He leaned back slightly and placed his fingers under her chin to lift her face toward his. "Hey, no matter what, we'll still be us, just a little different."

She sniffled a giggle. "I know. The honor's student and the town klutz, what a pair we'll make. At least we'll never be bored."

He chuckled. "Hey, you can fall on me anytime. I don't mind."

"You could have fooled me with the way that Darien has always complained whenever Serena crashes into him," Serenity grumbled.

Endymion laughed. "He's just been playing hard to get. He's stubborn. Maybe even more stubborn than I was before."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't see how that could even be possible. You can be so pigheaded when you set your mind on something."

"You're one to talk. That Serena can be as tenacious as a bulldog sometimes," he teased back. Then he sobered. "It's coming soon, isn't it?"

"Yes," she whispered. "Now that all of the Rainbow Crystals have been recovered they are crying out to each other. The Silver Crystal will reappear soon and we will be released. Then we'll see what happens next."

He cupped her face in his hands. "Beryl won't give up easily. This fight will be a tough one. Promise me that you'll be careful. I couldn't bear to see anything happen to you."

"I will," she promised. "And I want you to promise me the same thing. Beryl has made it no secret that she still wants you, and she has Kunzite and Zoicite still working for her."

He gave her a cocky grin. "I'll be fine. I can handle those two yahoos. You just be careful using your mother's crystal. That thing can be dangerous."

She sighed. "I know, but it's the only way to defeat Metallia and Beryl once and for all. I have to use it."

He pulled her tightly against him again. "I wish I had my family's crystal. Then I could help you. I still can't believe it vanished after my kingdom was destroyed."

"Maybe it will come back to you someday," Serenity murmured. "The Golden Crystal is a lot like the Silver Crystal. If it still exists then it will eventually find its way back to its rightful owner. But you are not without your own power. You command the power of Earth."

Endymion snorted. "Yeah, and up until now Darien has only been able to barely tap into it. He heals pretty fast, but other than that he can only produce roses and such."

"I like the roses," she whispered. "They were always my favorite. And maybe once you've merged with Darien he'll gain more of his power." She gasped as her body flickered. "I'm out of energy. I have to go now."

"I know," he said in a voice that cracked with emotion.

She tilted her head back to look at him. Tears sparkled in her eyes and gleamed on her cheeks. "Kiss me, my love. One last time."

Endymion groaned low in his throat as his head swooped down to fasten his lips intently over hers. They clung to each other desperately as the kiss deepened and their tongues dueled together. They knew that this was the last time that they would be together as Serenity and Endymion. Soon they would be freed, and from then on they would live their lives as Serena and Darien. But they would still be together. Nothing would ever stop that.

Serenity reluctantly broke the kiss. She smiled as she stroked his cheek. "Farewell, my heart, my dearest prince. I will always love you."

He pressed one last light kiss to her lips. "You will always be my love. I will love you for eternity and beyond."

And then she faded from his arms.

A golden glow encompassed the prince as his armor and cape changed back into the sweatpants and t-shirt. Darien glanced around in confusion.

"What the hell was that?" he muttered. "I didn't know it was possible to black out in a dream. And where did Serenity go? She was right here. Serenity!"

He shrugged when he got no answer. "I guess she left." He grimaced and rubbed his side as he felt a sensation that felt a lot like someone was poking him in the ribs. But that was impossible. There was no one there but him.

Then his dream world faded away.

Darien blinked his eyes open and found himself staring at the ceiling of his living room. As he lay there trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts and emotions about the dream that he'd just had, he felt something poke him in the side again.

Then a voice giggled, "Wakey, wakey, Sir Snores-a-Lot."

He jerked his head to the side and his eyes widened in surprise. "Meatball Head!"

Serena stuck her tongue out at him and stood from where she had been kneeling next to him as he lay on his couch. "And people say I'm hard to wake up. I've been shaking you like crazy for at least the past ten minutes. God, I thought you'd slipped into a coma or something."

He sat up and yawned. "Well what were you waking me up for? And how did you get in here?"

She rolled her eyes and pointed toward the balcony doors. "You should really start locking that thing. Any Dark Kingdom goon could waltz right in."

"I don't think something as simple as a locked door would stop them if they wanted to get in bad enough," he grumbled.

"Are you always such a grouch when you first wake up?" Serena sniffed. "Never mind! I just came over to check on you because I felt something weird through our bond thing and I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

He looked up at her. "You felt something?"

She waved a hand. "Yeah. I was just about to doze off when I got this strange feeling. I knew it wasn't coming from me, so I figured it had to be you."

"Are you spying on me now? What about the whole invasion of privacy thing?" he snickered.

Her eyes flared. "I didn't do it on purpose! I was half asleep! If this is the thanks I get for crawling out of my warm bed to come and make sure that you aren't being murdered in your sleep, then I'll just stay at home from now on! You can wake yourself up from your own nightmares!" She whirled and stomped for the balcony.

"Sere, wait!" he cried, jumping up and running after her. He took her gently by the arm. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be grumpy. I just had an unsettling dream, okay."

Her irritation melted. "I can sympathize with that. Did you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. No, he definitely didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to forget it. "Nah! It was just a crazy dream." He then realized that she was standing before him in a pair of frilly pink pajamas. She was also barefooted and her hair was down, flowing in gentle curls to her knees.

He smirked. "Do you always go running around in your pajamas to sneak into a boy's apartment at night?"

"Ooo!" she fumed. "I told you that I was in bed and almost asleep. When I felt like something was wrong I just transformed and left. I wasn't thinking about taking the time to change, you jerk!"

He laughed at her outrage. "I was only picking, Serena. Come on, I'll take you back home."

She sniffed. "I can make it back on my own, thank you very much!"

He transformed before she could blink. "I know you can, but I could use a breath of fresh air to clear my head. And it would be nice to have someone to talk to for a few minutes."

She eyed him warily. "Okay. But I'm tired and I'm going straight home and to bed. I'm determined to get up on time for school tomorrow, so I can't sit up half the night yakking to you. You look like you could use some sleep too, so don't even think about staying up and watching my house tonight. We had a deal, remember. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

He grinned goofily. "I remember. No more undercover bodyguarding, I promise."

She held up her brooch to transform, but gasped a second later when Tuxedo Mask swept her up into his arms and wrapped his cape around her. She struggled against him. "Darien! What are you doing?"

He carried her out the door and then jumped from the balcony. "Just hold on tight. I'll have you home in a flash."

She still squirmed in his grasp. "You don't have to carry me! I can jump roofs just as well as you can."

He smirked. "I wouldn't move around so much if I were you. It's a long way down if I drop you."

Serena glanced down at the street several stories below them and then grasped his lapels firmly. "Don't you dare drop me!" she growled as she settled into his embrace. She had to admit that this was much more comfortable and warmer than making the trip herself.

He pressed his face against the top of her head and whispered, "Don't worry, Serena. There's nothing in this world that could ever make me hurt you."

* * *

**A/N **So there we go! Mission accomplished! All of the Rainbow Crystals have been found. So now it's time to put them all together and reveal the true moon princess. It's been a long road to get to this point, but now we're about to get to the heart and soul of this story. You all know what's coming up, so I don't have to tell you. That's right, the angst is about to hit the fan big time. What will happen to poor Serena and Darien when Beryl tries to rip them apart and turn them on each other? Hmm…I guess we'll have to wait and see. This is a twist story after all. Now I'm off to write some more. I still have GT and Bad Boys that are in sad need of updating. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	21. Look to the Tower

**A/N **Hey guys! I'm not going to bore you with a long a/n this time because I know you don't want to hear it. We have reached a pinnacle moment in this story, as I'm sure you can tell by the name of this chapter. I probably worked harder on this chapter than I have on any other in a while, so I hope it lives up to your expectations. So let me get out those hugs and we'll get started. BIG HUGS TO:

**GoldenDragon326**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**sabina21**

**JuliaGulia17**

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**Tiny2008**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**x-YingYing-x**

**jade2nightwing**

**Seredhiel05**

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99 million and a half thank yous as always! You guys seriously ROCK! And now to let you get on with it.

_*****WARNING*** **_

Tissues may or may not be needed by the end of this chapter. Please use your own discretion.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 21

Look to the Tower

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Zoicite screamed in pain as the dark energy slammed into his body, over and over. "Please, your majesty! Forgive me!" he begged raggedly between the jolts.

"Forgive you!" Beryl screeched maniacally. "Why the hell would I want to take mercy on such a pathetic creature like you, Zoicite? I gave you a simple mission, to collect the Rainbow Crystals for me, and you couldn't even handle that! Now, thanks to your incompetence, my enemies have possession of three of the crystals while I only hold four! And do you know what I can do with only four of those crystals? Not a damn thing!"

She shot him again, making Kunzite cringe as he watched. He was incapable of feeling sympathy, but Zoicite had been a reliable ally despite his bumbling failures and he still needed him.

He stepped forward and placed a hand on Beryl's arm. "Please, my queen, try to calm down. It's not good for you to work yourself up into such a state."

Her reddish brown eyes were blazing hot as she snapped her head around to glare at him. "Don't try to patronize me, Kunzite! You are just as much of a failure as he is! You told me that you had a lead on Endymion, but you have yet to deliver him to me. I want my prince and I want those crystals, and I want them now!" She stomped her foot like a child throwing a temper tantrum because her parents refused to buy her a toy she wanted.

Kunzite ignored her anger and wrapped his arms around her. "And you will have them, my lovely queen. All is not lost. I still have a plan to get the earth prince and the crystals for you. Never fear."

Her rage drained away as she slumped against her head general. "Do you really mean that, Kunzite? Do you honestly think that there is a way to beat those horrible little brats before they find a way to steal my crystals and summon both the Silver Crystal and that damn princess?"

"Of course there is," he soothed her. "But in order for me to get both the crystals and the prince I will need help. So I ask you to spare Zoicite's life so that he may assist me."

Beryl raked a contemptuous glare over the general that was lying in a panting heap on her floor. "Very well. He may live…for now. But be warned that my patience has reached its limit. You have until the end of the week to produce some results or dear Zoicite's body will be joining Jadeite's and Nephrite's in the hereafter."

She then looked back to Kunzite and arched a red brow at him. "And if you aren't careful, my pet, you will join them as well." She smiled evilly as she felt him jerk and the arms around her go stiff. She stroked a long, crimson painted fingernail down his cheek. "It would pain me to the bottom of my blackened heart to lose you. Not after everything we have meant to each other."

The platinum haired general took a step back from her and inclined his head. "It will be done as you wish, my queen." He strode away from her, not even breaking his stride as he snatched Zoicite up by the collar and pulled him after him, ignoring his comrade's pained hiss. He didn't stop until he reached their quarters.

Zoicite limped over to the couch and lowered himself carefully down onto it. "Well, we knew that she would find out about the last crystal eventually. I guess we should count ourselves lucky that we had a couple of days before she discovered what happened and called us on it. I'm just glad you calmed her down before she killed me. It still hurts like hell though."

"We need a change of plan," Kunzite muttered darkly as if Zoicite hadn't said a word.

Zoicite's head snapped up. "What do you mean? I thought we had agreed that we would ambush Endymion's reincarnation and take his crystals. After that we would turn him over to Beryl and while she is distracted by him would combine the crystals we had with hers and claim the Silver Crystal for ourselves."

Kunzite shook his head. "That won't work anymore. Not only has Queen Bitch given us a time limit, but she'll also be watching us closely. We're going to have to step things up."

Zoicite's expression turned apprehensive. "What are you saying, Kunzite?"

"It's simple," Kunzite replied with an evil smirk. "We're going to call the dear prince out. We'll set up a time and a place for a duel. The winner will take all of the Rainbow Crystals. He won't be able to resist such a challenge."

Zoicite gaped at him. "You don't seriously mean for it to be a fair fight, do you?"

"Of course not!" Kunzite scoffed. "There are two of us and only one of him. We'll blindside him and kill him. Once we have his crystals nothing will stop us, not even the sailor scouts."

"But how are we going to get Beryl's crystals?" Zoicite asked. "She guards those things like a rabid dog."

"Don't worry about that," Kunzite drawled. "We're going to steal them. It will be easier than you think. I know exactly how to push that bitch's buttons. By the time she realizes the crystals are gone it will be too late."

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

"So who can show me the incorrect use of the possessive pronoun in this sentence?" Miss Haruna asked the class.

Serena breathed a sigh of relief as the woman's gaze skipped over her and focused on another poor classmate. Thanks to Mina crawling in her bedroom window yesterday morning and Lita this morning, she had actually gotten up on time for school and managed to stay off of Miss H's radar. It sucked to be jarred awake and dragged out of bed so early in the morning after spending most of the night tossing and turning, but at least she didn't have to deal with the lectures and possible detention. Darien and Amy had ganged up on her too, making sure that she did all of her homework assignments to the best of her abilities before they gave her a moment's peace. Raye usually sat over to the side and snickered quietly, but at least she had kept her smart mouthed comments to herself.

With the way that everyone had been riding her you would think that she would collapse into bed at night and pass out, but her nights were just as troubled as ever, maybe even more so. She still had dreams of Endymion and their heated moments together along with the nightmare about his murder and her subsequent suicide, but something else had started invading her nighttime wanderings as well. For the last few nights she had dreamed of running down the long empty halls of what she suspected was the moon palace while a voice called out to her. It was distorted and she couldn't make out what it said, but she heard it and followed it.

The dream always ended the same way though. She would reach a set of silver doors that were beautifully engraved with pictures of the moon on them. But no matter how hard she beat on them they refused to open. Something deep inside her told her that if she could just get those doors to open to her that she would find the answers that she was searching for.

She sighed and leaned her cheek against her hand as she stared out the window next to her. It was bright and sunny out today, giving the illusion that it was warm out, but she knew that the wind still held a bite to it despite the fact that all traces of snow were gone. It was only the first week of February, so they still had at least a few weeks before they might start feeling the first stirrings of spring.

Well it had certainly been an unforgettable winter, that much was for sure. It seemed almost like a lifetime ago that she had transformed into Sailor Moon for the first time, but in reality it had only been a few months. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. She still hated the fact that all of her friends had gotten wrapped up in this mess as well, but at the same time she was glad that she had them to stand by her.

A small smile appeared on her face as she watched a bird fly over and land on a tree branch right outside the window. She really did have the world's best friends. She didn't know what she would ever do without them.

As Miss Haruna's voice droned on about the English lesson in the background her eyelids grew heavy and slid shut on their own.

_*****Serena's Dream*****_

She ran down long, dark hallways that twisted and turned like a maze, holding up the long white skirt of the dress she was wearing to keep from tripping over it. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't know why.

"Serena…" she heard the phantom voice call out to her.

"Who are you?" she screamed as she continued to run.

The voice echoed off of the white marble walls, but she couldn't make out all of the words. "Serena…crystal…have to…only you…"

"What are you trying to tell me?" she yelled in frustration. "I can't understand what you are saying."

The silver doors were right in front of her, closed tight as always. But this time she was surprised when they swung open the moment she laid her hands on them. She ran inside, thinking that finally she was going to get some answers, but she was disappointed when she found herself in a room that was several stories tall and was completely empty except for a crystal tower in the center.

"Well this is just great!" she grumbled. "So much for getting any answers. Why can't any of my dreams ever make sense? I honestly wish that I could either stop dreaming or stop sleeping, because this is getting way beyond irritating."

She felt a presence behind her a split second before she heard a voice whisper, "Serena," and she spun around to confront them. She sucked in a breath as she found herself looking at a woman that could only be described as a goddess.

The woman was tall and slender and wore her long silver hair in a style that was identical to her own. A golden crescent moon marked her forehead and lavender eyes gazed lovingly at her as a graceful smile curved the woman's lips.

"Who are you?" Serena exclaimed, taking a few steps back.

"Do not be afraid. I mean you no harm," the woman replied in a soft, bell-like voice. "I have been waiting for you to finally find your way to me, my child. I know that you do not remember me, but I am Queen Serenity. I was the queen of the moon and the supreme chancellor of the Silver Millennium before my kingdom was destroyed by Beryl."

"You're Princess Serenity's mother?" Serena barely breathed as she stared in awe.

A light laugh came from the queen. "I am. At least I was in her former life. Now she has been reborn on Earth with a new family. But now is not the time for reminiscing. My time is short, and I have an important message to relay to you. I have been lying in wait for you to finally be able to breach the doors and reach me."

"Okay," Serena whispered as she held her breath in anticipation.

Queen Serenity held her hands before her, and seven colored crystals that Serena recognized as being the Rainbow Crystals appeared to hover in front of the queen. "You must undo the spell that I cast to separate the Silver Crystal to try to keep it from harm. Only you can do it, Serena."

"Why me?" Serena exclaimed. "Shouldn't Mina be the one to put the crystal back together again?"

"Because you are the one that I chose for this purpose," Queen Serenity told her. "I knew that I could trust no one else for such an important assignment. You are the key to bringing forth the power to finally defeat the Dark Kingdom for good."

"But I don't know how!" Serena screamed. "How am I supposed to summon the Silver Crystal when I don't even remember it or anything else about my past life?"

The queen smiled sadly at her. "You have to embrace your past and set yourself free. Only then will the crystal appear."

The Rainbow Crystals suddenly flew across the room at Serena. She threw her hands up to protect herself, but instead of pelting into her the crystals came to a stop in front of her. She felt a warmth in her chest, and then everything exploded in a flash of white light.

_*****End of Dream*****_

Serena jumped awake in her seat as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. She grabbed her belongings off of her desk and shoved them into her bag before hurrying from the classroom as quickly as she could. Her mind was reeling at this recent dream.

It was lunchtime, and normally she would head straight for the cafeteria, but today she slipped into one of the girls' restrooms. She needed to take a minute to compose herself before she faced her friends. Raye and Darien, in particular, always seemed to be able to read her moods. So she figured it was best to get herself back to acting as normal as possible before going to lunch. She really didn't feel like dealing with any hounding from them. She wasn't ready to share this dream with anyone, especially when she didn't fully understand it herself.

She turned on the cold water in the sink and cupped her hands under the flow before splashing it on her face several times. She reached blindly for the paper towel dispenser and pulled out a few before drying her face. Then she looked up into the mirror and jumped back with a shriek.

The girl staring back at her from her reflection was her, but at the same time she wasn't. She looked exactly the same as her, right down to the dusting of golden freckles across the bridge of her nose, but the glowing crescent moon in the center of her forehead was a sure giveaway that something was up.

The reflection's lips moved. "Set me free, Serena," it whispered before the mirror seemed to shimmer and left an image of her wide eyed, scared, normal looking self staring back at her.

"Now I know I'm losing it," Serena grumbled. "It's bad enough that I have crazy dreams every time I go to sleep. I guess now I'm going to start seeing things while I'm awake too. I hope they've confirmed my reservation at the nuthouse, because I have a feeling that I'm going to be needing it soon."

She threw the paper towels away and picked up her bag before heading for the door. Maybe she would feel better once she got some food into her. That usually helped her get her head on straight. And hopefully either Lita or Andrew had brought something sinfully decadent with them for dessert that they wouldn't mind sharing with her. A nice sugar rush might be just what she needed to make it through the rest of classes without her falling asleep again. It was a long shot though. Her history teacher had a voice that was guaranteed to make anyone go brain dead less than a minute into one of his boring lectures.

She stepped out into the hallway and then paused. She sensed his presence before she actually saw him. She fixed a smirk onto her face. "What are you doing lurking around outside the girls' restroom, Shields? People are going to start thinking that you're some kind of a pervert."

Darien pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against and gave her a grin, but even to Serena's eye it looked forced. "I sensed that you were in there, so I thought I'd hang around for a moment and we could walk to lunch together. You don't mind, do you?"

She shrugged. "I guess not. Let's go. I'm starving. It's seems like breakfast was years ago."

He fell into step beside her and they walked in silence, neither one of them saying a word. But Serena began to feel jumpy as she felt some emotion coming off of Darien in waves. She couldn't quite put a name to it, but she had sensed it hanging around him recently. She glanced up from under her lashes and saw him watching her out of the corner of his eye. Irritation flooded through her.

She stopped in the middle of the deserted hallway and put her hands on her hips. "Okay, I can't take it anymore! What gives?"

He turned toward her with a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

She blew out a frustrated breath. "I'm talking about you, hotshot! You've been acting weird around me for the last few days and I want to know why."

"I haven't been acting weird," he grumbled as he looked down and away.

"Yes you have!" she insisted. "I mean, I always thought that you had some screws loose, but your behavior has gone way beyond the norm, even for you. You haven't called me Meatball Head in days and you haven't cracked one joke about my schoolwork. And when I tripped and fell on the way to the arcade yesterday you didn't even laugh at me. So like I said before, what gives?"

He glared at her. "Why would I want to pick on you or make fun of you, Serena? I thought we were friends now."

She let out a derisive snort. "We've been friends for months now, Darien, and that's never stopped you from taking enjoyment from my humiliation before. Just last week you laughed for ten minutes when I messed up that Algebra equation just because I made a simple multiplication mistake, but when I made a similar mistake yesterday you calmly pointed it out and never even cracked a smile. It's like you've been replaced with a pod person or something and it's starting to creep me out."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I've just had a lot on my mind, okay. I thought you were going to die Monday afternoon when Kunzite caught you, so that doesn't exactly put me in the mood for picking on you."

Serena rolled her eyes. "So what? It's not like that was the first time that I've found myself in a sticky situation with a general, and knowing my luck it probably won't be the last. So I don't see what you're getting so bent out of shape about."

Darien dragged in a deep breath. Sure, Serena had landed herself in some dangerous situations before, and they had scared him to death every time, even before he had known that she was Sailor Moon, but things were more intense now. He had finally admitted the depths of his feelings that he held for her, and between that and finding out about their past it made him that much more protective of her. It tore him apart to stand by and watch her fight when what he really wanted to do was lock her away someplace safe until this whole Dark Kingdom mess was over. And when he thought about the fact that she had killed herself in the Silver Millennium, it was almost more than he could bear.

Serena watched the different emotions playing across his normally stoic face. She saw pain, anger, and then a heartbreaking sadness that almost took her breath away. She laid a comforting hand on his arm. "What is it, Darien?"

He waved her off with rueful laugh. "It's nothing. I think sleep deprivation is starting to catch up with me. I've been staying up late and studying a lot lately. Now let's get you fed. We don't need you fainting from hunger in the middle of gym."

He grabbed her hand to pull her with him, but she jerked back against him. "You're lying to me. I can tell. You're keeping something from me and I want to know what it is. You say that we're supposed to be friends, and I'm trying to be yours. So tell me what has you acting so funny."

He felt his own temper begin to simmer. He should have known that this was coming. Serena had the ability to read people like a book. "Just drop it, Serena. I don't want to talk about it."

She tossed a golden pigtail over her shoulder. "Fine, Mr. Grumpy-pants, be that way. I'll figure out what's bothering you sooner or later. You can't hide from me forever. I have my ways of finding out things."

This time a genuine laugh came from Darien. "I'm sure you do. Now do you want to tell me what you were doing hiding in the bathroom instead of mowing down all of the other helpless students in this school in a mad dash to get to food like you normally do?"

Serena let out a mock gasp. "Oh my! Was that actually a joke coming from Prince Uptight? Somebody better call the hospital, because I think he's sick."

"Ha ha," he drawled dryly. "You think that you are so funny, don't you? And don't think I didn't notice that you didn't answer my question. So who's the one being elusive now?"

She wrinkled her nose up at him. "For your information, Sherlock, I was in the bathroom splashing cold water on my face, trying to wake myself up." Her look turned sheepish. "I kinda, sorta slept through most of class."

"Serena!" he groaned. "Well I hope that you at least remembered to write down the homework assignment before you escaped off to dreamland." Then his blue eyes pierced hers. "Did you have a dream while you were asleep? You did, didn't you?"

She gave him a sad smile. "You have your secrets, Darien. I think it's only fair that I have a few of my own as well. But I'll tell you about it when I've had a chance to figure out what it means. And when that time comes I expect you to tell me what's been bothering you. Now I'm hungry and I'm going to eat."

She spun on her heel and walked away from him, leaving him standing in the middle of the hall to stare after her for several moments until he had pulled his thoughts back together. Serena wasn't the only one who could read people, he had gotten pretty good at deciphering her moods and body language as well. On the outside she may be acting like she was coping okay, but he hadn't missed the brief flare of panic in her eyes when he had asked her if she'd had another dream or the slight slump to her shoulders as she walked away.

He balled up his fists and had to fight against the urge to smash them into the closest wall. He was ready for all of this crap to be over with so that they could move on with their lives and he wanted the threat that Beryl posed to Serena if she ever found out that she was the moon princess exterminated before something bad happened. The last thing he wanted to see was Serena lying dead in a pool of blood the way he had in his dream.

"Darien? Are you coming?" Serena's voice invaded his thoughts and he looked up to see that she had paused at the end of the hall at the top of the stairs and was looking back quizzically at him.

He shook his head to clear it. "Yeah, I'm coming," he answered her as he walked toward her.

Amy, Luna, and Artemis had been searching diligently for any clues as to where the Dark Kingdom had their base, but so far they had turned up nothing. The best they could do right now was stay on their guard and wait for them to make their next move. And they would make a move, he was sure of that. Kunzite and Zoicite had made it perfectly clear that they wanted the Rainbow Crystals he had, so it was only a matter of time before they came for him.

There had been no sign of either one of the generals, or any youma for that matter, since the confrontation over the last crystal a few days before. Knowing those slimy weasels they were just trying to lure him into a false sense of security before they struck, but he wasn't letting his guard down that easily.

"Bring it on, you bastards!" he growled under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Serena asked as he joined her.

He shook his head. "Nah! I was just talking to myself."

She grinned slyly. "I knew you were Looney Toons! I've always heard that talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."

He snorted a laugh. "Like you never talk to yourself! I've heard you carry on entire conversations with yourself. So if I'm going insane then you must be certifiably nuts. Oh well! Maybe the guys in the white coats will come and carry us off at the same time."

"Ooo!" Serena cooed and batted her lashes playfully. "And maybe we'll have matching straightjackets and the doctors will be nice enough to let us share the same padded cell."

He rolled his eyes. "I always knew that hanging around Andrew would be bad for you. That sounded just like some twisted, sarcastic thing he would say."

"Ha! Shows what you know!" Serena crowed. "You may be under the impression that Andrew is a bad influence on me, but I'll have you know that I am the one that taught him how to talk the talk. I am the queen of sarcasm!"

He chuckled and patted the top of her head between her hair buns. "The only thing you're queen of is queen of the Meatball Heads."

She choked back a laugh and tried her best to glare at him. "Hey!"

Darien just laughed and grabbed her hand to lead her to the cafeteria.

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"Are we ready to put phase one of our plan into motion, Zoicite?" Kunzite asked.

The dark blonde general nodded. "I'm ready when you are. You just make sure that Beryl doesn't find out what I'm doing. She'll blast me into oblivion for sure if she discovers our plan."

Kunzite smirked. "Don't worry about her. If there's one thing that I have become adept at, it's keeping her distracted. But try to make it quick. Just remember, jump the prince and rough him up a bit. Get the crystals from him if you can. If you can't then extend our invitation to him and leave it at that."

"Do you really think that he'll fall for it? I don't think that the boy is stupid. He's sure to realize that it's a trap," Zoicite replied.

"I'm sure he will," Kunzite snorted. "But he panicked the other day when I held his precious moon girl in my grasp. I think he will do anything to keep her safe. Even if it means his own life."

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

Luna sighed as she felt the mattress beneath her shift for what felt like the hundredth time. She cracked an eye open and observed the blanket covered lump that was twisting into yet another position. She heard a groan and then the thumps of a pillow being beaten into a different shape.

"Serena," she chided gently. "It's late. You really should try to get some sleep."

The girl in the bed sat up, pushing the tangled mass of golden hair out of her face. Her normally bright blue eyes were dull and tired looking while purple, bruise-like shadows encircled them.

When she spoke, her voice had a dry, scratchy sound to it. "I know, Luna. I just can't seem to fall asleep for some reason. I keep having this anxious feeling, like something bad is about to happen, and I guess it's keeping me awake."

Luna shook her head. "Well, I suppose that's understandable considering everything that has been going on lately, but you really should try to set it aside and get some rest. Whatever is going to happen will happen when it's time. And when that time comes we are going to need Sailor Moon to be ready for it, not stumbling around half asleep. Even though I know that your dreams trouble you, getting some sleep is better than none at all."

Serena smiled at her advisor. "You're right, Luna. I just wish that someone would explain that to my body. I feel wound up tighter than my grandmother's old clock." A light giggle escaped her before her face turned serious once more. "Hey, Luna, can I ask you something?"

The black feline sat up. "Of course you can. After all, that's what I'm here for. Now what's troubling you?"

Serena chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment. "You told me some about what Serenity, myself, and the other scouts were like in the past. But I was wondering, what was the queen like?"

"Oh!" Luna squeaked in surprise, not expecting this line of questioning. "What brought this up all of a sudden?"

Serena shrugged. "Just curiosity, I guess. I had a dream about her. She seemed really nice."

"She was," Luna answered softly. "She was a great lady who ruled her kingdom with kindness and was loved by all. Serenity was her only child, but in a way she was a mother to all of the scouts as well. She had a soft spot for children and took you all under her wing and treated you as equals. She used to laugh and say that she had five daughters."

Serena smiled softly at the picture Luna was drawing for her. Queen Serenity sounded like she had been one hell of a woman. It also explained why she had felt a closeness and a connection to the moon queen in her dream.

"So what happened to her?" she asked quietly. "I know you said that she used the Silver Crystal to send all of us here to be reborn, but what happened to her?

Luna's eyes widened at the memories from so long ago. She remembered the death and blood all around her and her poor queen's dying wish as she lay bleeding on the ground near the bodies of Serenity and Endymion. Then there had been a blinding flash of light and everything went dark until she had awoken in this time.

"Luna, are you okay?" Serena's voice invaded her thoughts.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I just got caught up in the past for a moment. I won't go into all the hideous details, but Queen Serenity was fatally injured by Beryl during the fight that last day on the moon. She chose to use the last of her energy to seal away the enemies and reincarnate all of her loved ones."

"That's so sad," Serena whispered with tears in her eyes.

Luna climbed onto her lap and nudged her chin with her head. "Yes, it is. But Queen Serenity wouldn't want you to cry for her. She knew that she was dying, so she made the choice to give all of you a second chance. She would want you to live this life to its fullest."

Serena scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "You're right, Luna. She gave us a precious gift, and we owe it to her to defeat the Dark Kingdom once and for all so that we can live our lives."

Luna nodded in approval. "That's my girl! Now get some sleep. Tomorrow may be Friday, but you do still have school to attend."

"Yeah, yeah," Serena groaned as she lay back down and curled up into a ball on her side before closing her eyes. "Night, Luna."

"Goodnight, Serena," Luna replied as she snuggled in close to her mistress's side. She began softly humming an old Lunarian lullaby in hopes of helping Serena relax and go to sleep.

"Mmm…what a pretty song," Serena sighed as she slipped off to sleep.

She seemed to be resting peacefully, but after a while she inevitably began the tossing and turning that seemed to plague her nights when she was haunted by the dreams of her past.

Luna heaved a long suffering sigh and moved back to the foot of the bed to avoid getting rolled over on by the restless girl. This was the part of the night that she hated the most. It ripped her heart to shreds to sit by helplessly, night after night, and listen to her princess moan and sob her grief into her pillow. She just hoped that the Silver Crystal was recovered soon so that Serena could be released from this nightly torture.

"Darien…" Serena moaned in her sleep.

Luna's head jerked up. Usually it was Endymion's name that Serena called out when she was sleeping. Never had she ever heard her utter the earth prince's reincarnation's name as she slept. This dream must be something different.

Suddenly Serena's eyes flew open and she sat upright in the bed. Her pupils were dilated wide as she clutched her blanket to her chest. "Darien! What are you doing?" she gasped. She fumbled for the cell phone on her bedside table, cursing under her breath as it fell to the floor.

She picked it up and pressed a few buttons before placing the phone to her ear. Her eyes grew wider as the seconds passed. "Answer the phone, Darien," she growled.

She finally hung up when she didn't get an answer. "That idiot! What is he up to?" She threw back the covers and snatched her transformation brooch off the nightstand.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Luna snapped.

Serena whirled around to shoot the feline a panicked look. "Darien's in trouble, Luna! I can tell! I have to find him!"

"Well at least call the other scouts and let them know that there is trouble," Luna cautioned.

"There's no time! He needs help now!" Serena cried as she held her brooch up in the air. "Moon Prism Power!" A second later Sailor Moon was jumping out of the second story window.

"That impulsive girl!" Luna muttered under her breath as she crawled under the bed to the communicator that she kept hidden there for emergencies. There was no telling what kind of trouble Serena was rushing into.

* * *

Tuxedo Mask paused as he landed on the roof of his school and looked out over the quiet, sleeping town. Everything was still and silent, as was normal for this time of night, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He didn't sense any youma attacks, but he could feel that something just wasn't quite right.

He had tossed and turned in bed for a couple of hours before he had finally decided to go out and do some patrolling to make sure that all was as it should be. A quick check through the bond had told him that Serena had finally gone to sleep. He had checked on her a few times during the night with their unusual bond and she had felt just as keyed up as he did. He knew that she would be mad if she found out that he was using the link between them to sense her, but he also knew that if she was awake she would insist on coming out with him. And more than likely he was worrying for nothing, so there was no sense in her leaving her warm bed to go running around the city on a chilly night. Besides, she needed her sleep.

For that matter, so did he. While he was beginning to adjust to the serious cutbacks on his sleep, he still had to squeeze in a few hours a night to be able to function at a normal human level and not act like a total zombie. He had to admit that he was surprised at himself though. His whole life had been spiraling insanely out of control for the last few months, and yet somehow he had managed to maintain his perfect GPA, even though his brain felt like it was operating on autopilot most of the time.

"Give it up, Shields," he muttered to himself. "There's nothing out there going bump in the night. So go home, go to bed, and get some sleep before you fall over."

Yeah, that was good advice. He yawned widely and stretched his arms over his head as he silently berated himself. He was becoming paranoid, that's all there was to it. And it had only gotten worse since Kunzite had threatened Serena's life the other day. Now he walked around expecting either one of the generals or some other Dark Kingdom goon to come jumping in from out of nowhere at any moment. It was making him crazy. If he kept this up he really would end up locked up in a loony bin somewhere.

He turned in the direction of Serena's house and was preparing to jump from the roof when he forced himself to stop and take a deep breath. He didn't need to go check on her. He knew that she was at home, safely tucked into bed. There was no reason for him to go check on her. She was fine. Besides, if he gave into the temptation to go there he would just end up sitting outside her window and watching her like some kind of brainless moron and he would be lucky to make it home before the sun rose.

Steeling his determination, he turned instead in the direction of his apartment. He had just placed one foot up on the roof's ledge when he heard the low chuckle behind him.

"Sooo, little prince," Zoicite drawled as he stepped out of the shadows. "You're out roaming the night alone without any of your precious scouts tagging along behind you. That makes my job infinitely easier. I thought for sure one of those troublesome brats would be in my way, especially the lovely Sailor Moon. Or would you prefer if I called her Serena? I suppose I can see why you have such a weakness for the lunarian girls. She is beautiful in a pale, fragile sort of way."

Tuxedo Mask ground his teeth together as rage flowed through him and he fought to keep his emotions under control. He knew that the general was trying to goad him into losing his temper in hopes of catching him off guard, but that could prove to be a deadly mistake. So instead he remained silent as he focused on taking deep, steady breaths and squashing his anger.

Zoicite smirked. "What, nothing to say about that? With the way that you are so protective of the moon brat I figured that you would rush to defend her honor. From what I can remember of my predecessor's memories you always had a bit of a temper, Endymion. Of course Serenity was always your greatest trigger. No one was allowed to utter one syllable about her that could even be construed as being unkind about her or you would fly into a fury. But then again, your dear Serena is no princess. Perhaps you are merely using her as a distraction until the elusive Serenity finally decides to put in an appearance. Then I suppose you will throw her aside like yesterday's garbage."

"You shut your damn mouth!" Tuxedo Mask couldn't help but snarl.

"Oh, so he decided to speak after all," Zoicite cackled. "Anyway, I'm a very busy man, so let's not waste time by dithering over the obvious. You know why I'm here and you know what I want. So why don't you be a good boy and hand over those crystal you stole from me?"

Finally succeeding in calming his temper down some, Tuxedo Mask grinned cockily. "The crystals that _I _stole from _you_? That would imply that they belonged to you to begin with. But if I'm not mistaken _you _were the one attempting to steal them from their rightful owner."

Zoicite waved a dismissive hand. "Useless details! It's a dog eat dog world, Endymion. Surely you know that. Whoever possesses the most power is the one that calls the shots, and the Dark Kingdom is taking over. Why should we allow some Lunarian snippet to control the fate of this planet? You are the prince of Earth. I would think that you would not want to see your planet fall under the thumb of an alien princess."

Tuxedo Mask choked back a snort. Alien princess, what a laugh! Serena was as human as he was! Which was more than could be said for the man in front of him. He felt the weight of the three Rainbow Crystals that were concealed inside a hidden pocket of his tuxedo jacket, but he resisted the urge to reach for them. The last thing he needed to do was tip Zoicite off to the fact that he had them on him. But he hadn't felt comfortable about leaving them at home, afraid that if he did either Kunzite or Zoicite would come in and take them while he was gone.

"I'm sorry, but I guess you came all this way for nothing," he replied dryly. "I'm afraid I don't have the crystals with me right now. And even if I did, it would be a cold day in hell before I handed them over to you."

Zoicite's expression turned into a sneer. "I was trying to do you a favor, you stubborn fool! You know where those crystals are and you can take me to them. If you do I will even be nice enough to not drag you to Beryl and dump you at her feet like a lost puppy. If you don't hand them over then things are going to get much worse. We are done toying around with you and your little friends. So if you value the lives of the fair Serena and her fellow scouts, I would suggest that you rethink my proposal. Kunzite let her off easy the other day, but the next time he will snap her neck before she has a chance to retaliate."

Tuxedo Mask saw red at his words and his calm façade finally cracked. "You bastard! I'll never let either one of you get near her!"

He rushed the general and tackled him at the waist, sending both of them crashing down to the cold concrete beneath them. They rolled over a few times before they came to a stop with Zoicite pinning down the masked hero.

"You have no idea who you are messing with, boy!" Zoicite snarled. "I am a general of the Dark Kingdom and highly trained in the art of fighting. I could kill you before you can even blink, but that could prove to be counterproductive to me claiming those crystals. So what do you say? Are you ready to give them up yet?"

Tuxedo Mask suddenly arched his back and ripped an arm free from the general's grasp. He sent a fist slamming into the other man's face, knocking him off balance. In a flash he reversed their positions.

"Don't underestimate me!" he growled. " I may not be the same person that I was in my past life, but I am far from helpless. I can hold my own against you."

Zoicite's green eyes glinted evilly. "Really? Well we'll just see about that."

He twisted an arm free and swung it up behind his attacker, manifesting a sharp shard of ice in his hand.

Tuxedo Mask gasped as a burning, agonizing pain ripped through his right shoulder. His brain barely had time to register the pain before the shard was ripped back out again. Zoicite shoved him away hard and he fell over onto his side.

The general calmly got to his feet and dusted his uniform off as if nothing had just occurred. Then he pinned the injured boy with a glacial glare. "I tried to play nice, but I guess that won't work with you. So here is the ultimatum. You come to the Starlight Tower tomorrow night at 7:00 and bring the crystals with you. You and I are going to settle this once and for all. We'll have a good, old-fashioned fight and the winner will get all of the Rainbow Crystals. Does that sound fair enough to you?"

Tuxedo Mask ground his teeth together so hard in pain and irritation that he felt his jaw pop. He knew that there was no way that Zoicite would face him in a fair fight. The slimy bastard had just proven that when he had literally backstabbed him. But if there was a chance to get the rest of the crystals he had to take it.

Then he felt Serena's aura thrash to life on the fringes of his mind. Panic and desperation warred inside of her, so he knew that she must have sensed that he was in danger. His suspicions were confirmed when his cell phone began buzzing in his pocket and then he felt her transform a few seconds later. He had to get out of here and away from Zoicite before she found them. If she showed up there was no telling what the demented general would do to her.

"Yeah, sure," he forced out between clenched teeth. "I'll be there."

"Excellent!" Zoicite chuckled. "Make sure you come alone. We don't want any outside interference. It will be just the two of us, man to man."

'_Yeah right! Like I believe that!' _Tuxedo Mask thought snidely. He wasn't stupid. He knew that Kunzite would be lurking around somewhere. But the last thing he wanted was to drag Serena and the other girls into the middle of this knowing that it was a trap. He knew that Serena would be pissed at him, but if he succeeded in getting his hands on all the crystals it would be worth it.

He glared at Zoicite. "I said I'll be there, and I'll be there alone."

Zoicite smiled triumphantly. "Very good! I'll see you then. Oh, and Endymion? I know that you don't remember all of your powers from your past life, but for your sake I hope that your healing power has remained intact. That shoulder looks very painful and I would hate for you to show up at our fight injured."

"Smug bastard!" Tuxedo Mask muttered as Zoicite disappeared. He pushed himself slowly to his feet, groaning when fire ripped through his injured shoulder. That ice crystal had really done a number on him. He felt hot blood running down his back and soaking through the layers of his shirt, vest, and jacket. He just hoped that his accelerated healing would be able to fix the damage. He had never received an injury this serious before.

He felt Serena closing in on him and took a deep breath before jumping from the roof of the school to a neighboring building. He couldn't let her see him like this. She would flip out. Maybe he could beat her back to his apartment and lock her out. With any luck he would be healed enough by morning to keep her from knowing that anything was wrong.

He landed unsteadily, cursing as black dots swam in front of his vision. He wasn't sure how much blood he had lost, but it must be a significant amount since he suddenly felt dizzy. If he could just make it home he would be okay.

He pushed away the lightheadedness and slight nausea he felt and continued toward his apartment. He moved at a slightly slower and more careful pace than usual, but in only a few minutes he arrived on the roof of the building next door to his and breathed a sigh of relief. He could see his balcony from there. Just one more jump and he would be home.

Just as he prepared to jump a hand grabbed his shoulder. He hissed in pain and spun around to glare angrily.

Sailor Moon took a few steps back in surprise. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew I was behind you. I've been calling your name for the last few buildings. I didn't mean to startle you."

He straightened up, resisting the urge to grab his injured shoulder, and fixed what he hoped was a convincing smile on his face. "It's okay. I just didn't hear you. What are you doing out here running around at this time of night? Shouldn't you be at home in bed?"

She cast a critical eye over him. "I could say the same thing about you. Why aren't you at home in bed? It's the middle of the night."

He huffed a breath. "I was just out doing a little patrolling. I felt too wound up to go to sleep so I thought this might tire me out so I can crash."

"Uh huh…" she muttered, not seeming convinced. "So what happened tonight?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I was just heading home to catch some sleep. After all, we do still have school in…"

"Cut the crap, Darien!" she interrupted him. "You may think that you're fooling me, but you're not. Don't forget that I can sense things from you like you can me. I had this crazy dream a little while ago that you were fighting Zoicite. And when I woke up I felt you and something felt wrong. You felt like you were angry and then it felt like you were in pain. I had to make sure that you were okay."

He smiled gently at her. "It must have been the leftover emotions from your dream, Serena. I'm fine."

"Well you don't look fine!" she snapped. "You look like…like…well, I don't know exactly how to put it, but you don't seem like yourself."

"I'm just very, very tired," he placated her. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I really want to get to bed."

"Oh," she muttered as a blush heated up her cheeks. "I guess I'll let you get going then. It looks like I got all worked up over nothing. Luna probably thinks I'm psycho now since I just took off the way I did."

He laughed softly. "Nah! It was sweet of you to come out to check on me like that. But now that you know that all is well you should get back home and to bed. You don't need Miss Haruna harping at you for falling asleep in class."

"Okay," she agreed. Then she took him by surprise by standing on her tiptoes pressing a light kiss against his cheek. "Sweet dreams," she said softly before running to the other side of the roof and jumping away back toward her house.

"You too," he said softly before steeling himself and jumping to his balcony. He slid the door open and stepped inside, uncharacteristically locking the door behind him and drawing the curtain closed. As soon as he did that he let his transformation fade.

He stumbled into the bathroom and turned where he could see his back in the mirror. A large red spot of blood had already soaked into his t-shirt. He tried to pull it off, but almost screamed in pain as he tried to lift his right arm. In the end he ended up ripping the shirt off so that he could inspect the wound.

The bleeding from the nasty looking, deep puncture seemed to have slowed, and for that he was grateful. He fumbled with his first aid kit and a few minutes later had managed to clean the wound and affix a bandage over it. He swallowed down a couple of over the counter pain killers with a glass of water from the sink and then staggered into his bedroom where he fell face down across his bed.

He scrunched his eyes up against the pain and began wishing with all of his might for whatever power that had always allowed him to heal quickly to hurry up and kick in. But then again, this was a pretty major injury and it probably wouldn't heal in just a few hours like the ones in his past. It could take a while. He just hoped that it was gone by tomorrow evening when he faced Zoicite. He would need to be in top shape for that.

* * *

Sailor Moon was about halfway home from Darien's when she suddenly ground to a halt. Something still didn't feel right. Now that she thought about it, Darien had been just a little too nice and agreeable, which was completely out of character for him. In fact, she had expected him to rake her over the coals for being out running around by herself. But instead he had been all smiles and softly spoken words that had melted her heart.

She reached up to push a stubborn piece of hair out of her face and paused when she saw a dark stain on her white glove. She moved over until she was in the dim light of a rooftop light so that she could examine it closer.

Her head reeled when she saw that it was red. She lifted the hand to her nose and sniffed, recoiling when the metallic tang of blood hit her nostrils. Thinking back, she remembered when she had grabbed Darien's shoulder and he had hissed like he was in pain. She had been duped!

"Serena!" she heard a voice call out. A few seconds later Sailor Jupiter landed near her. "There you are! I didn't think I'd ever track you down. Luna called and said that you rushed out of your place after Darien and that you were upset. I volunteered to come find you in case you needed any help."

Sailor Moon balled up her fist, shaking in anger. "He lied to me," she growled under her breath.

"What?" Jupiter asked in confusion.

Sailor Moon looked up at her friend, tears burning brightly in her eyes. "He lied to me, Lita. He said that he wasn't hurt, but look at this." She opened her hand to reveal the stain.

Jupiter's eyes widened "Is that blood?"

Sailor Moon nodded. "Yes, and it's Darien's. The jerk told me that nothing happened and that he was okay, but he's not. He's hurt and he's bleeding! I can't believe I fell for those damn blue eyes of his! I've got to go back and help him. After that I'm giving him a piece of my mind!"

"Hold up there, girlfriend!" Jupiter exclaimed as she snagged her around the waist and held her back. "Charging back over there probably won't accomplish anything except causing a fight between you two. You know how guys are. They don't like to show weakness. He probably didn't want to worry you and have you raising a fuss about him."

"But what if he needs help?" Sailor Moon insisted. "If the dream I had was true and he fought Zoicite then he might be hurt badly!"

"He won't tell you anything if he doesn't want to," Jupiter told her. "Men are the most prideful creatures on the planet, and Darien's no exception. He probably thinks he's protecting you from something, but he's underestimated us. We have our own way of finding out what we want."

Sailor Moon sniffled. "What do you mean?"

Jupiter smirked. "Just watch the master at work." She pulled out her communicator and pressed a button. A few seconds later a sharp voice answered. "Are you still up, Raye?" she asked.

"Yeah," Raye replied. " The fire is very active tonight and it's keeping me awake. Did you find Serena yet?"

"Yeah, I got her," Jupiter said. "Do you mind if we stop by for a few? We need your advice."

"Sure. Come on," Raye answered. "Grandpa and Chad are asleep, so it's just me."

Jupiter grinned. "See ya soon!" Then she gestured to Sailor Moon. "Let's go! Raye may be able to help us figure out what secrets Darien is hiding."

It only took a few minutes for the two of them to reach Hikawa Shrine. Raye stood waiting for them in the doorway of the chamber that held the sacred fire. She said nothing as they approached; she merely reached out and grabbed Sailor Moon's hand in her own. She studied the bloodstain for a moment before shaking her head and motioning them to follow her into the fire room.

"Come on in," she finally said as she knelt in front of the roaring flames. "Take off your glove Serena and lay it in front of the fire. I had a feeling that idiot Darien was up to something. I've been getting confusing images all night. The physical link of his blood and something that personally belongs to you might help me see what's going on."

Sailor Moon stripped off the glove and laid it in front of the fire before retreating behind Raye and sinking to her knees beside Jupiter. The two of them remained silent as Raye closed her eyes and began chanting softly.

Several minutes passed before the flames roared high and Raye's violet eyes snapped open. She stared into the fire, her eyes darting around as she watched the visions that only she could see.

A sharp cry escaped the young priestess's lips. "What is he thinking? Is he insane?"

"What! What is it?" Sailor Moon demanded. "What did you see?"

Raye spun around and fixed her unknowing princess with a gimlet look. "I'll tell you what I saw! That idiot prince is under the illusion that he can save the day all by himself. He and Zoicite had a pretty heated encounter tonight and now they have set up a little…pow wow."

Sailor Moon growled. "Quit talking in riddles and give me a straight answer, Raye! I'm tired, cranky, and not in the mood for any long, drawn out hocus pocus, mumbo jumbo! What is going on?"

Raye sighed. "Why don't you two detransform and I'll go and fix us a cup of tea." She got to her feet and left the room.

Sailor Moon huffed a breath and let her transformation fade. If Raye was going to make tea then that meant that this was serious. This was always her way of dealing with things when something was troubling her.

She followed Raye into the kitchen with Lita following behind her and settled herself at the table. "Okay, Raye. That's enough beating around the bush. I want to know what's going on. What has Darien gotten himself into?"

Raye turned to look at her over her shoulder. "Are you sure you want to know?"

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Kunzite stormed into the generals' chambers. He looked highly agitated as he slammed the door behind him. He glared at Zoicite, who was sitting on the sofa sipping from a glass of wine.

"Please tell me that you had some success!" he demanded. "Don't tell me that I just put up with listening to that demented bitch moaning and groaning about how she wants everything she can lay her greedy little claws on for nothing!"

Zoicite took another sip from his glass before replying, "Calm yourself, my friend. Tonight's endeavor was not a loss."

Gray eyes gleamed maliciously. "You got the crystals then?"

Zoicite swirled his glass. "No. The little bastard claimed he didn't have them on him, but knowing him he was probably lying. Unfortunately short of patting him down and stripping him, which is way beyond the pale, even for me, I had no way of knowing for sure. But after I threw out a few threats about his precious Serena and roughed him up a bit he readily agreed to meet me tomorrow night with the crystals."

Kunzite lowered himself into a chair. "Well at least we got that far. Now we just have to set everything up."

Zoicite arched a brow. "You do know that the chances of him showing up alone are slim to none, don't you? Even if he doesn't tell the scouts about our meeting they'll probably show up anyway. Those brats have a knack for sniffing out trouble."

Kunzite merely smirked. "I'm counting on it. I want to see their defeated expressions when we take their princess's sacred crystal for our own, and then I'll take great pleasure in killing them where they stand. That way there will be no obstacles standing between us and our ultimate goal."

Well, perhaps he would keep Venus alive, at least for a while. He wouldn't mind having a taste of her. And if she behaved herself she could possibly make a suitable consort to the Earth's new ruler. He might possibly spare Mercury as well. Despite what Zoicite said about despising the way his body's former inhabitant had loved the quiet girl, he knew that this Zoicite was entranced by her as well. The rest of the scouts and the prince were dispensable though.

Zoicite couldn't quite suppress the shiver that ran through his body as he saw the maniacal light that began shining in Kunzite's eyes. Whatever was about to happen wouldn't be pretty at all.

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

"Hey, Drew! Can I get another shake, please?" Serena chirped as she slid onto a stool at the arcade counter on Friday afternoon.

Andrew chuckled at his effervescent friend. "Another one? You've already had two. Besides, isn't it about time for you to head home for dinner? You know how your mom gets when you are late for dinner."

"Nope!" she practically sang. " The girls and I decided to have a sleepover at Mina's tonight. We're going to do all kinds of disgustingly girlie things like paint our toenails, brush each other's hair, and watch chick flicks. Of course you would know about all of this if you had bothered to come to lunch today."

Andrew laughed as he set about making Serena's third chocolate shake of the afternoon. "Sorry Sere, but Dare and I had to work on a report that our Lit teacher assigned that is due Monday, so we decided to take advantage of the library during lunch so we wouldn't have to spend all weekend working on it. Right, Dare?"

The boy sitting next to Serena grunted in agreement, but didn't say anything.

Serena turned toward Darien and then slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "So is that where you've been keeping yourself all day, buried in your books? I've hardly seen you at all."

Darien hadn't met up with them as usual outside the arcade to walk to school. Instead he had arrived just as the first bell had rung and had hurried to class. Then he had skipped lunch to study and they had been stuck watching a boring video in gym. So this was the first time that she had really had a chance to talk to him today."

Darien tensed at the pain in his shoulder. It had healed some, but it still very tender to the touch and he was nowhere near where he wanted to be with his showdown with Zoicite only an hour and a half away. But he turned to Serena with a smile that belied his pain and his nerves.

"I've just been busy," he told her. "What have you been up to?"

She rolled her eyes. "Amy bullied me through my homework. But the good news is that at least now I don't have much to worry about over the weekend. So I guess that's a good thing."

Darien picked up the glass of Mountain Dew in front of him. He didn't really need the caffeine since his nerves were already stretched past their limits, but he was afraid that if he didn't keep his hands busy that he would reach out and pull her to him. He didn't know how tonight was going to play out. He may even die in his attempt to retrieve the crystals. In fact, this could be the last time that he saw her.

He wanted so badly to hold her close, to kiss her and tell her how much she meant to him, but he knew that would only complicate things and make it that much harder to face what was coming. Instead he focused on what he had to do. If he was lucky he would not only get all the Rainbow Crystals for her, but he would also come out of this alive. So he refused to consider this a goodbye.

He got up from his seat and patted her on top of the head. "Enjoy your weekend, Sere. I'm sure I'll see you around." And then he walked out of the arcade.

He paused outside and looked in through the large window to watch as Serena talked to Andrew for a moment before picking up her fresh milkshake and wandering back toward the booth where the other girls were sitting.

He took a minute to drink in the sight of her before whispering, "I love you, Serena." After that he turned in the direction of his apartment and strode determinedly away.

Inside the arcade, Serena slid into her seat in the booth. She looked around at the serious faces of her friends and then said, "He's still hurt. Not as bad as he was, but he's still in pain. He about jumped off his stool when I touched his shoulder."

Amy leaned across the table and grabbed her hand. "Well we know where he'll be. So we'll just make sure that we're there to help him."

"That's right!" Mina gushed. "If Darien's going to face off against some Dark Kingdom flunky, then we'll be right behind him."

Serena smiled ruefully at her fellow blonde. "I don't guess there's any way to talk you into staying out of this."

Mina tossed her head. "Not a chance! We're all in this together."

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Zoicite pushed open the doors to Beryl's chambers and slipped inside. The massive throne room was empty except for the couple on the raised platform where the queen's hideously ornate throne sat.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the sight of Kunzite sitting on the floor next to Beryl's throne as he slid a hand under her tight fitting skirt to rub her calf. The dark blonde general counted his lucky stars for the thousandth time that the red headed bitch had chosen Kunzite to be her favorite and not him. There was no way that he would be able to stomach lavishing attention on her when all she did was repulse him. Kunzite was definitely a better man than he was in that regard.

Pushing away the nausea he felt and shutting out the sound of Beryl's eardrum piercing laughter, he refocused on his task. He crept along the wall, being careful to move slowly and stay in the shadows to keep from attracting Beryl's attention. She would splinter him into a million bloody little pieces if she discovered what he was doing.

When he had finally moved so that he was behind the throne he breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out of the darkness. Moving quickly now, he hurried to the stone alter that held the velvet cushion where the Rainbow Crystals rested. He scooped them up in his hand and placed them in his pocket before pulling four identical looking stones from another pocket.

It had taken some time, but he had finally been able to produce exact replicas of the Rainbow Crystals. He arranged them precisely how the originals had been laying on the cushion and then backed away swiftly. Now if their luck held out, Beryl wouldn't know that she was no longer in possession of the real crystals until it was too late.

He backtracked into the shadows and then retraced his steps back to the door, once more moving cautiously. He managed to slip back out through the door and then leaned up against it as he panted lightly. Boy was he glad that was over.

Then he heard Beryl's whiney voice through the door. "Do you really have to go, Kunzite? I was thinking that you might stick around and I could work a little magic."

"I'm afraid I do, my queen," Kunzite replied smoothly. "I might have a new lead on Endymion's whereabouts and I need to strike while the iron is hot. If the cards fall in our favor, you may have the real prince in your bed tonight."

Zoicite almost gagged as he heard Beryl smacking her lips.

"Reallyyy…" she purred. "Well that would definitely be worth looking forward to. Now go, Kunzite, and see if you can't bring my future king home to me."

"As you wish, your majesty," Kunzite said in the most subservient tone he could muster.

Zoicite stepped away from the door as he heard the footsteps approaching it. A few seconds later the door opened and Kunzite stepped out into the corridor. The two of them shared a look, but said nothing. One never knew what youma were lurking in the shadows hoping to catch some juicy tidbit that they could carry to the queen in hopes of currying her favor. It was as if the walls had ears.

They walked silently, side by side, until they reached their private chambers. Once they were inside and the door was closed securely behind them, Zoicite began chuckling.

"I don't see how you do it," he said. "I would lose everything I've eaten for a year if I had to play up to her the way you do."

Kunzite grimaced. "It's not my favorite pastime, I assure you. But it keeps her happy and off our backs, and it can come in handy sometimes. So was our mission a success?"

Zoicite grinned and pulled the crystals from his pocket. "We're in business."

* * *

**_Tokyo_**

Tuxedo Mask landed on the top observation platform of Starlight Tower at precisely 7:00. He hated the idea of having this fight in such a public location; the tower was a huge attraction to both tourist and locals alike that enjoyed a bird's eye view of the city. But luckily during the winter months the tower closed early, so there were no unsuspecting civilians around for him to worry about getting hurt.

He looked cautiously around the seemingly empty platform. Where was Zoicite? Had he chickened out? Then something moved in the shadows and the general stepped into view.

"Welcome," Zoicite said politely, as if he were greeting him at a party. "I was hoping that you hadn't changed your mind about meeting me."

Tuxedo Mask gave a cocky grin. "Not on your life! I've been looking forward to this all day."

"As have I," Zoicite replied. "What do you think of my choice of location? I thought it was apropos to have our last fight here since this was where you first stuck your meddling nose in my business."

Tuxedo Mask hitched his uninjured shoulder up in a shrug. "I don't care where we are. I'm just ready for this to be over."

"I couldn't agree more," Zoicite answered. He pulled his clenched fist from the pocket of his jacket. When he unfurled his fingers he revealed his four Rainbow Crystals sitting in the palm of his hand. He walked forward several paces and laid them on the ground before backing away.

"I stuck to the terms of our agreement and brought mine. Now where are yours?" he asked.

This was it. Tuxedo Mask reached inside the hidden pocket of his jacket and pulled out the three crystals that he had. He copied Zoicite's example and stepped forward several feet before laying his crystals down as well. He eyed the others laying just a few yards away. It was so tempting to grab them all up right now and run for it, but that would be the coward's way out. And he was no coward.

It was hard to do, especially with Zoicite looking at his crystals with a speculative gleam in his eyes that told him that he was thinking the same thing, but he backed away. Still, he kept a close eye on the general, ready to spring if he showed any signs of pulling a fast one.

"So are we ready to do this?" he demanded.

Zoicite laughed. "Of course. But first thing's first. I don't think we should just leave those crystals lying around while we fight. Something may happen to them."

"What do you…" Tuxedo Mask began, but he broke off when a shimmer went through the air. A second later Kunzite appeared out of thin air.

"I think I'll just keep these safe for now," the platinum haired general stated as all seven crystals floated up and into his hands.

"No way!" Tuxedo Mask yelled. "You cowards! I thought we had agreed to meet alone."

"Please!" Zoicite scoffed. "Of course I brought Kunzite along. I knew that there was no way that you would adhere to the bargain. So where are the dear scouts hiding anyway? They may as well come on out."

Tuxedo Mask shook his head. "They're not…"

"We're right here, Zoicite!" Sailor Moon's voice suddenly cut through the night air.

'_Damn!' _Tuxedo Mask thought as he heaved a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. What was she doing here? She wasn't supposed to know anything about this. He'd thought that she was safely tucked away at her sleepover with the other girls. This couldn't be happening!

But he turned around and opened his eyes, already knowing what he was going to find. Sure enough, there were five girls in sailor fukus standing on the railing that surrounded the platform, but his attention was focused on the petite blonde in the middle. Damn it! He didn't want her here!

"What are you doing here?" he growled angrily.

Sailor Moon jumped down from the rail and stomped right up to him. Her eyes were blazing with anger and several other emotions as she poked him in the chest with a finger. "I think I should be asking you that question! I can't believe you! What were you thinking coming here alone? Have you lost your mind?"

Tuxedo Mask glared at her. "No. I'm perfectly sane. But that still doesn't tell me what you're doing here. How did you find out?"

"I have my ways!" she snapped. "But it's pretty sad when I have to resort to snooping to find out that someone I thought was supposed to be one of my best friends has decided to take on a suicide mission. On top of all of that you LIED to me!"

"I didn't exactly lie. I just omitted the truth," he grumbled.

"Which is just as bad in my book!" she raged. "You told me that you were fine, but you weren't. Instead of telling me that you had been injured and letting me help you, you covered it up and suffered through it alone. Then when I found out about it and went back to your place to help you, you had locked me out!"

He had the grace to look chastised. "How did you find out?"

She rolled her eyes. "I found blood on my glove after I left. It wasn't that hard to put two and two together. Besides, in case you've forgotten, one of my best friends just happens to be psychic. So we did a little snooping."

He turned his glare toward Sailor Mars, who shrugged eloquently and said, "What can I say? I was curious as to what was going on too. All the vibrations had the fire agitated and was keeping me awake."

Kunzite cleared his throat. "I hate to break up this little love-fest, but we have business to discuss. Would one of you lovely ladies care to tell me how to summon the Silver Crystal, or should Zoicite and I just start killing you off one by one until one of you breaks?"

Sailor V hissed when she saw all seven crystals in the general's hands. "You ass! Do you honestly think that we would tell you? Dream on!"

Kunzite clucked his tongue. "Really, Venus. You have to know that you are fighting a losing battle here. I'm holding all of the keys now. You can't win."

Sailor Moon had fallen into an almost trancelike state the moment she spotted all of the crystals together, but Kunzite's words jerked her back to the present. She looked toward her blonde friend in confusion. "Venus? What is he talking about, Mina?"

"Damn it!" the taller blonde growled. "I'm sorry, Serena. This isn't the way that I wanted you to find out." She held up her henshin wand. "Venus Power!"

Sailor Moon blinked her eyes as a flurry of golden stars erupted around her friend. When they faded she gaped at the sight of Mina in the orange-skirted fuku that she had seen once in a vision back weeks ago.

"Sailor Venus!" she whispered in awe. Then comprehension struck her. "So you're not the princess after all?"

Venus shook her head. "No. I was just acting as a decoy. That was one of my duties in the past."

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good, but that doesn't solve our dilemma here," Kunzite said impatiently. "Either someone starts talking or I start killing." A sharp boomerang of light purple energy appeared in his hand.

"Let's see, who shall be first," he mused. "The brains?" he pointed the weapon at Mercury. "The brawn?" next he singled out Jupiter. He turned then toward Mars. "The spiritualist?" The he returned his attention to Sailor Moon, Venus, and Tuxedo Mask. "Or perhaps I should take out one of you three since you seem to be the ringleaders of this ragtag group."

The teens all remained silent as they glared at him.

He smirked. "So nobody wants to talk? Well maybe this will get your attention then."

He flung his boomerang in a wide arc, making them all duck to keep from losing their heads. It slammed into the metal framework that led up to the pinnacle of Starlight Tower where the television satellites and radio antennas were. They shrieked and scattered as large chunks of steel came smashing down around them.

Tuxedo Mask grabbed Sailor Moon by the arm and jerked her along behind him as he ran for the relative safety of the other side of the tower. His shoulder throbbed at the exertion, but he didn't let her go.

"Darien, stop!" Sailor Moon cried when she heard his sound of pain. But he ignored her until he was sure that they were out of the immediate line of fire. The moment he stopped she lit into him. "You have to get out of here, Darien!"

He looked at her as if she had just sprouted another head. "Have you lost your mind, Serena? I'm not going anywhere."

She stepped up close to him and gripped the lapels of his tuxedo jacket tightly in both hands. "You have to, Darien. You're hurt and in no condition to fight. Let the girls and I handle this."

He shook his head. "That's not happening, Serena. It's my fault those bastards have all of the crystals now. I have to get them back."

Furious tears burned her eyes as she let out a short scream of frustration. "I don't give a damn about the crystals anymore! Let the Dark Kingdom have them! I don't care! You are the only one that matters to me! Not princesses! Not evil queens! Not brainwashed generals or youmas! Just you, you big, stupid idiot!"

Tuxedo Mask jerked like one of Jupiter's lightning bolts had just struck him. He couldn't remember how to breathe as he looked down into those bottomless, tear bright blue eyes. "Serena," he whispered.

"I love you!" she said suddenly as the dam broke and the scalding tears poured down her cheeks. "I know I shouldn't, but I do. And I'm tired of fighting against it. Maybe it's wrong, and maybe I'll roast in hell for it, but that's the way I feel and I can't deny it anymore."

She whipped the mask from his face. Then her arms were around his neck as she pulled his head down to hers and gave him a hot, scorching kiss.

He moaned at the feeling of her lips on his. This felt better than anything that he'd ever dreamed of. Even the kiss that Serenity had given him in his dream paled in comparison to this. He ignored the pain in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her even closer. He reached out with his tongue to lick at her lips and was rewarded when she almost purred and parted for him.

Her head spun as he invaded every part of her mouth and she responded eagerly by rubbing her tongue against his. Her dream prince be damned! Darien in the flesh was a hundred times more exciting than Endymion had ever been in her dreams. Her knees felt like they had turned to jelly, and if it hadn't been for his arms around her she was sure that she would have melted into a puddle on the ground. This was how she had always envisioned her first kiss being. It was soul shattering and heart stopping…and she never wanted it to end.

But fate was cruel sometimes, and when she heard Jupiter call out an attack and saw a bright flash of light behind her eyelids she knew that she had to get back to work. She pulled back slowly until their lips parted, and then she opened her eyes to gaze in wonderment at the sparkling sapphire orbs that were staring at her with the same expression of awe.

He lifted a hand and brushed the tears from her cheeks as he leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you too, Serena," he said softly. "I think I always have. Ever since the first day that you walked into the arcade like a ray of sunshine I haven't noticed any other girl but you."

Oh she was so tempted to pull his head down and taste those poetic lips again, but the red-orange flare of Mars' flames jerked her back to reality. She gave him a light push as she stepped back from him.

"Go home, Darien!" she demanded before she whirled and ran away, not wanting to give him a chance to argue with her. She only hoped that he would listen to her for once. Right now her friends needed her.

She raced back to the other side of the tower and found the scouts engaged in battle with the two Dark Kingdom generals. Attacks from both sides were flying in every direction.

"About time you came back!" Mars huffed as she shot a stream of fire at Zoicite, who teleported out of the way. "We could definitely use some help."

"Yeah, yeah," Sailor Moon muttered. Normally she would have snapped back at Mars, but she was still lightheaded from the amazing kiss that she had just shared with Darien. Maybe they could wrap this up quick and they could squeeze in a little more smoochy time tonight. That would be just fine with her. Now that she had decided to throw caution to the wind and take what she could get with him, she wanted to enjoy every moment of it.

She glanced around quickly to assess the situation. Mars and Mercury were teamed up to try and take out Zoicite while Jupiter and Venus were ganged up on Kunzite. She took a moment to admire Venus' fluid movements. She had never seen her fight before, and she had to admit that she was an impressive sight. She flipped and spun effortlessly to avoid Kunzite's boomerang and the bursts of dark energy he sent toward her while shooting a beam of golden light from her fingertip. It was no wonder that she had made such a realistic sailor scout in the movies; she really was one.

But all of the scouts were beginning to show signs of fatigue, and several cuts and bruises marred their skin. Sailor Moon wasn't sure if her attack would be any help, but as she looked up at the full moon in the sky above she decided to try it and see what happened.

She felt her tiara grow warm and begin to vibrate as it soaked up the rays of moonlight. "Close your eyes!" she called out a few seconds before she cried, "Moon Twilight Flash!" The entire area exploded in white light.

Once the flash faded all of the scouts opened their eyes and glanced around curiously. Kunzite and Zoicite had disappeared.

"Did I get them?" Sailor Moon mumbled.

A laugh came from above them and they looked up to find the two generals floating overhead.

Kunzite smirked. "You really need to learn some new attacks, Sailor Moon. By now we know your moves and have learned how to avoid them. You really are the most pathetic of the scouts if that is all you've got in your arsenal."

"Oh stick a sock in it, Kunzite!" Venus snapped. "Nobody wants to hear your blah, blah, blah."

"And we're sick of all of you!" Zoicite sneered as he flung his hands out. Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter were all blasted back several feet, leaving Sailor Moon standing alone before them.

Sailor Moon fumed. Pathetic was she? Well she'd show them. She whipped her tiara off and charged it quickly into a spinning golden disc that she threw at them with all her might.

Kunzite merely chuckled and twitched his fingers toward it, making it veer off course and sail over the side of the tower.

She gasped. Her tiara was her only weapon in a fight. Her wand wouldn't be any good against them. What was she going to do now?

Kunzite turned an evil smile on her. "Now, Miss Moon, or do you prefer Serena? In any case, perhaps you would like to enlighten me on how exactly to use these." He opened his other hand to reveal the Rainbow Crystals still resting on his palm.

Just like the last time she had seen them, she felt like she had fallen into a trance. She felt something tugging at her mind, like there was something important that she was supposed to remember, but she couldn't recall what it was. Then she felt a funny sensation in the pit of her stomach. It was almost as if there was another person inside of her that was trying to claw their way out.

Suddenly a scream exploded in her head. "Set me free!"

The crystals in Kunzite's hand suddenly flared brightly as she felt a soothing warmth in her chest. A spot on her forehead burned, but it wasn't painful. In fact, it felt familiar. Visions began flashing through her head like a movie on fast-forward.

She saw the moon kingdom. She remembered laughing with the scouts while they sat in the garden of the moon palace. She flung herself into Queen Serenity's arms, crying out happily, "Mother!" She recalled dancing in Endymion's arms as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I love you, my dearest princess, my Serenity."

She shook her head in denial. This had to be wrong. She couldn't be the princess. That was crazy! There was no way! She had to be to poorest candidate to be a princess that had ever existed. Princesses were graceful, gentle, and well mannered. She was loud and ran around crashing into things like a bulldozer. She adored food and took great pleasure in stuffing her face. Yep! She definitely wasn't princess material.

Kunzite gasped in rage as he saw the golden crescent moon that suddenly flared to life on Sailor Moon's forehead. As soon as he saw it he could remember the moon princess in vivid clarity. She had been hiding right under their noses this entire time, posing as one of her own scouts.

"Sailor Moon is Serenity, Zoicite!" he exclaimed. "Kill her! Kill her now before she summons the Silver Crystal for herself!"

Zoicite shook himself out of his stupor at this revelation and manifested a crystal shard of ice that was as big as a large tree branch. He hurled it at the girl that was rooted to the spot as if in a daze.

The scouts had begun stirring as they regained their breath after being blown to the ground with such force. As they sat up they saw the deadly projectile heading for their princess. "Serena!" they screamed.

The sound of their voices jerked her out of her reverie. Her eyes widened as she saw the huge spear of ice heading her way, but it was so close now that she knew she would never be able to move out of the way in time. She clenched her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable.

She heard a thud and a wet, sickening shlurp sound, but amazingly she felt no pain. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the shard bloody and embedded in her chest. But that wasn't what she saw at all.

Her eyes widened in horror. "Nooo!"

It was just like her worst nightmare all over again. Someone had been trying to kill her, and once again the man she loved had thrown himself into death's path to save her. She looked into those dark blue eyes that she loved so much and felt her heart shatter.

"Darien," she whispered in a voice that cracked with emotion.

Tuxedo Mask stood in front of her, facing her. His jaw was clenched and his eyes dull with pain, but he managed to rasp out, "Are you okay, Serena?"

"Why?" she cried. "Why did you do it?"

His lips quirked in what was almost a grin. "Because…I love you…Serena."

He gasped as the shard in his back suddenly vanished. Then he fell back to the ground.

"Darien!" Sailor Moon screamed as she went down beside him. Blood was flowing out of him so quickly that it formed a pool beneath him in only a matter of seconds. She ignored it as she gently pulled his upper body into her lap and hugged him close. His blood now covered her, but she didn't care.

"No! No! No!" she moaned as she rocked back and forth. "This can't happen! Not again! I can't take it!"

He stirred in her arms and his eyes half opened to look at her. "Be strong, Serena. Don't let them beat you like this. You're made of stronger stuff than that. You can beat them."

He reached a hand toward her face and she held it in hers as she pressed her cheek to his gloved palm. "I can't, Darien. I can't do this without you."

He snorted lightly. "Sure you can. You're Sailor Moon." Then his eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out."

"Darien!" she cried frantically, scared that he was dead. She shook him gently. "Darien! Please wake up! You can't leave me!"

She threw back her head as she felt something break inside her. "ENDYMION!" Her anguished cry rang through the night as a single teardrop slid down her cheek. It reached her jaw and hung there for a moment before dropping.

But it didn't fall far. It fell a few inches and then froze, suspended in midair as if held by an invisible string. It began glowing white, growing brighter and brighter until everyone on top of the tower had to cover their eyes to keep from going blind. When the light finally faded gasps were heard at the sight before them.

A round, diamond looking crystal floated in front of Sailor Moon. It was about the size of a jack ball, but it was dull and held no sparkle.

"The Silver Crystal," the sailor scouts whispered reverently as they went down on their knees beside their princess and her fallen prince.

"It's mine!" Kunzite snarled. "I won't let that brat have it!" Then he gasped in outrage as the Rainbow Crystals were jerked from his hand as if by an unseen force and they floated over to the newly revealed princess and the Silver Crystal.

Sailor Moon and the other scouts watched in awe as each Rainbow Crystal merged with the Silver Crystal. With each one that was absorbed the crystal gained some sparkle. By the time that the seventh one vanished it was glittering like the rarest of gems.

Sailor Moon felt a buzzing around her hip area and pulled out the Moon Crescent Wand. The completed Silver Crystal floated down and affixed itself in place inside the crescent. The moment it did there was a flash of light.

Sailor Moon gasped as several more memories poured into her head; picnics with her friends, late night giggle sessions with her mother, hiding from Luna to avoid her lessons…and of course, Endymion. She remembered all the nights that he had snuck up to the moon to see her or that she had come down to Earth to visit him. She had sworn to marry no one but him, and she had fought tooth and nail for him. And just when it appeared that they would finally be together…it had all fallen apart.

"I really am Serenity," she murmured.

"Yes, you are," Venus said softly. "We all hated deceiving you, but we thought it was best for you to remember on your own. We wanted to keep your identity a secret so we could keep you safe. That's why I took on Serenity's identity to try and lure the Dark Kingdom away from you."

"I understand, and I thank you, Venus," Sailor Moon replied gently as more tears fell from her eyes to land on the face of the man she still held close to her. "Did you hear that, Darien? I remember now. You were right before when you said I was Serenity. Come on, Darien! Open your eyes!"

Mercury had her computer out and was scanning him. "We need to get him out of here. He's still alive, but his vital signs are weak. He needs medical attention immediately. I may be able to help him, but I can't do it here."

"None of you are going anywhere!" Zoicite snarled. "I hope you all enjoyed your little reunion with your princess, because she's history!" He shot a storm of hundreds of razor sharp ice crystals at them.

Without thinking, Sailor Moon raised the wand and cried, "Cosmic Moon Power!" A burst of energy shot from the wand, dissipating the attack and hitting Zoicite. He flew back into one of the steel support beams hard before slamming into the ground.

Kunzite materialized beside him. "We can't take on her and the crystal right now. We need another plan."

Zoicite sat up slowly. "What can we do? Beryl will kill us when she finds out about this."

"Maybe not," Kunzite mused. "Especially if we come back bearing her a gift."

He summoned a cloud of dark energy and sent it to encompass Endymion's body. It jerked the prince free of the princess's grasp, and then he disappeared. Both of the generals vanished a second later.

"No!" Sailor Moon gasped as she jumped to her feet. She tripped on something, and looked down only long enough to see that she was wearing the long, formal white gown that had been Serenity's official royal attire. Funny, she had never sensed the change. But that was the last thing on her mind at the moment.

"Where did he go?" she cried as she spun around in a panic. "Darien!"

"They took him to Beryl," Mars said softly.

"No! I won't let her have him!" Serenity screeched. "I won't! Not after everything that we have been through! We have to do something! I…" Her eyes rolled back in her head as she crumpled to the ground.

Jupiter dashed forward and caught her. The white gown and the crescent moon faded away, leaving Serena in her school uniform. "I guess the stress finally caught up with her."

Venus nodded. "It's no surprise. She's had a major shock. And then Darien… Well, let's take her back to my place so she can rest. I'm sure we've got plans to make." She bent down and picked up the wand with the Silver Crystal.

Things were definitely about to get interesting, that was for sure. But now with Darien possibly dying and in the hands of the enemy, none of them were sure if it was going to get better any time soon. Right now all they could do was try to be as supportive of their princess as possible and try to help her cope with the loss of Darien and her new position in this fight.

* * *

**A/N **Dum, dum dum! So the big reveal has finally happened! At last! Oh, and to those of you that read _What If_ before this. I have decided that it will be getting a makeover once this story is done, so disregard everything that was in that story about how Serena and Darien had their first kiss then. I liked the idea of having their first real kiss happening here instead, so I put it in. And there may be more to come before all is said and done. I know you are all going "Oh no! Not Dark Endymion!" right about now, but I have plans for him, never fear. Besides, I think Dark Endymion is way hot. I've always been a sucker for a bad boy I guess. I have to admit that I had been dreading writing this chapter for some time now since I knew it would be an important bridge between the two parts of the season, but after the long hours and pouring my heart and soul into it, I think I'm fairly pleased with the way it turned out. I hope the rest of you feel the same way. Please drop me a review and tell me what you think. I depend on your feedback to keep me going. You guys are the best! I'll see you next update! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	22. Keeping It Together

**A/N **Okay guys! It's update time! I know I left you hanging at the end of the last chapter with the whole moon princess revealing, the Silver Crystal appearing, and Darien getting kidnapped thing, so I tried to get this together as quickly as I could for you. I did sit on it a day or so and went back to tweak some things until I felt it was good to go. Now I just hope that you guys like it. Let me get my hugs out and we'll get started. BIG HUGS TO:

**Shinobi of life**

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Tons of thank yous, as always. You guys are the best! Now on with the show!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 22

Keeping It Together

* * *

Mina pressed her ear against the door and listened carefully. After several long seconds she turned to Lita and whispered, "I think she finally stopped crying."

Lita blew out a breath. "Thank goodness! She's been going on for hours now and that can't be healthy. Maybe she fell asleep. The poor girl needs it after everything she's been through tonight."

After the disaster at the Starlight Tower earlier that evening, the scouts had brought the unconscious Serena back to Mina's house. She awakened almost as soon as they had arrived and had sat in a zombie-like state while the others had discussed the events that had taken place. She had politely declined Lita's offer of food and drink, and after a while had asked Mina if she could use one of the spare bedrooms to get some rest.

The girls had waited a few minutes before following her up the stairs and huddling around the door to the room their princess was in. They had shed tears of their own when they heard the muffled, gut wrenching sobs coming from inside the room. Mina had knocked and asked if she was okay, but Serena had moaned that she wanted to be alone. Figuring that she needed some time to grieve by herself, they had respected her wishes and retreated.

Raye had gone back to the shrine to consult the great fire and see if she could pick up on anything about Darien. She had taken the bloody mask that had fallen from his face when he had taken the attack that had been meant for Serena with her in hopes of receiving a vision about him. At this point none of them knew whether he was even alive. He had been gravely wounded and could possibly be dead by now.

"Should we check on her?" Lita asked nervously.

Mina shook her head. "No. If she's sleeping, then let her sleep. We'll give her a day or two to come to grips with everything. After that we'll work on getting her back into the swing of things. This fight is just getting started, and we're going to need her now more than ever before. But for now let's give her the space she wants."

Lita nodded sadly and the two girls descended the stairs back down to the first floor. Despite the fact that it was now early in the morning and they had been up all night, Amy sat in an armchair in the living room, studying her computer with bright, alert eyes.

"Find anything yet?" Mina asked her.

The blue head shook. "No. The only conclusion that I can come up with is that Beryl must have her base of operation hidden someplace with a strong magnetic field. That would explain why none of my scans have picked up on any big areas of negative energy, and it would have to be a huge amount since we're dealing with Beryl and Metallia, and who knows how many more youma she has stashed away as well. So I'm focusing my search on the polar areas for now, especially the Arctic. That entire region is thick with magnetic energy, so it seems like a logical place for them to be hiding."

"Here's hoping we can come up with something soon," Mina sighed. "And let's pray that Darien is still alive when we do find their hiding spot, for Serena's sake. I sure don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

All three of them shuddered at thought of how Serenity had refused to live without Endymion. No, none of them wanted a repeat of that. They all turned as the front door opened and Raye walked in. She looked pale, drawn, and exhausted.

"He's alive," she said in answer to their questioning looks. "He's healing slowly, but he's still in very critical condition. I tried to get a read on his location, but the amount of negative energy surrounding him is enormous. I felt Beryl's evil presence near him as well."

Amy sat back with a deep sigh. "Well at least she hasn't killed him."

"Of course she hasn't!" Lita snorted. "That crazy, twisted bitch never made it a secret that she wanted Endymion for herself, and she'd probably be just as happy to have his reincarnation. So I don't think that Darien's in any danger of being killed by her."

"But that witch could do other things to him," Mina said softly.

Raye nodded. "That's true. This is Darien Shields we're talking about, one of the most stubborn people on the planet. He won't give into her. And if there's one thing that I remember about Beryl it's that she can't stand to not get her way. And if Darien won't give her what she wants, then she'll force him. Darien is strong willed and all, but I don't think that even he could resist if she used enough negative energy on him. She could turn him into a mindless puppet."

"Well we're just going to have to find a way to stop her before that happens!" Mina growled in frustration.

Since they were in the living room off to the side of the foyer, none of them saw Serena sitting at the top of the stairs as she listened to their conversation. Nor did any of them hear her when she sniffled softly and wiped at the tears streaming from her reddened eyes as she stood up and walked back to the room she was using.

She crossed the room quickly and reached for her brooch and the wand with the Silver Crystal in it on the bedside table. In a flash she transformed into Sailor Moon and dashed to the window where she pushed it open wide. She leapt from the windowsill to the roof of a neighboring house and then made her way quickly across the rooftops.

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Kunzite stared in horrified fascination at the blackened spot on the floor where Zoicite had met his demise. It had been several hours now since Beryl had killed his fellow general in a fit of maniacal rage, but his eyes kept being drawn to that spot again and again.

When they had appeared in her throne room with the unconscious body of the Earth prince, she had immediately attacked. She had thrown the fake Rainbow Crystals at Zoicite screaming, "You imbecile! How dare you steal from me? I know it was you, you vile deceiver! Thanks to you the moon princess has appeared and now she has the Silver Crystal! You ignorant fool!"

"But my queen," Zoicite had begged. "We have brought you your prince that you wanted."

"And he's half dead thanks to you! Endymion was not to be harmed!" Beryl had raged. Then she had unleashed a powerful attack of negative energy unlike any that Kunzite had ever seen and had fried Zoicite into a pile of dust where he stood.

Then she had whirled on her head general. "Don't think you're out of the woods for your involvement in this, Kunzite! The only reason why I'm allowing you to live is because I know that you didn't physically steal the crystals from me. And you were kind enough to bring my prince to me, even if he is in a deplorable condition. But no worries, that can be fixed."

Then she had manifested shackles that bound Kunzite to her throne before vanishing with the reincarnated prince into Metallia's chamber below.

Kunzite shuddered at both the thought of Zoicite's last few moments of life and what that witch was probably doing to the Earth prince at this moment. It made him wonder what revenge she was plotting against him. Whatever it was, he hoped that it was a quick death. But knowing that evil, twisted bitch, she'd probably drag out his demise just because he was the last one that she had to torture besides her youma, and she considered the youma to be too far below her to warrant much of her attention.

So he was utterly astonished a few minutes later when his bonds fell away and Beryl's voice whispered almost gently through his head, "Join me, Kunzite."

Skeptical and extremely leery as to what the queen wanted with him, he stood and took a moment to rub his chaffed wrists gingerly before walking to the stairs that led down into Metallia's domain. He hesitated at the top of the stairs for several long seconds before drawing in a deep breath and descending. Whatever was waiting for him below was going to happen, and there was nothing he could do about it. He figured he may as well get it over with.

He stepped into Metallia's chamber and braced himself for the attack he was sure was about to hit him. When several seconds passed without it coming, he looked up curiously.

The black mass of nothingness that was Metallia still swirled inside the confines of the orange liquid that housed her, and she seemed to have doubled in mass since the last time that he had been down here, but he dismissed the dark entity and focused his attention on the other occupants of the room.

Beryl stood beside a shallow stone, coffin-like basin that was on top of a raised platform. Inside of it lay the body of the injured prince. The black haired young man's face was contorted in pain and his head tossed from side to side as he mumbled incoherent words under his breath. His long black cape and tuxedo jacket had been removed, leaving him in the blood spattered white shirt and vest.

"You called for me, my queen?" Kunzite finally asked quietly.

Beryl's crimson claws clicked agitatedly against the stone of the basin. "Yes, Kunzite. Now that I've had a chance to calm myself I want to talk to you. This incarnation of Endymion seems to be just as stubborn as his past one." She waved her hand toward the glowing orb of energy that she had been saving just for the purpose of converting the prince to her side. "Both his mind and his body seem to be trying to resist the influence of my negative energy. I haven't even been able to heal his wounds properly. Thank goodness it appears that he has kept some of his healing powers from his past life or he would probably be dead by now."

A slither of anticipation worked its way down Kunzite's spine. "Does this mean that you won't be able to brainwash him the way you had hoped?" His fingers twitched at the thought of being able to slit the prince's throat. He would like nothing better than to rid himself of the meddlesome brat. Now that he was alone in his quest, he wanted to be the one at Beryl's side. He would need hers and Metallia's powers in order to retrieve the Silver Crystal from Serenity. After that, he would come up with a way to get rid of both of them and take over the world. And he didn't need any competition standing in his way.

Beryl let out a feral hiss. "Don't be ridiculous, Kunzite! You underestimate my powers! I will be able to turn him. It just may take more time and energy than I originally thought. But in the meantime I don't trust that conniving Serenity or her scouts to not try to find us and attempt to take Endymion away from me again. So I want you to keep an eye on them and make sure that they aren't planning anything until Endymion's conversion is complete. Is that understood?"

Even though it galled him to still be taking orders from the witch, he bowed respectfully. "As you wish, my queen."

Her reddish brown eyes narrowed on him. "Tread carefully, Kunzite. I will be watching you carefully until I feel like you have regained my trust once again. Don't think I've forgotten your part in the recent treachery against me. Now go!"

Once the general had left she turned her attention back to the young man lying before her. He had lived up to all of her expectations that she had expected Endymion's reincarnation to be, tall, lean, but firmly muscled, broad shoulders, and of course that silky midnight hair that just begged a woman to run her fingers through it. And though she had yet to see him with his eyes open, she had no doubt that he possessed those same deep sapphire eyes that had captured her attention all those centuries ago. He was exactly the same as he had been during the Silver Millennium.

"Now back to you, my prince," she cooed as she ran a crimson fingernail down his cheek. "It won't be long now until you are completely mine."

Though unconscious, the prince grimaced and turned his head away from her. His teeth gritted together as if he were in severe pain as he moaned, "Serena!"

A wave of fury coursed through Beryl. So he was still lusting for that moon bitch was he? She doubled the amount of negative energy she had surrounding his body, causing him to jerk violently and cry out before he fell back limply against the stone.

"What is your name, dear prince?" Beryl demanded sharply.

He groaned as his head tossed from side to side. "Darien…"

A feline smile turned up Beryl's lips. "It won't be for much longer…Endymion. Soon you will belong only to me and become my king."

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

"Luna, are you down here?" Artemis called as he descended the stairs down into the control room under the arcade.

He heard a rustling sound as a small black shape curled up on the sofa moved. The only light in the room came from the glowing computer monitors, but he could clearly see a pair of cinnamon colored eyes looking at him from out of the gloom.

"Artemis?" came a dry, scratchy sounding whisper.

He hopped up on the sofa. "Hey there, kitty," he said gently.

"What are you doing here?" Luna asked, remaining curled up in a tight ball.

He chuckled softly. "I'm looking for you, of course. You took off so fast earlier. I was worried about you."

A muffled sniffle came from the black ball of fur. "I just couldn't stay there anymore, Artemis! Did you see the look on Serena's face? She looked dead! This is not the way I pictured things being when she finally reclaimed the crystal and remembered who she was. I feel like I've failed her!"

Artemis nudged her with his head. "You haven't failed her, Luna. None of us could have ever imagined things turning out like this. There was nothing that you could have done."

"Yes I could have!" Luna screeched. "Serena was always asking me questions about the past. I could have told her the truth at any time. But instead I hid it from her. What kind of a guardian does that make me? I was supposed to guide and support her and I failed! Now instead of having my happy, smiling princess returned to me she is a broken hearted, emotional wreck. Queen Serenity would have my head for allowing this to happen to the princess if she were here."

"No she wouldn't!" he insisted. "The queen knew that there were risks to this plan to have everyone reincarnated. We also knew that Darien would be at risk if the Dark Kingdom found out who he was. He understood that too. That was why he helped protect Serena's identity. He wanted to keep her safe for as long as possible."

Luna choked on a sob as she got up and jumped to the floor. "And what good did any of it do? We are still in just as sticky a situation as we were on that last day on the moon. The only good thing is that all the scouts are still alive, at least for now. The prince is gone and the princess is barely functioning. This has all the makings for another disaster."

Artemis jumped down to join her. "All is not lost yet. Darien is only wounded and captured. Raye came back a while ago and said that he's still alive. And you've been telling me for months about how stubborn Serena is compared to how Serenity was. I don't think she'll give up easily. Sure, she's upset right now, but I think when it comes down to it she will fight back. She's not the princess we once knew. Inside of her beats the heart of a sailor scout."

Luna looked at him in surprise. "Oh, great goddess, you're right! When did you become so introspective?"

He grinned at her. "It's a gift."

She snorted. "Please! But you are right about Serena. I wasn't sure at first about making her Sailor Moon, but after a few trips and tumbles she took to the job admirably. She's strong. She may be knocked down right now, but I believe that she'll get back up."

"And she's going to need everyone, including her advisor, right there with her," Artemis stated. "So why don't we head back to the house. Serena had gone up to rest in one of the bedrooms, but I have a feeling we're going to be busy once she wakes up."

"You're probably right," Luna agreed as she followed him out of the control room. It only took them a few minutes to leave the arcade and make their way a few blocks away to Mina's house. As they entered through the cat door that was situated in the back door, they could hear voices coming from the living room.

"We may as well give it up for now," Lita mumbled around a yawn. "We've been up all night. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm bushed."

"Yeah, me too," Raye grumbled. "It's been a long, hectic night, and I need to recharge. Reading the fire took a lot out of me."

"We probably should get some sleep," Amy agreed. "I have the computer set to do continuous scans, so it will alert us if it picks up on anything."

"That's probably the best idea. We're not going to do anyone any good if we're all walking around like zombies," Mina commented. Then her eyes fell on the two cats in the doorway. "Hey guys! I was wondering where you had gotten off to."

Luna shook her head. "I just had to get away and do some thinking. Do you think you could let me into Serena's room? I want to be with her."

The girls all looked around at each other for a moment before Mina stood up. "Sure, Luna. We've kept our distance because she said that she wanted to be alone, but I bet you would be good for her. You can usually talk to her when no one else can."

Luna followed Mina up the stairs and down the hall to a closed door. Mina knocked lightly. "Serena? Hmm…she must be sleeping." She reached for the doorknob and opened the door.

Their first indication that something was wrong was the blast of cold air that hit them the moment the door opened. Then they saw the open window…and the empty bed.

"SERENA!" they both shrieked.

Footsteps pounded up the staircase. A few seconds later Raye, Lita, and Amy appeared with Artemis right on their tails.

"What's going on?" Lita gasped, already on guard in case she needed to beat someone up.

"Serena's gone!" Mina cried.

Raye pushed her aside so that she could stomp into the room. "What do you mean she's gone?"

Mina rolled her eyes. "I mean that I opened the door to find an empty bedroom! What the hell did you think I meant, Pyro? And since the window is wide open I'm sure it's safe to assume that she didn't just wander down the hall to the bathroom!"

Lita punched the doorframe. "Well where do you think she could have gone? Home maybe?"

"I don't know. She might have," Mina murmured as she chewed nervously on her bottom lip. "I guess we should go check. I hope to god that's where she is. I hate to think of her out roaming the city alone in her frame of mind. There's no telling what could happen to her."

"Everybody just calm down a moment!" Amy spoke up shrilly. "Her wand and brooch are both missing, so that means that she has the Silver Crystal with her. That also means that I can track the crystal's energy signature with my computer and it will tell us exactly where it is."

"And wherever we find it, we'll find Serena," Raye sighed in relief.

Amy began typing on her computer. After a moment she smiled. "I've got her!" Then the smile faded.

"What is it?" Mina demanded.

Amy's blue eyes flew up to meet hers in a panic. "She's gone back to Starlight Tower. But that's not the bad part. I'm reading a dark energy presence near her."

"Shit!" Lita and Raye exclaimed together as they raced to the window. In a blinding crackle of fire and lightning they transformed in a rush just milliseconds before leaping over the windowsill.

Mina and Amy weren't far behind. Golden stars swirled with icy bubbles for just a moment. Then Venus snatched up Artemis while Mercury scooped Luna up into her arms before jumping out the window after their sister scouts.

* * *

Serena stood at the railing that encircled the top observation platform of Starlight Tower, looking out over the city. There was still another hour or so until sunrise, but already the sky at the edge of the horizon was beginning to show just the first hints of lightening.

She sighed as her fingers tightened around the iron railing. A new day was going to dawn, and it looked as if it would be a bright and sunny one, but Darien wouldn't be here. Her eyes prickled at the thought, but no tears came forth. Sometime, during the dark hours of the night, she had finally cried herself dry.

"Darien," she whispered. Oh how her heart burned just at the thought of him. Where was he right now? Was he okay? He had been so badly injured when she had last seen him. Was he still alive? She had overheard Raye saying that he was, but that had been over an hour ago. Was he still clinging to life? Was he healing? Or had death come and claimed him?

She shook her head. He was still alive. She knew it. She had tried repeatedly to reach out to him through the bond that they shared, and though she couldn't sense him as clearly as she could before she could at least tell that he was still alive. She couldn't tell much more than that, but it was better than not knowing anything at all.

She figured that her mind should be a swirling void of confusion at this point. She had memories and visions from what she now knew was her past life constantly bombarding her brain, but they were hazy when compared to her thoughts of this life. Her past self and Endymion may have been madly in love in the past, but she could care less about what had happened a thousand years ago. All that mattered to her was Darien in the here and now, and her friends.

Her friends…she felt bad about sneaking out without them knowing and she knew she should go back before they discovered that she was gone and worried them, but she'd needed this time to get away and try to get her head back on straight. Well, as straight as possible anyway given the current circumstances.

But before she headed back she needed to get rid of her stalker. She had sensed him watching her for a while now, and she didn't want to lead him back to Mina's house, just on the off chance that he didn't already know where she lived. The other girls were worn out from the night they'd been through and she didn't want them pulled into a fight right now if she could keep from it.

"You may as well come on out, Kunzite. I know you're there," she said in a quiet, yet commanding voice.

A large shape shifted in the shadows, and then the platinum haired general stepped out. He ran a wary, but amused gaze over her. "Princess Serenity," he practically sneered. "Have you turned psychic now? Perhaps you have been taking lessons from Lady Mars."

She snorted. "Like I would have to be psychic to sense you! Your presence reeks of so much dark energy that a toddler could sense it!"

His lips turned up in a smirk. "Ooo, so I see that reclaiming your birthright hasn't quieted that tongue of yours. You're still as feisty as ever it seems."

"Cut the crap, Kunzite!" she snapped. "I want to know why you've been watching me from the shadows like some kind of deranged pervert. Did Beryl send you to kill me?"

He chuckled. "Not yet. She just wanted me to keep an eye on you and make sure that you weren't plotting some big revenge against her yet. Of course, if you want to go ahead and hand over the Silver Crystal I'll be happy to take it off your hands."

Her red rimmed blue eyes blazed. "And if you want to give Darien back to me I'll be happy to take him back as well!"

"Darien…" he mused. "Oh! You mean Endymion. I'm sorry, but the prince is tied up with Queen Beryl at the moment."

Pain lanced her chest at his words. "Just get out of here!" she spat. "The sight of you sickens me. The real Kunzite would have stood at Endymion's back and protected him, and not handed him over to that witch!"

An evil grin appeared on his face. "That pathetic excuse for a man ceased to exist a long time ago. Now his body serves a much more useful function than being the lapdog for the prince of Earth."

Anger bubbled up inside Serena. "Yeah, because being Beryl's bitch is so much better, isn't it?"

His eyes went as cold and hard as flint. "I don't care who you are!" he snarled. "Princess or no princess, I'll snap that pretty little neck of yours." He lunged at her.

She jumped back, jamming her hand down into the pocket of her skirt and pulling out her wand. Her crescent moon birthmark flared to life on her forehead while the innocent looking crystal in the wand began glowing.

"Don't you touch me!" she hissed in a furiously trembling voice.

Kunzite pulled up short at the sight of the enraged girl in front of him. This was definitely not the meek, soft-spoken princess of the past. This girl had fire and spirit, and as long as she held the Silver Crystal she could prove to be dangerous.

"Serena!" several voices cried at that moment. A few seconds later the sailor scouts arrived on the scene.

Venus took one look at her distressed friend before whirling on Kunzite. "What the hell did you do to her?"

The impartial mask fell back into place on his face. "I didn't do anything to her highness. We were merely talking. Obviously she didn't like what I had to say."

"And where's your little sidekick at?" Jupiter growled, cracking her knuckles. "Is Zoicite hiding in the shadows waiting to ambush us?"

Mercury was examining her computer. "I'm not reading Zoicite anywhere around here."

"Ah, Zoicite," Kunzite sighed. "I'm afraid you won't be seeing him anymore. Queen Beryl was displeased with the fact that he managed to injure Endymion and decided to dispose of him."

Mars shot a quick look at Mercury and saw her friend swallow hard. But other than that the blue suited scout didn't betray any emotions. Then she turned her attention back to Kunzite. "So that means that you are the last little cockroach standing in the way between us and Beryl. I can live with that."

'_Kunzite, you fool!' _he heard Beryl's voice screech through his head. _'I told you to keep an eye on them, not pick a fight. There will be plenty of time for that later. Now get out of there and get your ass back here now!'_

"Well ladies, this has been fun, but I'm afraid I have to leave you now," he said cordially as he opened a portal. "But try not to miss me too much. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again soon." He stepped through and disappeared.

"Darn!" Mercury muttered. "I was hoping to get a reading on that portal, but it closed too quickly for me to scan. If I could just figure out where it goes it could give me a clue as to where the Dark Kingdom's base is."

Serena let out a sigh as she slid the wand back into her pocket. "It's okay, Amy. We'll track them down eventually. They can't hide forever."

"You!" Mars hissed, whirling around to pin her best friend with flaming eyes. "What the hell were you thinking? You had no business going out alone! Do you know what could have happened to you?"

Serena knew that her friend was just reacting strongly out of fear for her, so she forced her voice to be gentle as she spoke. "Nothing was going to happen to me, Raye. If Kunzite had attacked me I would have taken care of it. Don't forget that I am a sailor scout the same as you and I know how to fight."

Mars stomped a red high heel. "But you are our princess!"

Serena shook her head. "No. I was a princess a long time ago, but not anymore. Now I am just plain old Serena Tsukino, a high school sophomore that happens to moonlight as Sailor Moon. I may know about my past now, but I am still the same person I was yesterday. Nothing's changed."

"Wow! That was deep, coming from you," Jupiter snickered.

"I'm proud of you, Serena," Luna spoke up from where she was perched on Mercury's shoulder. "You are showing a very grown up and mature attitude about this."

Serena giggled. It was a little forced sounding, but it was genuine. "Well after I had a good cry and had a chance to think about things, I figured that I wouldn't be able to defeat the Dark Kingdom if I just sat down and quit. The people of the world need us to get rid of Beryl and Metallia, and I'm not going to let them down."

"Spoken like a true sailor scout," Mercury said softly, her eyes shining with pride.

Venus slung an arm over Serena's shoulders. "That's right! And try not to worry too much about Darien. We'll find a way to get him back from Beryl."

Mars came up beside Serena and wrapped an arm around her waist where she squeezed her gently. "Yeah! We're going to get him back. Just keep believing in that."

A few tears leaked from Serena's eyes and she sniffled as she leaned her head against her raven-haired friend's shoulder. "Thanks, Raye."

Jupiter pounded a fist into her palm. "That bitch Beryl better watch her ass, because the sailor scouts are gunning for her. If we stick together she doesn't have a hope and a prayer. Right team?" She held a hand out, palm down.

"Right!" Mercury agreed as she laid her hand on top of Jupiter's.

Mar's added her hand to the pile. "Damn straight!"

"Absolutely!" Venus cheered as she joined in.

"You guys are the best!" Serena said softly as she laid her hand on top.

"Don't forget about us!" Artemis grumbled.

Luna sniffed. "Yes. We are in this too."

The girls laughed as Mercury and Venus held the two cats forward so that they could add their furry black and white paws to the stack.

"So what's first on the agenda, boss lady?" Venus teased.

Serena yawned. "Sleep! I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like I could pass out for a year. I think we could all use a good rest before we start trying to plan anything. My brain feels like it's the same consistency as one of Drew's milkshakes right now."

"And how is that different from any other day?" Mars grumbled next to her.

Serena elbowed her. "Watch it, Pyro!" Then she grasped the brooch on the front of her shirt and said, "Moon Prism Power!"

A few seconds later Sailor Moon jumped up onto the iron railing. "The first one back to Mina's gets first dibs on the shower." Then she leapt away.

The other scouts followed her, smiling in happiness that their friend and princess seemed to be recovering from her shock. They had been afraid that this would break her spirit, but she was fighting back.

A half hour later Serena walked into the bedroom at Mina's house that she was using. She was fresh from a shower and wrapped in a towel. Thanks to Mina's high-powered hair dryer her hair was dry and hung in rippling waves and golden curls to her knees. She smiled when she saw both Luna and her bag on the bed.

"Oh good! Somebody brought my bag up," she said gratefully as she pulled out her fluffy pink flannel pajamas. "I thought I was going to have to go looking for it."

Luna cracked an eye open. "Lita brought it in for you before she went to go find a place to sleep."

"That was nice of her," Serena said, her voice muffled as she pulled the shirt over her head. Then she set the bag on the floor. Before she climbed into bed she pulled her brooch off the front of her discarded school uniform shirt and took the wand from her skirt pocket and set them on the bedside table. Then she pulled another item from the pocket and clenched it tightly in her hand.

Luna sat up when she saw it. "Where did you get that?"

Serena shrugged. "I found it when I went back to Starlight Tower. It must have fallen out of Darien's pocket." She opened her hand to look at the golden star locket that rested in her palm. Now that she had some of her memories back this locket had become precious to her.

"This was mine in the Silver Millennium, Luna," she whispered.

The feline nodded. "Yes, I know."

Serena ran her fingertips over it lightly. "I gave this to Endymion as a promise that I would marry him and so that he would have something of mine to look at and remember me during the times that we couldn't see each other. Somehow it found its way back to Darien in this time. Now I know why he kept trying to give it to me as a Christmas gift. He said that he felt it belonged to me, and he was right. It's funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it."

"Yes it is," Luna replied softly. "Now it's time for you to get some sleep young lady."

"Yes ma'am!" Serena laughed gently. She fastened the locket around her neck before crawling under the covers and pulling them up to her chin. "Goodnight, Luna."

Luna curled up next to her. "Goodnight, Serena."

* * *

Darien tried for what felt like the thousandth time to push his way through the oppressive darkness that he felt like he had been swimming in forever. He felt like he was repeating a never-ending cycle. Each time he felt like consciousness was hovering on the edges of his mind he would reach for it, only to be dragged back down into a black pit of nothingness again.

This time is was closer than ever. He could almost see a faint light behind his closed eyelids and a burning pain tore through his back. He ignored the pain and concentrated on trying to wake up. The last thing he remembered was Serena's frightened face after he had protected her from Zoicite's attack. Was she okay? He had to wake up and find out.

He tried reaching out with their bond to sense her. He did feel her, but it was very faint, almost like she was far away from him. But the fact that he could sense her at least let him know that she was alive.

He felt something touch his cheek and he flinched away from it. It wasn't just the icy coldness of the touch that made him recoil; it was also the heavy feeling of dread that settled in the pit of his stomach that had him longing to escape whatever it was that was touching him. He was no spiritualist, but even he could feel the negativity in the air around him. Something wasn't right.

The darkness began pressing in on him again, dragging him back down into unconsciousness. He fought against the pull as hard as he could, but eventually it closed in around him like a cocoon and swallowed him up. Just before he lost all sense of reality, he heard a low, sinister chuckle that sent shivers down his spine. He knew that laugh from somewhere. He just couldn't quite place it.

Then a bright light flashed through the darkness, making it just as impossible to see as the darkness had a few moments before. Then he felt the sensation of falling before landing hard on his butt. What the hell? Were you supposed to feel things when you were unconscious?"

Then he realized that he could see. And as he looked around he realized that he was sitting on a patch of grass in his dream garden.

No, he told himself, this was more than just his dream garden. Now that he had regained some of Endymion's memories he recognized this place as being the rose garden of the castle he had lived in when he had been the prince of Earth. He could even see the castle looming in the distance on the other side of the hedge maze that surrounded the rose garden.

He grinned to himself. It made sense now why the Serenity of his dreams had always met him here. This garden was secluded and private, and it had been the favorite meeting spot for his past self and Serenity when she would sneak down from the moon to visit him. They would spend hours here, sometimes talking and sometimes just enjoying comfortable silences. And then there were the times that they…

"Whoa! Brick wall!" he said out loud as he forced his thoughts to stop before they went any further. Since he had been out of it for who knows how long, he hadn't had a chance to think about anything, much less Endymion's memories. But now that he had a chance to delve into them a little bit he almost wished he hadn't. It seemed that the prince and princess had been a naughty little couple. Okay, maybe naughty wasn't the right word to use, but they sure hadn't practiced celibacy.

He slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned. Oh god! Serena must have remembered some of their past relationship beforehand. That explained why she had thought that she had betrayed her princess with him in her past life and had tried to push him away the way she did. It all made sense now. It also explained the few times that he had caught her staring at him with some emotion he couldn't identify burning in her eyes. She must have remembered their past selves being…intimate…together.

"No wonder she was acting like a space case," he grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet. He felt like one himself at the moment. He'd already had a hard enough time keeping his hands to himself and keeping perverted thoughts out of his head where the petite blonde was concerned. Now it was ten times worse.

'_Don't think about that right now!' _he scolded himself. He had far more important things to think about. Like what the hell had happened after he passed out in Serena's arms. He was still alive, obviously. And since he now had some of Endymion's memories floating around in his head, he could only assume that the Silver Crystal had been completed. But who had it now, Serena, or the Dark Kingdom? He also had the problem of not knowing where he physically was at the moment. The negative energy that he had felt when he was semi-conscious led him to believe that he had been captured by Kunzite and Zoicite. But had he been the only one, or had Serena and the scouts been taken as well?

He wandered over to the fountain and sat on the edge as he stared up at the moon overhead. "I really could use your help right now, Serenity," he whispered. Then he chuckled sadly. Serenity had come to him in his dreams for as long as he could remember, but now she never would again. She had told him that once the Silver Crystal was restored that she would vanish to become one with Serena.

"So now I guess I'm alone even here," he sighed. Then he sat up straight. "Oh, man up, Shields! Sitting around feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to do anyone any good. Put that genius brain of yours to work and see if you can't figure out what the hell is going on."

So he propped his elbows on his knees and got to thinking. But the more he thought, the more questions kept popping up in his mind. He was on the verge of ripping his hair out in frustration when he realized something.

The entire garden was glowing brightly, and growing brighter by the second. He looked up in the sky and had to shield his eyes to keep from being blinded by the light of the moon. It hung heavy and full in the sky and seamed to be beaming every bit of its light down on this one spot.

A flash of pink and gold caught his eye as it fell out of nowhere and hit the ground. He jumped to his feet as the moonlight faded back to normal to get a look at what had just dropped in. He was moving cautiously toward it when it began to move.

"Oww!" a familiar voice complained. "That hurt! Since when did dreams become so painful?"

His heart leapt in his chest. Surely that couldn't be…"Serena?" he asked softly.

Her head shot up in a flurry of golden silk. She swiped the long strands out of her face as her wide blue eyes darted around. When they landed on him they grew even wider, practically swallowing her entire face. "Darien!" she gasped.

"It is you!" he cried, dashing over to her and scooping her up off the ground. He held her in his arms and laughed as he spun them around a few times.

"Whoa! Getting dizzy here!" she exclaimed as she clutched at his shoulders.

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologized as he sat her on her feet. But he continued to hold her close to him in a giant hug.

After a moment she pushed lightly against his chest and took a step back. "I knew I should have eaten something before going to bed. Sleeping on an empty stomach is giving me hallucinogenic dreams. As if I haven't had a hard enough time sleeping lately as it is!"

He threw back his head and laughed. "I am so glad that you're okay! I wasn't sure what happened after I passed out." He tried to hug her again.

She jumped back a step. "Hold up just a minute there, mister. What in the world is going on? This is just a dream, right? You're not really Darien. You're just some version of him that my brain conjured up. That's the way dreams work."

He smiled as he listened to her trying to rationalize this situation. He had no idea how she was there either. Maybe it was because she was Serenity's reincarnation. Whatever the reason was, he didn't care. She was there now and that was all that mattered.

He grabbed her hand. "Serena, I don't really know how to explain what's happening, but somehow we are sharing the same dream. I'm really me. I was just sitting here when you popped in."

"Dropped in is more like it," she grumbled as she rubbed her butt with her free hand. "If this is really a dream then it's the most realistic feeling dream I've ever had. That landing could use some work."

He chuckled. "Tell me about it. I've complained about it many times myself."

Serena raised an eyebrow in question. "What do you mean _many times_?"

He shrugged. "Remember how I told you that Serenity had been in my dreams as long as I could remember and that they always seemed real?" He waited until she nodded before he gestured around them. "Well, welcome to my dream world."

She took her first opportunity to really look around and her mouth fell open. "I know this place. I've been here before. This is the garden where we, well our past selves anyway, used to meet."

"Yep!" he said smugly. "It's still technically a dream, but we are still ourselves."

"Wow!" she whispered as she continued to look around.

Darien took pleasure in watching her wondrous face for another minute before sobering. "So what happened, Serena? The last thing I remember is stopping Zoicite from killing you and then I passed out. What happened after that? Did the Silver Crystal appear?"

She pulled away from him and wrapped her arms around her stomach like she was physically trying to hold herself together. "Yes. The Silver Crystal was restored and came to me. I started getting back my memories of the past and realized that I was Serenity. Zoicite tried to attack us, but I blasted him back. And then…" A sob choked in her throat and she fell to her knees.

He was beside her in a second. "And then what?" he asked gently.

Tears poured from her eyes as she looked up at him. "I don't know how it happened. One second I was holding you, and the next you were gone. Kunzite and Zoicite took you and vanished. They took you to Beryl."

"Hey, it's okay," he said softly as he cupped her face in his hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm fine as far as I can tell. Granted I've been unconscious the whole time, but I've come close to waking up a few times, so I'm still alive."

"I overheard the other girls talking," Serena said glumly. "They think that Beryl will try to brainwash you to her side and make you work for her."

He snorted. "She can try! You've always told me that I had a head harder than a brick, right Meatball Head? If she wants me then she'll have a fight on her hands. I don't give up easily."

She giggled weakly. "That's true. But I can't help but worry. She's strong, Darien, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "You just concentrate on coming up with a way to get rid of the witch. With any luck I'll find my own way out of there and back to you before you know it. Then we'll face her together."

"I hope so!" she cried as she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in the juncture of his shoulder.

He rubbed her back as he felt her hot tears against his skin. "Shh…we're going to beat this. We just have to be strong. For now I'm just glad that you're safe."

She pulled back and swiped at her eyes. "Are you kidding? The girls have gathered around me like a pack of guard dogs. I may end up strangling them before it's over."

He laughed softly. "It's because they love you." Then his eyes bored into hers. "I love you too, Serena."

She looked up at him, eyes wet and lips trembling. "Darien…"

He cut her off by dipping his head down and capturing her lips with his. This might be just a dream, but she felt so real. He could taste her tears and feel her shaking body pressed up against his. He groaned at the feel and the taste of her as he slid his tongue past her lips to delve in deeper and felt her melt against him.

Serena moaned as she slid her hands up Darien's chest to his shoulders and then plunged her fingers into the dark silk of his hair. This may just be a dream, but he felt un-freaking-believable! She molded her lips to his and let her tongue meet his, stroke for stroke. True, she didn't really have any experience when it came to kissing, but good lord it couldn't get any better than this!

Darien usually prided himself on being cool and level headed, but the moment he felt Serena throw herself into the kiss and begin responding with reckless abandon all rational though flew right out of his brain. In a haze, he pulled his lips from hers and began nibbling on her jaw, delighting in her breathy little sighs before kissing his way down the slim, white column of her neck.

He paused when he met a gold chain and pulled back just enough to glance down at the v-neck of her pajama shirt. He grinned broadly. "So now you accept your Christmas gift, huh?"

She reared back and slapped at his shoulder. "Don't start being a jerk! I found the locket at Starlight Tower after you were taken. I figured that since it was technically mine I had the right to wear it! But if you want it back…" She reached up like she was going to rip the locket from her neck.

He covered her hand with his. "No! Keep it. You gave it to me once as a promise. Now I'm giving it back with a promise of my own. I will come back to you, Serena. I swear it."

She threw her arms around his neck. "You better!" she cried. "I need you to get through this. We've been together since the beginning. I need you with me!"

He returned her embrace. "I'll always be with you, Serena. No matter what, I'll be right beside you." He gasped as he felt pain rip through his back. "I think I'm trying to wake up again."

Serena clung to him. "No! You can't leave me! I need you with me right now!"

He pressed his lips into her hair and whispered, "I'll always be with you, Serena, no matter what. Always remember that."

"I will," she said softly. "I love you, Darien."

He hugged her tighter for a moment. "I love you too."

And just like that, he disappeared from her arms once again.

Serena sat there; feeling lost, for several long moments until she was pulled into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Deep in Beryl's lair, Darien slowly opened his eyes. At first all he could see was the dark, rocky ceiling above him. He ground his teeth together as the pain set in. He felt as if every nerve ending in his body was on fire.

"Well, my prince," a voice purred next to him. "I'm glad to see that you have finally decided to wake up and grace me with your presence. I've been waiting for you."

He turned his head slightly and growled, "Beryl!"

The flame haired woman smiled wickedly. "It's nice to see that you remember me, Endymion. I was afraid that being reincarnated with the power of the Silver Crystal might have altered your memories."

"Oh no, I remember you," he gritted out between his teeth. "Your evil face isn't one I could easily forget."

Beryl tapped a scarlet tipped fingernail against her chin. "Now, now, there's no need to get nasty. I know things didn't end well between us last time, but that's all about to be rectified. After all of this time I finally have you. And it won't be long until you are mine."

Darien managed to snort a laugh. "You're deluding yourself, Beryl. I'm no one's lapdog. And I have no more intentions of joining you know than I did in the past. So you may as well get over yourself."

A scowl twisted her features. "It's all because of that damn moon princess! But never fear, my prince. You lay before me now, injured and powerless, and with no comprehension of the depth of my powers. I believe you will find that I can be very…persuasive. By the time I am done working my magic you will be willing to do my bidding, and your sweet Serenity will be nothing more than a nuisance that stands in our way on the path to power. Who knows, maybe I'll even let you have the honor of killing her yourself. That could be amusing. Yes, very amusing indeed. I can already picture the look of shock on the moon brat's face as she realizes that the man she loves is about to end her life."

"You sick, twisted bitch!" Darien spat. "Serena is ten times the woman you are! I hope she feeds your remains to the sharks when she's done kicking your ass!"

Beryl leaned forward and gripped his chin between her fingers. "Careful, Endymion," she hissed in a quiet, deadly tone. "I have more patience with you than I do anyone else, but it will wear thin quickly if you continue to insult me. I allow no one to speak to me in the manner that you have. You would do well to remember that."

He jerked his head away from her icy fingers. "I'll try to keep that in mind," he grumbled. What he really wanted to do was light into the bitch. But as she had pointed out he was injured and not exactly in his best fighting form. He also didn't want to do something stupid like piss the witch off so much that she actually killed him. It would be hard to get back to Serena if he were dead.

Beryl stepped back with a feline smile. "Very well. Now it's time to take care of a little business. This shouldn't hurt as long as you don't fight back against it. So I would suggest that you just lay there quietly and be a good boy."

Darien stiffened as a dark cloud of negative energy settled over him. He concentrated on using all of the meditative and mental exercises that his sensei had taught him during his years of martial arts training as he felt the fog of evil energy try to invade his mind. He also found himself drawing on Endymion's memories as well as he recalled long forgotten lessons with Nephrite, who had spent hours teaching his prince how to guard his mind against an attack.

He wasn't sure if it would be enough. His energy supply was severely depleted at the moment. But if Beryl thought for one second that he was just going to lay back and let her take control of his life, then she had another thing coming. He would fight her every step of the way. He had made a promise to Serena that he was going to make it back to her, and that was what he was going to do.

* * *

Andrew raised his head from the counter and looked at the five girls sitting in front of him. "So let me get this straight." He pointed to Mina. "You are not the princess." His finger swiveled to Serena. "And you are. And now Darien's been kidnapped by some psycho queen that wants to have her wicked way with him. I'm I getting all this right?"

"That's pretty much it in a nutshell," Serena said glumly as she swirled a straw through the milkshake that Andrew had sat in front of her and demanded that she drink as soon as she walked into the arcade and he had seen her pale face.

"That's…wow! That's intense," Andrew muttered. Then he groaned. "I know this sucks big time, but I can't help but be a little jealous of him. All the ladies are always after him. I guess women just don't like blondes. Maybe I should dye my hair black and start acting like a jerk. Perhaps then I could get some female attention."

Mina opened her mouth, but snapped it shut a second later and turned to glare at Lita, who had just kicked her in the leg.

"Now is not the time for you to start flirting!" Lita hissed.

"Like you weren't thinking it yourself!" Mina shot back in a furious whisper.

Serena smiled gently at Andrew. She knew that her old friend was cracking jokes in an attempt to make her feel better. But she could see the slight shaking of his hands as he wiped the already spotless counter and knew that he was just as worried about Darien as she was.

"I don't think that you're hurting for female company right now, Drew," she joked back. "You're the only guy in this arcade right now that has five girls all to himself."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's me. I'm just a regular ladies man. Now quit yapping and drink that shake. You look like you could use the sugar."

She dutifully took a sip, but that was all she could manage. She was still fighting to keep down the lunch that Lita had made her eat when they all had gotten up early this afternoon. She had thought that she was hungry until the food had been placed before her. But after the first few bites had dropped into her stomach like lead weight she had started to feel nauseous. But the other girls had banded together and insisted that she needed to eat to keep up her strength. She knew that they were right, so she had forced down as much as she could, which had been a puny amount compared to what she normally ate.

She smothered a yawn behind her hand. She felt sleepy and stupid, and she didn't know why. She'd had a solid eight hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep, at least apart from that one dream. She hadn't slept like that in a long time. She should be well rested after that, not feeling like a brainless moron.

She felt her cheeks heat up as she thought about the dream she'd had. That was one little piece of information that she'd kept to herself. She knew that the other girls would think that she'd lost her mind if she told them that she and Darien had shared a dream together and had been able to talk. And more than likely it had been nothing more than a whacked out dream. But it had seemed so real to her. She had felt the warmth of his lips and the pounding of his heart in his chest. She could even swear that her butt was still sore from where she had crashed landed. It made her hope that it had been real and that she had really spoken to Darien.

She felt something nudge her side and looked up to find a pair of concerned violet eyes watching her. "I'm sorry, Raye. Did you say something?"

Raye sighed. "I asked you if you wanted to come and stay with me tonight at the temple."

Serena fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was starting all over again, people thinking that she needed to be watched every second of every day. Did they think she couldn't take care of herself? Or worse, did they think she was suicidal the way her past self had been? Sure, she was upset, but she was hardly in the frame of mind to plunge a sword in her heart. Darien was still alive, and they were going to defeat Beryl. She had to keep believing in that.

"I'm not sure," she hedged. "I'll have to check in with my mom first and make sure that nothing is going on." Secretly she hoped that this was one of the nights when her mom insisted that the whole family be at home. She adored Raye, and she always enjoyed staying at the temple and listening to Raye bickering with her grandfather and Chad, but tonight she was craving the peace and solitude of her bedroom. It was her haven, and she needed the space so she could think.

Just then, salvation appeared in the form of Andrew's mother. Mrs. Furuhata popped her head out of the door to the staff room and said, "Oh, Serena, you are here. Your mother just called and said that she wants you home for dinner tonight. She tried to reach you on your cell, but she couldn't get through. I told her that I would pass the message on."

"Thanks," Serena answered as she fished her phone out of her pocket to find that the battery had died.

Then her head flew up as a thought struck her. "Hey, Amy!" she gushed excitedly as she turned to her blue haired friend. "Don't some phones have some kind of GPS tracking or something? Maybe there's a way that you can track Darien's."

Amy was already shaking her head before she had finished. "Honestly, Serena! What kind of genius do you take me for? That was one of the first things I tried. But whatever magnetic field that's keeping me from finding Beryl's lair also interferes with cell phone signals. So I wasn't able to get a fix on Darien's phone."

Serena's shoulders slumped dejectedly. "Oh. Well I thought I had a good idea there for a minute."

Amy leaned across Raye to pat her consolingly. "It was a good idea. Don't get dejected. We've just got to keep brainstorming and coming up with more ideas. We'll figure things out."

"Thanks, Amy," Serena said gratefully. Then she glanced at the clock behind the counter. "I think I'm going to head home and see what's going on around there."

"But it's only a little after five!" Mina protested.

"You've barely even touched your milkshake," Andrew pouted.

Serena stood and shrugged into her jacket. "Sorry guys. I just feel like I haven't been home in forever and I want to go soak up a little time just feeling normal for a change."

Lita jumped up as well. "I'll walk you home."

A small growl rumbled in Serena's throat. "Thanks, but no thanks. No offense, but I've been walking home alone from here for a long time now. I'll be fine. Why don't the rest of you take a night off too? Go home. Take a nice hot bath and watch some boring TV. And NO hanging out around my house! By the way, that wasn't a request. If I need you guys, I'll call. Okay?"

The four girls nodded and mumbled, "Okay."

"Good!" Serena said firmly as she gave each of them a hug. As she leaned across the counter to hug Andrew she whispered, "I'll let you know if I hear anything."

He nodded and tightened his arms around her. She couldn't tell who was shaking more, him or her.

"Same here," he whispered back. "If Dare manages to get away from that witch he's going to contact one of us. We're his family."

She squeezed him tighter for a moment as she felt that stubborn prickle of tears sting her eyes again. She was so tired of crying. She fought back the urge to let the waterworks loose and stepped back with a grin. "I'll see you guys later!"

"She's not doing good, is she?" Andrew asked quietly as he watched his longtime friend walk out of the arcade.

Raye sighed. "She's messed up right now. That's to be expected. But she's trying to be brave and she's dealing with things the best that she can. All we can do is try to stay supportive and give her a shoulder to cry on if she needs it."

* * *

Ilene Tsukino finished washing the last plate and turned off the water. She dried her hands on a dishtowel as she turned to watch her daughter as she spread a tablecloth over the recently cleared table. She drew in a deep breath. "Serena, honey, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Serena looked up in surprise and blinked hard, like someone just waking up. "Yeah, sure mom. What's up?"

Ilene propped a hip against one of the kitchen counters. "Are you feeling okay, dear? You look awfully pale, and you barely touched your dinner. That's not like you at all."

Serena forced out a giggle. "I'm fine, mom. I'm just tired. The girls and I stayed up late last night and now I'm paying the price. That's all."

"If you're sure…" Ilene said uncertainly. When Serena nodded she continued. "Well what I wanted to talk to you about is this. Your brother is leaving on Monday for his school trip and your father just found out today that the magazine wants him to go to Osaka to cover a convention there. He asked me to go with him, but I told him that I would have to discuss it with you first."

"You should totally go," Serena told her. "You rarely ever get to go anywhere, especially you and dad alone. You guys should go and have some fun. Pretend that you're just a couple with no kids for a few days."

Ilene giggled. "I figured that you would say that, but I wanted to clear it with you. I figured that you could go and stay with one of your friends, or you can stay here if you want to. You're going on seventeen now. I think we can trust you to look out for yourself for a few days."

Serena waved a hand at her. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. If I get bored being here alone I can always go crash with one of the girls. It's no big deal."

"Good! Then that's settled," Ilene said as she pushed away from the counter. "Now how about some dessert? I made a lemon pie."

Serena's stomach lurched at the mention of what was usually her favorite dessert. "Maybe in a little while. I think I'm going to go take a hot bath."

She made her escape and hurried upstairs. She grabbed some clean pajamas and then locked herself in the bathroom. She started running the water in the tub and added some citrus bubble bath before undressing and twisting her hair up into a knot. A few minutes later she sighed as she slipped into the hot, bubbly water.

She lay back and felt the bubbles tickling her chin as her thoughts turned once again to Darien. Not that he had ever been far from her mind today. Was he still hanging in there? She closed her eyes and concentrated on their bond, trying to see if she could sense him.

Her eyes popped open in panic a few minutes later. She had tried as hard as she could, but she couldn't sense him at all. That had to be bad! Was he dead?

Realizing that she was close to hyperventilating, she forced herself to calm down. Of course he wasn't dead! If he were she would know it in her soul. Now that she had some of Serenity's memories mixed up with hers she knew that she would be able to tell if Darien was no longer among the living. Although they weren't exactly a couple the way they had been in the Silver Millennium, they had bonded on a very deep level. Months of guarding each other's backs and getting to know one another had ensured that.

"Chill out, girl!" she chided herself. "You're probably overreacting. There's no telling where in the world he is right now. And if he's really far away that could interfere with you being able to sense him. Remember in the past that Serenity and Endymion couldn't sense each other over long distances."

She chewed her lip worriedly anyway. But she had sensed him earlier. It had been faint, but she had felt him. Maybe those magnetic fields that Amy kept talking about were jamming her signal or something.

"Yeah, that's it. That's got to be it," she whispered. "He's fine. He just has to be. Sure that witch has him, but he's okay. He's probably just biding his time until he either finds a way out of there or until the girls and I find a way to get to him."

She kept repeating that to herself as she forced herself to relax. She lay in the tub until the water began to cool, and then she got out. After drying off and getting dressed she stumbled into her bedroom. She checked her window to make sure that it was cracked for Luna. Then, even though it was still fairly early, she crawled into bed.

She reached for the remote and turned her TV on to her favorite cartoon channel. She lay there, staring at the screen without really watching it, and waited for sleep to claim her. If she was lucky, and she hadn't been hallucinating earlier, perhaps Darien would be asleep too and they would share another dream together.

When she finally drifted off to sleep, she did dream of Darien. But they were just random, normal dreams and the realistic garden never appeared. Instead she dreamed of prowling the mall with the girls and laughing over milkshakes with Andrew at the arcade about some ridiculous debate Asanuma and Kobyashi were having over who had a crush on the cuter girl. Molly and Melvin popped in and out a few times as well. Darien was there also, alternating between sticking his head in a book and joining in the hilarity, as was his way.

It reminded her of the way her life used to be before she had become Sailor Moon. Especially when the Darien in her dream called her dream self "Meatball Head" one too many times and she jumped on his back, screeching as she attacked him with a can of whipped cream she had swiped from Andrew.

She rolled over and smiled in her sleep at the silly dream. This comforted Luna greatly when she wriggled in the window a short time later and found her resting comfortably, snuggled up in her blankets with that smile on her face.

It also made Ilene smile when she came in to check on her daughter to see why she had never come back down for dessert. She turned off the TV and leaned down to kiss Serena's forehead lightly. Then she patted Luna gently and whispered, "Those girls must have partied hard last night, huh Luna?"

Luna reacted in a very cat-like way, pushing her head against the stroking hand and purring. Ilene giggled and then left the room, picking up a few pieces of laundry as she went.

Once she was gone, the black feline scurried under the bed where she kept a scout communicator and pulled it out. Then instead of curling up and going to sleep, she sat up keeping watch on the sleeping girl. Serena may have forbade the scouts to keep guard on her, but she hadn't said anything about her. Kunzite had already come back once, and he may return again. But if the dark kingdom general tried to ambush Serena while she slept, Luna was going to make sure that she would be able to call the scouts immediately.

But the night passed peacefully. And when the eastern sky showed the first signs of the coming day she finally curled up next to her mistress and fell asleep.

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Beryl's head shot up and she gave a sharp cry of triumph as she finally felt Endymion's mind snap. At last, after a full day of warring against his mental defenses with her dark energy, she had achieved victory.

The prince had proven to be a more formidable foe than she had thought he would be. She had always known that Endymion was a stubborn man, but he had pushed the limits beyond stubbornness and into full-blown, pig headed obstinacy. She had almost conceded failure a few times and had thought that she might have to resort to the same drastic measures she'd had to take with the generals because she hadn't had the time to properly brainwash them before launching her attack on the moon. But she wanted the real Endymion. She wanted his soul inside his body, not some youma.

Besides, the youma were turning out to be a traitorous bunch anyway. And she didn't have one among her ranks that was fit for the prince to wipe his feet on, much less inhabit his body. She also didn't want to take the chance of him turning on her one day and making her have to destroy his body. That would go against everything that she was trying to accomplish. It was better this way.

She watched gleefully as the dark energy now poured into his body, unhindered. It wouldn't be long now and she would have him.

"Are you satisfied now, Beryl?" Metallia's voice hissed through the chamber.

"Yes…I am," Beryl whispered. "After all of this time, he is finally mine."

"Don't put too much faith in the boy right away," Metallia cautioned. "His mind is very strong. He will still take some convincing before he completely trusts you."

"I know that!" Beryl snapped. "Now be quiet and let me concentrate! I don't want to accidentally wipe his mind completely clean and turn him into a helpless child. He needs to retain some sense of who he is so he can help me get the Silver Crystal from Serenity."

She worked her way through his memories, taking great pleasure in banishing all of his thoughts of love toward both the moon princess and her reincarnation. She swept aside all feelings of camaraderie between him and the scouts and his unnatural loyalty that he felt toward the moon kingdom. She pretty much erased all knowledge of his new life, only leaving in a few key things that she thought might aid him in the mission she had planned for him.

She twisted around what thoughts she allowed him to keep in order to make him believe that he had been on her side the entire time. Implanting false thoughts was something that was incapable of doing; she could only hope that what she had allowed him to remember would be mixed up enough to sway him to her side.

When she was finally finished, the last thing she did was use her magic to dress him in the royal armor that she remembered so fondly. Then she sat back tiredly and waited. The negative energy around the prince dissipated, and a few minutes later his eyes opened.

"Oh man, what happened?" he groaned as he sat up. "I feel like I've gone ten rounds with Kunzite on the training field. Did he manage to knock me out?"

"Endymion," Beryl whispered softly.

His head shot up and he stared at her with those beautiful, dark blue eyes of his. Confusion warred in their depths for a moment before a spark of comprehension lit up. "Beryl," he replied warily. "What's going on? Where are we?"

She put a false look of concern on her face. "Do you not remember, my prince? You were injured during a fight with those from the moon kingdom. I brought you back here and used my magic to save your life."

He pressed his hands to his temples and growled. "I don't remember. I don't know what happened. Everything feels like a muddled mess in my head."

Beryl tsked. "I was afraid something like this would happen when that evil girl attacked you."

"What evil girl?" he demanded.

"Why Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, of course," Beryl said innocently. "We've been fighting against the people of the moon for some time now to keep them from taking over the earth. But sadly we are losing to them."

He shook his head. "We're fighting against the moon? But I don't remember any of this. Why can't I remember?" He got up from where he had been laying and began pacing.

"Summon General Kunzite," Beryl commanded the youma standing near the door. "Tell him that Prince Endymion is awake and would like to see him."

The prince's steps stopped. "Kunzite's here? What about the rest of my guard" Are they here as well?"

"Sadly, there have been many casualties," Beryl replied. "Both Jadeite and Nephrite were killed some time back, and Zoicite was lost just last night in the same battle that injured you. But Kunzite is still with us."

Footsteps were heard coming down the stairs a few seconds before Kunzite appeared in the doorway. "You wished to see me?"

Endymion relaxed slightly at the sight of a familiar face. "Kunzite," he said in a semi-formal tone as he greeted his head general.

'_You better play your part right or I will make sure that you roast in the fires of hell for all eternity!' _Beryl mentally threatened Kunzite. Endymion would not be an easy person to deceive, and the last thing she needed was Kunzite bumbling things up.

Kunzite heeded her warning and dropped to one knee as he placed his right fist over his chest as a sign of respect. "My prince, it's good to see that you have recovered from last night's events."

Endymion nodded. "Physically I seem to be fine, but mentally I'm afraid I am at a loss. If what Beryl has been telling me is true, then I believe we have quite a bit to discuss." Then he turned to Beryl. "Is there perhaps some place we can conduct this conversation that is a little more comfortable and where we can get some food and drink?"

"Of course," Beryl conceded, leading the way up the stairs as the two men followed her. _'Remember, Kunzite, we tell him the story exactly like we discussed it. If you screw this up…'_

'_It will be done as you commanded, my queen,' _Kunzite assured her mentally.

They were both so busy conversing nonverbally between themselves that neither one of them noticed the silent prince that was watching them with an evil glint in his eyes or the slight smirk that turned up his lips.

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

"I can't believe you slept in!" Raye's voice blasted through the cell phone.

Serena held the phone away from her ear and stuck her tongue out at it before wedging it back into place between her head and her shoulder so that she would have both hands free to pull on her socks. "I'm sorry, Raye. Really I am. I didn't mean to go back to sleep. I woke up early this morning and had some more ideas about how to track down Beryl's base. I must have dozed back off at some point."

"Well hurry up and get here before I send Lita over to haul you out by that long ass hair of yours! Which she's totally ready to do by the way," Raye grouched.

"Damn right!" Lita's voice spoke up in the background.

"Okay, okay!" Serena giggled. "I'll be there in a few. Go ahead and order lunch. Andrew knows what I want." Not that she felt like eating any more today than she had yesterday, but she knew that she should attempt to eat something so that she didn't pass out from low blood sugar or something. It was strange to not feel hungry. Usually she was an eating machine.

"Well don't take too long!" Raye snapped before hanging up.

Serena looked at the phone for a moment before smiling and shaking her head. That was a typical Raye response for you. Whenever she was worried she tried to cover it up with anger.

She grabbed her favorite backpack purse and shoved her wand with the crystal and her brooch into it along with her wallet. Then she slid her shoes on and gathered up her jacket before flying down the stairs. She automatically grabbed the railing to keep her balance as she tripped on the second step from the bottom like she always did.

"_Clumsy Meatball Head!' _she heard Darien's voice taunt in her head. She quickly shook it off.

"Bye mom! I'm late to meet the girls," she called in the general direction of the kitchen.

"Hold up just a second, young lady!" Ilene demanded, popping her head through the kitchen door. She gave her daughter a thorough once over and decided that she definitely looked better than she had the night before. She seemed alert and some color had returned to her cheeks. "I need you to do me a favor and stop by the drug store since you pass it on the way to the arcade. Your father needs his refill for his blood pressure medicine before we leave on our trip tomorrow. I called it in, so it should be ready."

"Okay!" Serena told her. "I'll be back later."

"Be home in time for dinner!" Ilene called after her.

Serena waved a hand to let her know that she'd heard her as the front door closed behind her. Once outside she began walking briskly the few blocks over to the business district. Figuring that she better go ahead and pick up her dad's prescription now so she wouldn't forget about it later, she ducked into the drugstore when she came upon it. It wouldn't take her but a couple of minutes.

Sure enough, the order was ready and waiting, and after passing a few polite comments with the pharmacist, she was ready to continue to the arcade. She stepped out the doors and onto the sidewalk…where she promptly collided with someone.

She felt a pair of hands grabbed her elbows in a familiar gesture. Then a voice growled, "Watch where you're going!"

Her head shot up. She knew that voice! She looked, hoping to see those beloved, dark blue eyes and to hear his voice gentle when he realized who he had run into. All she saw was her own reflection mirrored in a pair of dark sunglasses, but she would know that dark shock of unruly black hair anywhere.

"Darien?" she whispered in disbelief. She couldn't believe he was here, but he was. Somehow he must have found a way to escape Beryl. She had figured that he would, she just hadn't expected it to be so quickly.

The person before her stiffened at the sound of that name and stepped away. "You must have mistaken me for someone else." Then he walked off without another word.

Serena stood there in shock for several seconds, staring after him until he disappeared into the crowd. Finally her sluggish brain galvanized her paralyzed body into motion. She knew that was Darien! She couldn't have been mistaken.

"Darien!" she cried, taking off in the direction that he had gone. She darted through and around people, but she saw no sign of him anywhere. It was as if he had vanished. Panicking, she reached out desperately with their bond, but just like before she felt nothing.

Disheartened, she turned toward the arcade and trudged slowly there. She didn't realize she had entered and approached the booth in the back until she was standing there and Raye's voice broke through her thoughts.

"It's about time!" the raven-haired girl snapped. "I didn't think you would ever get here! Your burger is probably cold by now!"

"I don't care, Raye," Serena mumbled.

All four girls sitting in the booth looked at her as they picked up on the tone of her voice.

Mina was beside her in a flash. "Serena, are you okay?"

Serena began shaking violently as tears poured down her cheeks. "I saw Darien, Mina. He's here, in Tokyo. But when I spoke to him he acted like he didn't know me at all. It was like I was a complete stranger."

Lita helped Mina guide her onto the seat between them. "Oh Serena! You probably just made a mistake. This is Japan, and there are a lot of guys with black hair running around."

"I didn't make a mistake," Serena screeched, banging her fists on the table to emphasize her words. "I couldn't see his eyes, but I know it was him. I know his voice as well as I know my own. It was definitely him! I'd be willing to stake my life on it!"

Her four friends all looked at each other worriedly over her bowed head. If Serena was right, and Darien really was prowling the city, and he claimed to not know her, that could only mean one thing. Beryl had gotten to him. The royal protocol that had been drummed into them in the Silver Millennium demanded that they insist that Serena go into hiding immediately. But deep inside they all knew that she would balk even at the suggestion of that. So they kept quiet.

One friend, however, didn't remain silent. "Serena! What's wrong?" Andrew demanded as he hurried to their table.

"Serena's just had a bit of a shock, Andrew," Amy answered softly. "Perhaps she could use a milkshake."

"Coming right up!" he said immediately. But as he turned to head back to the counter, he was confronted by his furious looking younger sister, who had just entered the arcade.

Lizzy poked him in the chest with a finger. "Your best friend is the biggest jerk on the face of the planet! I want you to pass that on to him for me the next time you see him."

Andrew's eyes widened. "What are you talking about, Liz?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about the fact that Darien nearly ran me down on the sidewalk a few minutes ago. I was about to lay into him until I realized who it was. Then when I said hi to him he acted like he'd never seen me before. How dare he treat me like that after we have practically adopted him into our family? I have half a mind to punch him in that perfectly straight nose of his the next time I see him!"

Andrew gulped hard. "Are you sure it was him? You could have been mistaken."

She snorted derisively. "Yeah right! I know who I saw! There's not that many 6'2" teenage boys with bedhead black hair and dark blue eyes running around."

Serena's head snapped up. "You saw his eyes?"

Lizzy nodded. "Yeah. He was wearing sunglasses, but they slipped when we ran into each other. And I've spent enough time around Darien the last couple of years to know him on sight. But he was acting weird. I think all those books he reads have finally fried his brain."

Serena looked around triumphantly at the others. "Now do you believe me?"

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"My queen, do you really think it was wise to allow Endymion to go out into Tokyo alone?" Kunzite asked nervously as he stood beside her throne.

Beryl shrugged. "Time will tell, Kunzite. This could be good for him. He will need to be able to function in this world in order to help retrieve the Silver Crystal. I used the most powerful of mine and Metallia's magic to brainwash him, so we just have to hope that it holds. I believe it will though. The amount of negative energy coursing through his body surpasses even that which you carry, my pet. But once I have the Silver Crystal I will be able to properly brainwash him, and then he will be completely mine."

Kunzite couldn't help but snicker lightly. "I suppose you are put out at his reaction to your little announcement that you two are engaged to be married. He didn't seem happy when you told him that."

"Oh, be quiet, Kunzite!" Beryl hissed. "Like I said before, he won't be easy to convince. The good news is that he appears to have bought into our story that Serenity and her scouts are the enemy and he's willing to help us. For the sake of his planet, so he thinks. I just need him to get close enough to Serenity long enough to kill her and take the crystal."

"And you're not worried about him getting close to Serenity? Kunzite asked. "What if he starts remembering her?"

"He won't," Beryl insisted. "I removed all memories of that wretched girl from his mind. The only power strong enough to break through my magic is the Silver Crystal, and I have a feeling that the young princess would be reluctant to use it on him. She's young, and I doubt she even knows how to use the crystal properly. She's a loose cannon."

"So we're just going to sit back and leave everything to the prince?" Kunzite scoffed. "No offense, your majesty, but I think that is a bad idea. We have no idea what he may do. His mind is a muddled mess right now."

"Patience, Kunzite," Beryl cautioned. "Let's just wait and see what happens."

Kunzite bit back a snort. So now the queen bitch learned patience. Maybe he should have found Endymion months ago and dragged him here. The he would still have his comrades with him. Jadeite and Nephrite had been pretty helpless when compared to Zoicite, but perhaps they could have been convinced to join them if he'd had the time to work on them.

"So what do we do now?" he ground out.

Beryl sat back casually on her throne. "Now we wait."

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

Endymion stood in the shadows in an alley across the street from a building with large glass windows as he watched the blonde girl he had run into earlier as she conversed with four other girls. From the information he had received from Kunzite earlier, he highly suspected that girl to be the moon princess and her friends to be the scouts. They all fit the descriptions he had been given and they were all gathered in the place that he had been told was a popular meeting spot for them.

He knew that he should feel rage toward them. If what Beryl and Kunzite had told him was true, then these girls were reincarnated aliens that were bent on trying to overtake the Earth. But as he watched them he could feel no anger. Instead he felt a deep need inside of him to cross the street and join them.

That need intensified a minute later when he saw a tall blonde boy walk up to their table and set a glass in front of the blonde girl with pigtails. He felt as if he knew both of them. And when the girl looked up at the boy and offered him a kind smile, his heart leapt in his chest.

Darien was the name that she had called him. At first he had thought that she must have mistaken him for someone else. But the more he thought about it, the more right it felt. He almost felt as if that name truly belonged to him.

He wasn't stupid, despite what Beryl and that thing she had posing as Kunzite thought. Yes, he was perfectly aware that the Kunzite Beryl had presented him with was not really his head general. He had shared a bond with all of his friends, and he could tell right away that the imposter in Kunzite's body was not the man that he had known.

He also knew that Beryl and her lackey were keeping something from him, something huge. But his brain still refused to cooperate. Part of him demanded that he storm into that arcade and rip the Silver Crystal from that girl, but another side of him wanted to run to her and hold her in his arms. It was all so confusing.

In the end he did neither. Instead he used the negative energy that he now possessed and teleported back to that dank, dark place that as of right now was the only place he knew. He arrived in the chamber that he had been shown to earlier and told was his.

It was a believable enough story, if one were dimwitted enough to buy into it blindly, but he was no fool. He hadn't been here long since he woke up from his _"accident" _with his brains feeling like someone had taken an eggbeater to them, but he had known within five minutes that something wasn't right. It wasn't the fact that they were fighting with the people of the moon, he could accept that. The people of Earth had long feared the power that the moon royalty had wielded, and he had listened to his father debate for hours over the pros and cons of going to war with them to ensure that the Earth would never be enslaved by them.

But Beryl's other claims held no water. While she had been at the top of the list of women that his father had encouraged him to seek an alliance with through marriage, the king had always said that the choice of who to wed would be his alone and that he would never be forced into a union against his will. So if Beryl thought she was going to trap him by claiming to be his fiancée, she had another thing coming.

He'd also seen the way that she had walked around this lair, issuing orders like she was the one in charge here. He was the higher-ranking monarch, and this was his planet. So shouldn't he be the one calling the shots instead of her?

He began pacing the chamber. When he didn't hear the familiar clanking of his armor, he looked down at himself and the modern clothes he was wearing. He wasn't sure how he had known how to dress to fit in with the outside world, but he had. But right now he needed to think, and to do that he needed to feel like himself. He snapped his fingers and the jeans and sweatshirt he was wearing melted away to be replaced by his armor and cape. That was much better. He had been appalled at first to find out that Beryl was using dark magic that she had received from Metallia to aid in their fight, and he had been shocked to feel the same dark energy pulsing through his body, but he had to admit that it came in handy.

He resumed his pacing. He had to come up with some way to return control of his planet to the proper person…him. With his father dead and gone, he was the rightful heir to the throne. He had a feeling that Beryl coveted that position for herself, but it would be a cold day in hell before he would allow that witch to become queen.

The alien threat has to be neutralized as well. He couldn't have the moon princess running around with the Silver Crystal. She could pose a bigger threat to taking over the planet than Beryl was.

He paused beside a small table where a vase sat, holding a dozen red roses. He curled his lip at them. Beryl must have thought that having those here in this room that she had staged as being his would make him feel sentimental about his home that no longer existed, but he found that they didn't suit his mood. He waved a hand and they turned as black as the darkest night sky…all except one.

He smirked as he reached for the one rose that remained defiantly red. "So you're going to be a stubborn one, huh?"

The moment his fingers brushed the silky red petals, a pain shot through his head and fuzzy images began flickering through like an out of focus slideshow.

_The blonde girl with pigtails stood before him with her hands on her hips as she glared at him…The tall blonde boy laughed as he slapped him on the shoulder…The pigtailed girl was screaming at him with tears in her blue eyes…A dark haired girl knelt in front of a raging fire…He ducked as the blonde girl, dressed in a sailor fuku, kicked high at his head with a red boot…A girl with blue hair looked up over the edge of a book with a look of annoyance…A blonde angel lay in a sea of pink covers, crying as she slept…An amazon looking girl with a messy auburn ponytail held out a tray filled with chocolate cookies…He swept the blonde girl up in his arms and jumped out of the way of an attack…Another blonde girl twirled around before striking a pose and flashing a V sign…The other blonde had her arms tight around his neck. He could feel her breath against his skin. Then she whispered softly, "Darien."_

He jerked his hand away from the rose. What had all of those images been about? Were those real memories, or were they a trick being played on him thanks to either the Silver Crystal or Beryl? They felt real, but he couldn't be sure. The moon princess may look sweet and innocent, but inside she could be just as cold and calculating as Beryl.

"Damn women!" he growled as he threw himself down on the soft, black satin comforter that covered the bed. Maybe if he just eliminated all of the females in his life he would be able to get back on track.

A fissure ran through the air a second before Beryl appeared in the center of his room.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

She clucked her tongue. "Ooo, somebody's feeling unhappy. That's a nasty attitude you have, Endymion." She walked to the side of the bed and raised a knee up onto it. "Do I need a special reason to come a visit with my fiancé? Perhaps I can help you relieve some of those…frustrations."

She disappeared for a spilt second, and then reappeared lying next to him. Her clothing had changed from her revealing purple dress into a slinky black silk and lace negligee. She reached for him.

He was off the bed like a shot. He stood over her and glared down at her. "Really, Beryl! Do you honestly think that now is the time to be thinking of carnal pleasures? In case you haven't noticed, my planet is in a crisis here and I need to concentrate on what I can do to set things right."

She waved a negligent hand. "What is there to think about? The solution is simple. We kill the moon princess and take the Silver Crystal from her."

His eyes narrowed on her. "What is your obsession with the Silver Crystal? In my opinion the cursed thing should be destroyed."

Beryl scrambled to her knees, panic clear on her face. "But think about all of the good we could do with it. With its power we could make the Earth great again. And nobody would think of challenging us as long as we hold its power."

He tilted his head to the side. She had a valid point. The Golden Crystal of Earth had disappeared along with his kingdom, so perhaps the Silver Crystal could be of some use.

A dark feeling settled over him. Yes, he could bring his planet back to its former glory. He could make it powerful once again. All he had to do was get the crystal from the little moon princess. And judging from her reaction to him earlier, that might not be as hard as he thought. Perhaps it was time to utilize those mental techniques that Nephrite had taught him so long ago and delve deeper into his mind. He had a feeling that there was more to this _"Darien" _guy than met the eye.

"Leave me," he commanded Beryl.

Normally she would have balked at anyone giving her orders, but the look on his face shocked her so much that she flashed herself out of his bedroom and into hers without an argument.

As she landed on the purple silk of her bed, she pressed a hand to her chest and for the first time she felt fear and apprehension about what she had done. She had bestowed a lot of negative energy on Endymion to make up for him lacking the power of the Golden Crystal so that he could stand strong at her side. But now she feared that she might have overdone it.

The way his face had completely changed in demeanor in the blink of an eye had terrified her in a way that nothing else had in a thousand years. It was almost as if there were two different people inside of Endymion's body, the commanding prince of Earth, and someone else. Someone that was dark and deadly. It thrilled her and chilled her all at the same time.

She put a hand over her mouth to suppress a hysterical laugh. "I think I've created a monster!"

* * *

**A/N **I'm hiding in my closet with my Droid phone, surfing the internet to try and find a shrink for Darien because I think he's suffering from split personality disorder, dual personality disorder, or whatever you want to call it. The point is that the boy is not completely right in the head. Of course who would be after having Beryl monkeying around with their brain. At least he's smart enough to see her for the lying, backstabbing, conniving witch she is. But Beryl is right to be worried about what she's done to him. She gave him a little too much of the Metallia Mojo Juice and turned him into an evil creature that could probably rival her own demented nature. The good news is that there is still a spark of the real Darien buried deep inside Endymion thanks to him resisting her the way he did. Now will Serena possibly be able to reach him? She's trying to hold herself together, but will she be able to once she and Endymion come face to face. Chapter 23, _The Dark Prince Cometh, _is already partially finished. I hope to get it up soon, but right now I'm going to go work on GT and Bad Boys. But please keep dropping me those reviews. I depend on you guys, you know. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	23. The Dark Prince Cometh

**A/N **Good news everyone! I found a shrink for Darien. Her name is Serena. She's petite, blonde, and has big blue eyes. She also cares a lot about Darien, so maybe she can help him get over all of this crap that Beryl is trying to pull over on him…maybe. The bad news is that he doesn't think that he needs her help. Well here's hoping that she can break him down eventually. Go, Serena! We all believe in you! LOL! Now it's time for hugs. Thank you guys soooo much for all of your wonderful reviews! _Rekindled _has officially made it past the 500 review mark, and it's still climbing! You guys are the best! Let me get those hugs out to you. BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**GoldenDragon326**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**jade2nightwing**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**TropicalRemix**

**BostonBill**

**Seredhiel05**

**Chibi Kitt**

**Tiny2008**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**JuliaGulia17**

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**sunbeam07**

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**Mahria**

**x-YingYing-x**

**rainbabie**

A kajillion thank yous as always! I also want to take a moment to tell all of you that don't read _GT _and didn't see my a/n there about another story that I'm working on with Raxius. It's called _Sailor Scouts Captured by the Dead Moon Circus _and can be found on Raxius's profile. I've come in kind of late on it since it's already at chapter 8, but I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. It's a pretty unique storyline and I'm excited to be a part of it. So if you get a chance, check it out. Raxius and I could use some feedback on what you guys think. Okay, enough blabbering out of me. On with the show!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 23

The Dark Prince Cometh

* * *

"Serena, wait!" Sailor Venus screeched as she watched Sailor Moon jump recklessly off the roof of a high-rise building.

Sailor Moon paid her no attention as she landed on the balcony that had been her destination and flung the glass door open before dashing inside crying, "Darien!"

The living room was still. The lights were off. The TV was off. There was no music playing from the stereo on the entertainment center. But that didn't deter her. The kitchen was dark, so she bypassed it as she ran down the hall to the master bedroom.

"Darien!" she almost sobbed as she threw the door open with a bang to find…nothing. The king sized bed was perfectly made up. His school backpack sat on a chair with his uniform blazer draped over the back of it. The bathroom door was open and the lights were off. There was no sign that anyone was there.

"Nooo," she moaned in defeat. Grabbing the blazer off the chair, she hugged it to her tightly as she buried her face in it. Tears burned her eyes and her throat as she caught a whiff of that smell that was uniquely him, that intoxicating scent of chocolate, coffee, and roses.

She sank to her knees on the plush carpet, still clutching the jacket to her. She vaguely heard the sounds of others entering the apartment.

"For the love of Aphrodite, Serena!" Venus growled as she stormed into the room. "You can't just go jumping around as Sailor Moon in the broad daylight without keeping an eye out for people. What if someone had seen you coming in here? You could blow everyone's identities right out of the water!"

"She's right," Jupiter seconded from behind her. "I know you're upset and everything, but you still have to be careful."

"I'm sorry," Sailor Moon's muffled voice came from the depths of the navy blue material her face was pressed against. "I just really hoped that he would be here."

"I know you did," Venus said softly as she went down on her knees beside her friend. "But Serena, you had to know that it was a long shot. I mean think about it. If Darien had found a way to get away from Beryl he would have come straight to us. He wouldn't be just lounging around his apartment like nothing had happened. Now I'm not saying that you and Lizzy didn't see him, but he might not be the Darien we know."

Sailor Moon looked up with pain filled eyes. "You think Beryl has managed to turn him, don't you?"

Jupiter hunkered down in front of her. "I think we have to stay open to that possibility. I don't mean this to sound like Darien is weak or anything, but Beryl has Metallia behind her, and that's a pretty heavy double whammy for anybody to go up against."

"But…but…" Sailor Moon stammered. "Darien wouldn't…"

"I never thought Kunzite would fall either," Venus whispered. "He was always so strong and proud. But even he couldn't stand against them in the end. They killed him and poured that foul youma essence into his body."

"I know what you mean," Jupiter sighed. "Nephrite was always so stubborn. I thought he was nearly infallible. But at least we know that Beryl has no intentions of killing Darien. She wants him alive."

"She just wants him period!" Sailor Moon retorted hotly. "I know I'm usually the first one to try to find the easy way out of a fight, but I wish that I'd taken the chance to bash Kunzite's face in earlier. I should have made him tell me where they are keeping Darien!"

Jupiter snickered lightly as she stood. "And people say I have a bad temper."

Venus got up as well and held a hand out to Sailor Moon. She could feel that being there in Darien's home and surrounded by his things while not knowing where he was or what was happening to him was causing her friend additional pain.

She spoke softly. "Come on, Serena. Let's go. Raye and Amy are waiting for us at the shrine. Maybe one of them has picked up on something."

Sailor Moon nodded and took the offered hand. Once on her feet she laid the blazer carefully back on the chair where she'd found it. She felt the loss of its warmth immediately, but the scent remained with her.

'I swear, Darien. No matter where you are, I'm going to find you and bring you back home. And if that witch has done anything to you I'll find a way to fix it. I promise you that.'

That was the thought running through Serena's head as she followed Venus and Jupiter out onto the balcony. After looking around carefully to make sure no one would see them, they all jumped away.

* * *

**_The Dark Kingdom_**

Endymion jerked awake. He sat up, looking around wildly for several seconds before he realized that he was lying on his bed in his chamber. He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. "Damn! I must have fallen asleep."

After ridding himself of Beryl's irritating presence earlier, he had sat for hours, delving deep into his mind and trying to unravel the mysteries that he was sure were hiding inside. He hadn't come up with anything solid, mostly just garbled visions that hadn't made any sense to him. But one person had kept popping up over and over again…_her_!

Serena…Sailor Moon…Princess Serenity…whatever name she chose to go by, she seemed to be the one constant in his thoughts. He saw himself with her constantly. Sometimes they fought and other times they seemed to be on friendly terms. He kept seeing himself dressed in that ridiculous tuxedo and jumping into the middle of a battle in order to save her from her own stupidity.

That didn't make any sense to him. Why would he go through the trouble of saving that annoying, loud mouth, whiny girl when she was his enemy? And who was this Tuxedo Mask? And what was he to him? He needed answers.

Unfortunately there was only one person he could think of that might be able to enlighten him at the moment. And even then, nothing but poisonous lies would probably pour from her mouth. But he had no other choice at the moment. He got up from the bed and strode from his chamber out into the hallway…where he ran right into Kunzite.

"Where's Beryl?" he snarled, not even bothering with a false greeting for the fake general.

Kunzite staggered back a step from the glowering prince. "Um…Uh…I think…"

"Never mind!" Endymion snapped as he sensed the filthy, tainted aura that was Beryl's. He concentrated on it and teleported away.

"He's completely insane!" Kunzite muttered. "Beryl would have been better off just killing him instead of messing around with him. He's liable to kill her as soon as look at her. And if he thinks that I'm sticking around to serve his psycho ass he's got another thing coming."

Endymion reappeared in a hideously ornate sitting room. Even though it was located underground, the stone walls were hidden behind violently purple silk wall hangings. A large, gilded mirror took up almost one whole wall and candles flickered in large gold wall sconces. There was an extremely plush, purple velvet chaise lounge and a furry black rug stretched out on the floor that looked as if it were the pelt of some poor animal.

Two youma were curled up on cushions like pet dogs on either side of the door that probably led to Beryl's bedchamber. They glared at the intruding prince until he growled, "Get out!" Then they scurried away, frightened by his menacing tone.

Endymion stalked to the doors and threw them open with a bang.

A flurry of snarled red hair shot up from the bed as Beryl sat up. "Who dares…" she began to screech, but broke off when she saw who her intruder was. "Oh! Endymion! I wasn't expecting you."

"That much is obvious," he drawled. Then he rolled his eyes as he saw that she was still wearing the black silk negligee from earlier and she twitched a shoulder to cause one of the straps to fall down to her elbow. "Cut it out with the attempted seduction Beryl! It only degrades you further and insults my intelligence. We need to talk."

"About what?" she purred as she sat up on her knees, still trying her best to look seductive.

"Just get dressed and meet me out here!" he snapped as he turned away.

Beryl punched a pillow in outrage as she crawled from the bed and manifested a dress onto her body before following him. She found him pacing her sitting room like a caged lion. She crossed to the chaise and laid herself across it.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked in a low, husky tone.

Endymion rolled his eyes at her extremely low cut purple dress with a slit up the side all the way to her hip and the way she was attempting to display herself in front of him. But he ignored it. "We need to talk about what is going on in my head. You said that I was caught up in an attack by the moon princess with the Silver Crystal."

She nodded. "Yes. Serenity has only just recently obtained the Silver Crystal. We were attempting to find it before her, but sadly she beat us to it. When the crystal appeared there was a skirmish and she used it to attack. I assume she was aiming for Zoicite since he was killed by the blast, but you must have been in its path as well."

He clenched his fists at his side. "Then why do I see myself saving that girl from danger over and over? I see myself wearing a tuxedo and rescuing her from your youma. Why is that? And why does she call me Darien?"

Beryl's breath froze. Had her brainwashing not worked as well as she thought? True, he had fought hard against her, but she had been certain that she had completely purged his mind. Had she been mistaken?

Thinking quickly, she replied, "It was all part of your plan. I told you that it was too dangerous, but you insisted on going through with it."

His fists tightened even more, making the knuckles crack. "And what plan would that be?"

Beryl blinked innocently. "Why to get the Silver Crystal and tear the scouts and their princess apart from the inside of course. You assumed an alias and infiltrated their inner circle. You made them believe that you were their friend and even assisted them in battles as they searched for the crystal. You used the princess, believing that she would lead you right to the crystal. And she did. But unfortunately things went wrong before you could take it from her."

"Hmm…" Endymion mused. Beryl's story was full of holes big enough for meteors to pass through, but it did give him something to think about. When he had bumped into the moon princess earlier she hadn't treated him like an enemy. She had certainly been surprised to see him, but he hadn't detected any hatred from her. He might be able to use that to his advantage if the girl still trusted him.

He turned on his heel without a word and strode to the door. There was a flash, and then Beryl materialized in front of him.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" she whined.

He heaved a sigh. "Get out of my way, Beryl. I have plans to go make."

She pouted at him. "But you are still recovering from your accident and your mind is not clear. The only thing you should be doing is letting me tuck you into bed until you are in better condition."

He ground his teeth at the double entendre of her words. The only way that witch was getting into bed with him was if he were a dead man. "I admit that perhaps my mind is befuddled, but physically I am fine. We are in the middle of a war, and nothing is going to be solved if I lie around in bed."

When Beryl merely shook her head and stared at him belligerently, he picked her up by the arms and casually set her over to the side. Then he calmly walked out the door.

Beryl stared at the empty doorway for a moment before stomping her foot in rage and screeching, "Damn you, Endymion!" so shrilly that her gigantic mirror fractured in a spiderweb of cracks.

Endymion smirked as he heard the sound of splintering glass. _'Dang! And I always thought that Serena could get loud enough to shatter glass.'_

He stopped suddenly in the middle of the corridor. Where in the world had that thought come from? And why did he feel an insane urge to laugh at that thought? In his mind he saw a flash of long golden hair and a glint of sparkling blue eyes. He experienced a feeling of longing.

He growled low in his throat. Why were these kinds of thoughts about the moon princess plaguing him? She was his enemy out to conquer his planet. Well, so was Beryl probably. But Beryl was nothing compared Serenity. Beryl may have Metallia behind her, but Serenity had the Silver Crystal. And he knew which one was more powerful.

The Silver Crystal had been the reason for his father refusing to let the Earth join the Silver Alliance. The people of Earth had feared the amount of power that Queen Serenity had wielded and were afraid of being enslaved. The Earth hadn't needed her protection anyway. They had always been self-sufficient and had survived well on their own.

But now the threat was dangerously close to home. The moon princess was here, on Earth, and she had the Silver Crystal. If what Beryl and Kunzite had told him earlier was true, then her own kingdom and those of the other planets were long since gone…and she and her scouts would be looking for revenge. What better revenge could there be except to conquer Earth?

He shook himself from his thoughts and flashed himself back to his chambers. He had to come up with a plan to get the Silver Crystal away from Serenity. Then he would deal with Beryl.

He grinned as a vision of a delicately boned face, framed by silky golden hair and dominated by large blue eyes appeared in his mind. The moon princess was a beauty. Maybe he would keep her as a reward to himself after he reclaimed control of his planet. After all, a king needed a queen, and he wasn't about to give the job to Beryl.

But Serenity was a different story. Without her crystal she would be powerless against him and have no choice but to bend to his demands. She would be his.

Endymion's eyes flashed black for a moment as his smile turned up into something more sinister. "Watch out, little princess, I'm coming for you."

* * *

**_Tokyo_**

"Serena, dear! Are you up?" Ilene's voice called up the stairs. "Your father and I are about to leave. And you don't want to be late for school."

Serena groaned groggily and rolled over to stick her head under a pillow. She really hated Monday mornings, and this one promised to be perfectly miserable because Darien was still missing. How was she supposed to go to school and act like everything was normal when her life was falling apart? While she would be sitting back, suffering through yet another one of Miss Haruna's long winded lectures about algebraic equations, there was no telling what Darien could be suffering at the hands of Beryl.

It was enough to make her want to ditch school for the day so she could do something more productive. But until they came up with some kind of clue as to where Beryl was hiding her base there was nothing she could do. The best she could hope for right now was for Amy's computer scans to turn up something or for one of Raye's visions to give her a hint about where they should look.

She rolled back over with a growl to stare at the ceiling. She'd even settle for Kunzite launching a youma attack, as long as he showed up as well. If the platinum haired fake general had the guts to show his face in front of her again she was determined to try to get some answers from him.

She turned her head at the sound of her bedroom door creaking open and saw Luna slithering in through the crack. The black feline looked toward the bed, and seeing that her mistress was awake she trotted across the room to jump up onto it.

"Good morning," she said in a cheerful sounding, almost whisper. "Did you sleep well?"

Serena patted her head. "For the most part."

Her horrendous nightmares had stopped since she had recovered the Silver Crystal and regained some of the memories of her past life. But her anxiety over Darien weighed heavily on her mind, making it difficult for her to fall asleep and causing her to wake up a few times during the night. On the bright side though, she was getting a little more sleep than she had been averaging over the last few months.

"In any case," Luna replied softly. "You better get yourself up and dressed. Your mother has breakfast ready for you and she and your father are all packed and ready for their trip."

"Oh!" Serena exclaimed as she bolted up in the bed, almost sending Luna flying. "I almost forgot that they were leaving this morning."

She hastily kicked her covers off and scrambled from the bed to run to her closet. She whisked a clean uniform from a hanger before dashing into the bathroom and banging the door closed behind her. In record time she was back, fully dressed and sporting a freshly washed face and brushed teeth. She plunked down in front of her vanity table and reached for her hairbrush.

"Ouch! Stupid tangles!" she grumbled as she pulled the brush through the rumpled mass of golden silk. "Honestly! I love my hair being long, but sometimes I wonder if it's worth the trouble."

She looked down, frowning at the cascade of hair that was falling around her. Then she glanced back up, her eyes finding her advisor's in the mirror's reflection. "Hey, Luna! Does my hair look longer to you? I swear I think it's grown at least a foot in the last couple of days."

Luna placed a paw against her mouth to muffle a giggle. "Yes, I noticed. It's probably a reaction you're having to the Silver Crystal. If you recall, your hair was even longer in the past."

"Ugh!" Serena groaned as she remembered that when she had been Serenity the ends of her hair had brushed the ground, even when it was pulled up into its usual style. "I definitely don't want it that long again. I'll wait a day or so to make that it's stopped growing and then go get some of it cut. I'm due for a trim anyway." She huffed out a breath to blow her bangs up out of her eyes to emphasize her point.

Finally working her way through all of the tangles, she parted her hair down the middle and began twisting it up into her signature "meatballs". A few tears stung her eyes at the thought of that word. What she wouldn't give to hear Darien call her Meatball Head right about now.

Her fingers were working on autopilot with her hair, so she retreated inside her mind for a moment to reach out with her bond with Darien to see if she could pick up on anything from him. But the link remained empty, just like it had since the last time that she had felt him early on Saturday morning.

A sigh wrenched from her. Oh well. It had been worth a try. As she reached for one of the hairpins she was holding in between her teeth, she saw a shadow move outside her window in the reflection. She spun around in her chair, spitting out hairpins in surprise. Had Darien come back to her?

But the person that pushed the window up and slipped inside definitely wasn't Darien.

"Hey! Good morning!" Lita grinned as she whispered. "I just wanted to make sure that you woke up on time so Haruna doesn't land you in detention."

Serena rolled her eyes as she bent down to pick up the hairpins that she'd sprayed. Oversleeping would be hard to do when she had her well meaning, but slightly overbearing friends slinking around. "As you can see, I'm up. Mina's the one that you probably need to worry about. That girl could sleep through a hurricane."

Lita laughed lightly. "True enough. You're like two peas in a pod sometimes. If I didn't know any better I would swear that you two were past sisters instead of past cousins."

"Ha, ha!" Serena replied dryly as she finished pinning her hair up.

"Serena…" Ilene's voice came from below once again.

"I'll be down in a minute, mom," Serena called back. Then she faced Lita again. "Why don't you go help Artemis rouse Sleeping Beauty. I'll meet you guys at the corner in about thirty minutes."

Lita grinned and gave her a mock salute. "Will do, boss lady!" She slipped nimbly back out the window.

The room was quiet after she left, but Serena felt Luna's disapproving stare upon her as she went over to her dresser to get a pair of socks. It wasn't until she sat down on the edge of the bed to put them on that the cat spoke.

"Serena," she began carefully. "I still don't agree with you not telling the scouts that your parents will be out of town for a few days. If they knew…"

"Exactly!" Serena interrupted her. "If they knew they would insist on either me going to stay with one of them or they would move in here. I love them to death, Luna, really I do. But I also need my space. I'm not some spoiled, pampered little doll that needs someone to look after them all the time. Those days are gone. I can take care of myself now. And if you say anything to them I will haul you to the vet to have you declawed."

Luna sniffed disdainfully, but she kept her silence as she watched Serena gather her things together. She shook her head slightly. Serena was definitely more headstrong than Serenity had ever been.

Serena stuffed a folder and a notebook into her backpack, and then slid the moon wand, minus the Silver Crystal, into a smaller front pocket and zipped it up. Then she reached for her brooch on the nightstand. She pressed the hidden catch on the side and it sprang open.

The Silver Crystal twinkled innocently from inside of it. She had discovered the secret compartment the night before, and she and Luna had agreed that it was probably safer to keep the crystal hidden and separate from the wand unless it needed to be used. That way if Kunzite or some other Dark Kingdom flunky managed to get the wand from her, the crystal would be safe.

She pinned the brooch to her bow and checked to make sure that the star locket was still securely around her neck and hidden under her shirt. Then she shouldered her bag and waved to Luna. "Bye, Luna! See ya later!"

She tumbled down the stairs, grabbing the railing in a death grip as she tripped on the next to the last stair just like she always did, and fixed a bright smile on her face as she breezed into the kitchen.

"Morning, mom! Morning, dad!" she trilled as she entered the room.

Ken Tsukino looked up from his newspaper with a grin. "Good morning, Bunny! You sure look energetic this morning."

Serena returned his grin as she sat down at the table and took a big sip of the orange juice that was waiting for her. She certainly didn't feel energetic or cheerful, but she had to keep up appearances for just a little bit longer so her parents wouldn't become suspicious.

Ilene set a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of her. "Are you sure you're okay with this, Serena? I could stay here if you want me too."

"Moommm!" Serena muttered around a mouthful of toast, then she swallowed. "We talked about this already. You're going on this trip, and that's final. I'm going on seventeen. I can handle looking after myself for a few days. It's no big deal."

"If you're sure…" Ilene hedged.

"I am!" Serena insisted. "Daddy, tell her that I'll be fine."

"Leave the girl alone, Ilene. She'll be okay," Ken chuckled. Then he sobered. "But there's not to be any parties or boys over while we're gone. Do you understand, young lady?"

Serena almost choked on another sip of juice. "Daddy! Just what kind of girl do you think I am?"

"I'm just making sure," Ken stated firmly. "I don't want you and your girlfriends treating this house like party central. And neither Andrew or Melvin are allowed inside until we get back."

Serena sputtered. "Geez, dad! What in the world do you think I would do with either one of them? They are like my brothers!"

Ken's face flushed red in embarrassment, and then he muttered, "It's not really them I'm worried about. It's that other one."

"_He _has a name, dear," Ilene chided gently. "And I seriously doubt that Serena will be inviting Darien over while we're gone."

Serena felt a stab of pain in her chest, but she forced a look of disbelief onto her face. "As if I would invite that jerk over! He's rude and obnoxious!"

Ken held his hands up placatingly. "Okay, okay! I was just saying. It's my fatherly duty to do that." Then he looked at his watch. "Are we ready to get this show on the road?"

"Oh yes! I just need to grab my purse and coat from upstairs," Ilene almost squealed in excitement as she whirled out of the kitchen.

Ken shook his head in amusement for a moment before reaching into his pocket for his wallet. He took out a couple of bills and handed them to Serena. "For just in case you need to buy food or anything while we're gone. I know Andrew and Lita keep you pretty well fed, but you never know. And I'd rather you eat out than attempt to cook anything. I don't want the house to burn down."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot, dad!" But she took the money and slipped it into her skirt pocket. As soon as Ken left the kitchen she ran to the garbage can and scraped the uneaten food from her plate and into the trash. It seemed that food would be the least of her worries while they were gone. Ever since Darien had been taken her normally endless appetite had withered away to nothing.

She rinsed her plate and put it into the dishwasher before walking out into the entry hall. She was sliding her shoes on as her parents came down the stairs wearing their coats and each carrying a small suitcase.

Ilene set her bag down to hug Serena tightly. "Well, we're off, honey. Now daddy and I each have our cell phones on us, so you call us if you need us for anything, okay."

Serena laughed. "I'll be fine, mom. You just go and have fun."

Then Ken was hugging her. He kissed the top of her head. "See you in a few days, princess. Did you want us to drop you at school on the way to the airport?"

Serena shook her head. "No, that's okay. I'm meeting up with the girls and walking with them." Then she pulled her coat on and followed her parents outside.

"Be safe while we're gone, darling," Ilene said through the open window once they were in the car.

"I will, mom," Serena replied. "You guys have fun."

She stood in the driveway and waved to them as they pulled out. Once the car was gone from sight the smile faded from her face and her shoulders slumped slightly. Now that they were gone she didn't have to fake being happy.

She hitched her bag up higher on her shoulder and trudged glumly down the street, dragging her feet a little as she walked. A small smile did appear on her face though as she rounded the corner and saw the two people waiting for her.

"I see you got her up with no trouble," she said to Lita.

"Hmph!" Mina huffed as she leaned back against a light pole. "She bribed me is what she did. She knows that I can't resist her cinnamon rolls." She tore a piece off of the giant sticky bun in her hand and popped it into her mouth.

Lita chuckled and held up the bag she was holding. "I brought more if you're interested, Serena."

"Nah, I'm good. Mom fed me before I left the house," Serena told her.

They started walking down the sidewalk, Mina and Lita jabbering away about some actor on a TV show that they thought was hot. But Serena was lost in her own thoughts. She barely noticed when they hooked up with Raye and Amy a few blocks later. She was too busy thinking.

Where was Darien this morning? Was he stuck under Beryl's watchful eye, or was he here in the city? She knew that the other girls were still a little skeptical about whether or not the guy that she and Lizzy had seen the day before had been Darien, but deep in her heart she believed that it had been. She also knew that they believed that if it was Darien then he was probably working for Beryl now.

She fought back the urge to snort. That was a ridiculous idea! Darien would never go over to Beryl. That wasn't to say that the witch hadn't probably messed with his head. It had been pretty obvious that he hadn't known who she was when they had bumped into each other the day before, so he definitely wasn't himself. But no matter what, Darien was too stubborn to just blindly follow along behind Beryl.

She wished that he would just show up out of the blue again like he had before. If she could just speak to him for a minute she might be able to figure out what was going on.

A hand waved in front of her face. "Hello! Mars to Moon! Wow! You are a total spaz this morning!"

Serena jerked back to reality with a jolt. "Stuff it, Pyro!" she growled as the arcade came into sight. Her heart sank at the sight of Andrew waiting for them all alone. He looked as down and depressed as she felt.

He forced a smile onto his face when he saw them. "Hey! I was wondering where you girls were." He fell into step beside Serena and whispered to her," How are you holding up, Sere?"

Her lips trembled in a ghost of a smile as she looked up at him. "I'm making it, Drew. How about you?"

He shrugged. "About like you, I guess. This morning felt so weird without Dare popping in early for coffee. I feel a little lost."

"I know," she whispered, blinking back the sudden tears that had sprung to her eyes.

Andrew's warm hand found her cold one and gave it a squeeze. "Don't worry, Bunny. Everything is going to work out."

She squeezed his back in return. "I know, Drew. I keep telling myself that."

Suddenly a cold feeling, like someone had just shoved an icicle down her spine, shuddered through her. It was an oppressing, malevolent feeling unlike anything she had ever felt before. She jerked her head around, trying to find the source of it. But the sidewalk was so crowded with people making their morning commute that she couldn't pick out anyone in particular that it could be coming from.

Andrew's hand tightened around hers. "Hey, you okay?"

She looked up at his concerned face and smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine." She held on to his hand like a lifeline and even leaned against his arm, looking for some comfort from her friend. But she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She could almost feel eyes boring into the back of her head.

A half a block away, Endymion stepped out from the alley that he had ducked into to avoid being seen. How interesting. The moon princess was more perceptive than he had given her credit for. She had sensed his presence the moment he had allowed his aura to brush against hers. That could make things more difficult, but it could work to his advantage as well.

"Let the games begin, princess," he whispered as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and then stepped back into the alley to flash himself back to the Dark Kingdom. The girl and her friends were on their way to school for the day, and he didn't want to start a pandemonium by trying to make a move on her while she was surrounded by hundreds of innocent people. He would catch her alone sooner or later.

The curious thing was that he had felt a compelling need to run after the group and join them. It made sense, he supposed. If Beryl could be believed, then he had attended school with them for a while as part of his cover. He had almost been tempted to try to reassume his role as Darien and show up at the school, but with his memories muddled he never would have been able to pull it off without arousing suspicion.

But that was okay. He was making plans.

* * *

Andrew eyed the plate sitting on the counter critically. There were only two bites taken out of the burger and the fries hadn't been touched. An almost full milkshake sat next to the plate.

"Serena," he chided gently. "You need to eat."

The listless blonde before him grimaced. "Sorry, Drew. I guess I'm just not very hungry."

He snorted. "You weren't hungry at lunch either. You didn't eat more than a few bites and then spent the rest of the time picking at your food. Did you even have breakfast this morning?"

"Yes!" she fired back defensively and then flushed guiltily and mumbled. "A little bit."

It was after eight o'clock and the arcade was empty except for the two of them. It had been an extremely long and stressful day, but Serena hadn't been in a hurry to go home to her empty house. Andrew was the only one of her friends, thanks to his parents being friends with her parents, to know that she was home alone for the next few days. But she had sworn him to secrecy on the subject, claiming that she didn't want the girls hovering over her any more than they already were. And he had reluctantly agreed.

To keep up appearances that everything was normal she had left the arcade at her normal time and had gone home. But after dropping off her school things, changing clothes, and trying to watch some TV she had started to feel a little bit lonely. So she had come back to the arcade to visit with Andrew, who had insisted on feeding her dinner.

Now the sandy haired boy sighed. "Look, Serena, I know you're upset. I am too. But starving yourself isn't going to solve anything. I'm not going to rant and rave at you like the girls would, but I'm going to start taking it as a personal offense to my cooking skills if you don't start eating soon."

She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears as her face began to crumple. "I…I'm sorry…Drew," she sniffled. "I promise…_sniff_…it's not your cooking…_sniff_…it's me!" Then she began crying in earnest.

Andrew hurried around the counter to her side. This was what he had been waiting to happen the last couple of days, for Serena to finally let her feelings out. He had known Serena her whole life, and it wasn't like her to keep everything bottled up inside. She was too open a person to do that.

"That's it, Sere," he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her head down to his shoulder. "Go ahead and let it all out. You'll feel better afterwards."

"I miss him, Drew," she sobbed. "I miss him so much it hurts."

"I know you do," he soothed her as he let one hand smooth her hair the way he had when they were younger and he would comfort her after she had fallen down. "I miss the big idiot too."

She made a choked sound that was something between a sob and a laugh as she buried her face in his shoulder and let the tears flow. After several minutes she finally quieted and pulled back with a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry about that."

Andrew waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. What else are friends for? Feel free to cry all over me any time you need to. Now don't you feel a bit better?"

Serena drew in a deep breath, surprised to feel that the heavy weight that had been pressing against her chest all day had lightened some. A genuine smile touched her lips. "You know what, I think I do."

"Good!" Andrew exclaimed as he passed her a few napkins. "Now you mop yourself up while I fix you a fresh burger. I bet you'll feel even better once you get some food in you."

Her stomach let out the first hungry growl it had in days at the mention of food, and she giggled as she wiped the tears from her face.

Andrew disappeared into the kitchen, but was back in record time and set a hot, steaming burger and a pile of golden fries in front of her.

Serena surprised herself, finishing most of the burger, over half of the fries, and all of the milkshake while she and Andrew sat and talked about nothing important. She was feeling full and sleepy when she looked up at the clock and saw that it was after nine.

"I better get going," she said, sliding off her stool and reaching for her jacket. "If I don't I may fall asleep right here."

A tiny frown turned down Andrew's mouth. "It's late. Why don't you wait a little while? I'll be closing up soon and I can give you a ride home. Or better yet, you can come stay at my house. Mom would love to have you."

She patted his hand that was on the counter and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks Drew, but I'll be fine. It's not that far. And besides," she gave him a playful wink, "I'm Sailor Moon, remember."

He still didn't look happy, but he backed off. "Okay, but you be careful. And call me if you need anything."

"I will," she called back with a final wave as she stepped through the doors and into the chilly night. As soon as she did the foreboding feeling that she was being watched that she had experienced several times that day settled over her once again.

Most of the businesses around were closed now, so there were only a few people walking down the sidewalk and a handful of cars on the street. And nobody seemed to be paying attention to the lone teenage girl standing in front of the Crown. But she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was definitely looking at her. It almost made her turn around and run back inside to take Andrew up on his offer to stay at his place.

"Get over it, Serena. You're just being paranoid," she scolded herself as she pulled her jacket collar up to ward off the chill in the air and headed for home at a fast pace. She shivered a little as she passed the dark storefronts. Everything that seemed normal during the day suddenly appeared creepy at night.

She sighed in relief when she saw the first warm glows of lights from the homes of her neighborhood. Less than a block to go and she would be in a friendlier feeling environment. At least that was what she thought until she walked across an extremely dark patch of sidewalk where a streetlight had gone out and a hand reached out of an alley to grab her arm and jerk her into it.

Panic pounded through her veins as her heart leapt in her chest. Her mouth popped open reflexively to scream, but before any sound could come out a hand covered her mouth and she was pushed up against a wall.

Then hot breath was at her ear as a voice whispered, "Shh, Serena! It's me!"

She froze in shock at the sound of that voice. It couldn't be! She tried to get a good look at her attacker, but the alley was so dark. All she could see was a large black shape, definitely male. Then again, the voice had already told her that much. And it was a voice that she knew well, the only one that could make her feel like a gooey puddle of melted chocolate.

She tossed her head back and forth until she had worked her lips free from his confining fingers and whispered, "Darien!"

"Shh!" he shushed her. "I don't know if I was followed or not. Beryl might have sent Kunzite after me."

Questions burned on her tongue. "But how…how did you…"

"We can't talk here," he cut her off. "We need to find someplace private."

Completely disregarding her father's earlier instructions and the other scouts' warnings to steer clear of Darien if she ran into him, she blurted, "Let's go to my house. My parents and my brother are all out of town. So we'll have the place to ourselves."

She felt him nod. "Okay then. But let's hurry." He backed away from her so that she could move away from the wall.

Reacting on pure instinct, she reached out in the darkness and found his hand. A tiny thrill shot through her at the familiar feeling of his hand in hers. "Let's go," she told him as she set off at a run with him slightly behind her.

They covered the two blocks to her house in only a minute. Serena's hands shook as she pulled her keys from her pocket to unlock the front door. All she really wanted to do was turn around and throw herself into Darien's arms, but he'd seemed genuinely concerned that he may be followed. So it was best to get them inside first before they started celebrating their reunion.

She finally got the door open and dashed inside, pulling him behind her. Once in, she slammed the door, flipped all of the locks and put the chain on. Part of her brain told her that it was foolish because if a Dark Kingdom goon wanted to get in they would simply blast the door open, but it made her feel slightly better.

She leaned her forehead against the door for a moment, sucking in deep, ragged breaths as she tried to get her rattled nerves under control. Then she slowly turned around to look at her unexpected guest.

A sharp cry left her as she lifted trembling fingers to her lips. "Oh, Darien! What did they do to you?"

He was dressed in the same school uniform he had been wearing the last time she'd seen him in his civilian form at the arcade before he left for the fight at Starlight Tower. Only now it was wrinkled, dirt streaked, and sporting several tears. His jet black hair was messier than ever and hung down over his eyes. But his face, his poor face, it was puffy, swollen, and bruised like he had been in a fistfight.

He looked up at her then with those hypnotic dark blue eyes of his that made her breath catch in her throat. They sparkled humorously as one side of his mouth kicked up in that familiar cocky grin of his.

He pointed a finger to his face. "What this? It's nothing. Kunzite and I just had a little man to man talk earlier, that's all."

She rushed over to him and swept his bangs back so she could get a better look at the purpling skin around his left eye in the dim light from the lamp in the entry hall that she had left burning earlier.

"Don't tell me that it's nothing!" she fussed at him. "It looks pretty serious to me."

He pulled back with a short laugh. "Really Serena, it's not that big of a deal. It's already healing. I heal fast you know."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that, you big dummy! But it still looks painful. Maybe I should have Amy come over and scan you just to make sure that there's nothing seriously wrong."

"No!" he exclaimed, grabbing her wrist in a surprisingly tight grip. "Don't call anyone. The fewer people that know where I am the better."

"Okay," she agreed hesitantly, pulling her wrist away from his fingers and rubbing the slightly stinging skin absently with her other hand. "I won't call anyone. But you should at least put some ice on that eye. Come on."

She led him into the kitchen where she took off her jacket and tossed it over one of the chairs before hurrying to the freezer to get one of the reusable icepacks that her dad kept for when his old knee injury bothered him. She wrapped it in a clean dishtowel and then turned back to see that Darien had taken a seat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar.

She approached him slowly and then gently held the icepack up against his black eye. "Don't be such a baby!" she scolded when he hissed and flinched away from the cold. After a few seconds she whispered, "I have so much to ask you that I don't know where to begin."

Endymion smirked to himself. _'What a gullible fool! I thought it would take some time to convince her to let me this close. But she's practically thrown herself at me.'_

That confused him some though. He knew that Beryl had told him that he had charmed his way into her good graces, but she was treating him as if he were someone precious to her and she seemed to be truly upset at the sight of the fake injuries that he had conjured using his dark energy. He could even see a glimmer of tears in her soft blue eyes as she gazed up at him through her sooty lashes.

Before he could think of a reply, she gasped. "Omigosh! I am such a ditz! I've been so concerned with your face that I didn't even think to ask you about your back."

His forehead creased in confusion. "My back?"

She blew out an exasperated breath. "Yes, your back, Mr. Genius!"

He shrugged. "What about it?"

"Wh…what!" she sputtered. "I'm talking about the tiny fact that you were stabbed in the back only three nights ago by a giant ice crystal the size of a muscle man's arm, compliments of Zoicite. What did you think I was talking about?"

Okay, now he was lost. Beryl had only told him that he had been hit by one of Serenity's attacks. She had never mentioned anything about him getting caught up in one of Zoicite's as well. But now that he thought about it, he vaguely recalled a flash of memory of lying on that slab in Metallia's chamber with Beryl leaning over him as pain ripped through his back.

He bit back a growl of frustration. He should have questioned the red headed witch more, but she had been moody and petulant before he had left their base a short while before after he had refused to sleep with her yet again. He probably could have forced her to talk, but the silent treatment she had resorted to giving him had been a blessing since her voice grated on his nerves.

But that was okay; he had come prepared to face questions that he had no answers to. "My back feels fine. But to be honest, I don't really remember anything about the other night. There's actually a lot that I'm not quite sure of. I was out of it for a while and I think Beryl used her magic to mess with my head." For dramatic effect, he put a hand to his temple like he had a headache.

Serena's eyes widened, first in surprise, then in shock and disappointment. "So you don't remember what happened?" Did that also mean that he didn't remember that they had confessed their love to each other and had shared an earth shattering kiss?

She mentally kicked herself in the butt. It didn't matter if he remembered that or not. The important thing was that he had been through a dangerous ordeal and had managed to escape from it and he needed help. Beryl may have managed to scramble his thoughts, but he had still known to come to her.

She gave him a gentle smile as she carefully moved the icepack from his eye to his cheek. "It sounds like you've been through a lot. Maybe you should go lay down for a while."

Once again her kindness and concern struck him hard. He felt a stirring warmth deep in the pit of stomach, like there was someone else inside of him that was reacting to her words as well, and a light feeling spread throughout his body. If he had to put a name to it, he would say that he felt _happy_.

He felt like a different person as he reached up and covered the hand she held to his face with his. "I'm fine, Sere. Really I am. I'm a little mixed up and confused, but I'll be okay."

She nodded her head. "All right. But how did you manage to get away from Beryl. I mean, I never doubted that you would be able to, but I didn't expect it to be this soon."

All thoughts of warmth and happiness fled from his body as cold determination flowed through him. He didn't know what it was about this girl that made him feel so unusual, but he had to remind himself that she was the enemy and was currently a huge threat to his planet. But her actions tonight had been so caring and kind that all he wanted to do was pull her onto his lap and hold her close.

But he couldn't do that yet. First he had to disarm her. There would be time to woo the princess once he had relieved her of the Silver Crystal. After that he would make her his queen. And if she resisted him he would simply force her into it. After all, she would be powerless and her precious scouts wouldn't be able to touch him as long as he had the crystal.

Serena bit down on her tongue to hold back a gasp as she saw the conflicting emotions warring in Darien's eyes. For a moment she thought she saw his normally sapphire irises turn to a deep, murky black, and it scared the crap out of her. But it had to be a trick of the light, right? There was no way that his eyes could just change color like that. That was crazy.

But Endymion felt her body stiffen with tension. "What?" he demanded in a slightly harsher tone than he'd meant to."

"Noth…nothing!" Serena stammered. "Um, would you like something to drink? I've got tea, soda, and juice. I could make you some coffee if you like."

"Soda is fine with me," he replied in a calm, even voice.

Serena almost sighed in relief as he seemed to be himself again. She needed to chill out. Her imagination was definitely starting to get the best of her. She moved away from him to get the drinks.

"So, are you going to tell me the details of your daring escape?" she quipped lightheartedly as she filled two glasses with ice.

He grinned evilly at her back while she was busy at the freezer. It was time to reel her in with the story that he had concocted. By the time she turned around his face was a smooth mask of innocent confusion.

"Well, like I said," he began. "I don't really recall much from the other night. I was in and out of consciousness for a while, but when I woke up I was in this cave with Beryl standing over me. My brain felt like scrambled eggs, but I recognized her immediately. I couldn't remember much of anything else, not even my own name, but I knew that she was dangerous. She wasn't attacking me or anything though, so I played along for a while until I could figure out what was going on."

Serena walked back over to him and handed him a glass. He took a sip before continuing. "After about a day or so of acting clueless I discovered how they were using portals to come and go from wherever we were at. I saw Kunzite open one, and I figured anyplace was better than staying there, so I ran for it and jumped through. I found myself in a busy area, so I tried to blend in with the crowd. That was when you came out of a store and ran into me."

"Ha!" Serena crowed. "That was you! I knew it was, even though the other girls were skeptical. But why did you run away from me?"

He shook his head. "I didn't even know who I was, much less who you were. But I think when you said my name it triggered something. I started to remember bits and pieces. I was heading to the arcade to find you when Kunzite caught up with me and dragged me back to Beryl."

Serena's eyes were as wide as saucers. "What did she do to you?"

He grinned cockily. "Nothing too bad. She just pouted and whined a lot, she's good at that, and locked me in a room. I sat there for a while, trying to figure out the mess in my head, and then I started remembering you and knew that I had to get back here. I waited until the youma guarding the door opened it to bring me food, and I overpowered it and got out. I snuck around, waiting until I could find another chance to escape. I think Kunzite was planning an attack, because he had a couple of youma and a portal open. I waited until their backs were turned and jumped through. But I don't know if they know what I did or if I've been followed."

Serena looked indignant. "Well I'd like to see Kunzite or one of those youma come here and try to take you away again! If they do I'll blast them into next year!"

He smiled a smile that seemed out of place on his face. "So it's true then? You actually recovered the Silver Crystal?"

A shiver ran down Serena's spine. This time she knew that it was no trick of the light. Darien's eyes had changed from bottomless blue to flat, opaque black. She licked her lips nervously. "Um…are you hungry? I think I have some pie left in the fridge."

She spun around and opened the refrigerator to stick her head inside. As she did she closed her eyes and reached out with her aura to touch his, and almost recoiled at what she felt. The blue, green, and gold that she had learned to associate with him was still there, but it was faint, overshadowed by thick, inky black. It felt dark. It felt cold. And it was right on top of her!

She opened her eyes and straightened up. She turned around and shrieked when she found Darien only inches away from her. She'd never even heard him move. It was like he had just appeared behind her without a sound.

'_Okay, be cool, Serena,' _she told herself. _'He'd already warned you that Beryl has been messing with him, so this really shouldn't be such a shock. So she's muddled his energy some, but this is still Darien. There's no sense in acting like he's some kind of a psycho serial killer or anything. He would never hurt you.'_

"Geez, Darien!" she said with a shaky laugh, ignoring the tiny voice in her head that sounded just like Raye that was screaming at her for being stupid enough to bring him into her home alone before checking out his aura. "How about a little warning next time. You scared the crap out of me."

His eyes flashed back to their normal, sharp blue as he gave her a bone melting smile. "I'm sorry," he said huskily. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She slipped past him nimbly. "It's okay. You just took me by surprise. I think my brother ate all of the pie, but I'm sure I can scrounge up something." She walked toward the pantry, but what she was really trying to do was get to her jacket hanging on one of the dining chairs. Both her communicator and her brooch were in the pocket, and she felt a sudden need to have them close.

She reached the pantry and was about to turn and make a mad dash for her jacket twenty feet away when she felt a fissure run through the air. That was all the warning she had before she found herself pinned between two immovable objects, the heavy pantry door at her back, and 6'2" of solid male muscle against her front.

"Darien!" she squeaked in shock even as every nerve ending in her body leapt with joy at feeling his so close to her. "What are you doing?"

He let out a low chuckle as dark energy shimmered around him and the ragged clothes he was wearing changed into the black and silver armor and long sweeping cape that she remembered so well from her dreams and memories of the past. All the injuries disappeared from his face, leaving it as devastatingly handsome as ever.

Her chest felt like it was going to burst as she whispered, "Endymion?"

He smirked down at her. "I was trying to exercise patience, but I am not a patient man." He ran a finger down her cheek. "It's time for us to have a little talk, Serenity."

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"I don't like this," Beryl muttered as she paced back and forth before her throne. "Endymion is entirely too reckless and impulsive. He is treating this base like it's a hotel that he can come and go from as he pleases while he runs around and does his own thing."

Kunzite looked smug as he boldly settled himself on Beryl's throne and casually draped his legs over the side. "I warned you that it would be dangerous to play with him, my queen. You of all people should know that the prince is not like a typical man. He is very strong willed and possesses power of his own, even without holding the Golden Crystal. I tried to tell you that it would be nearly impossible for you to ever control him, but you wouldn't listen to me. You let your lust and desire for him override your good intentions, and now we have a loose cannon on our hands."

Beryl spun around and glared at him with sizzling eyes. "You are becoming impertinent, Kunzite! Perhaps you would like to join your brothers in eternal nothingness."

A smirk turned up his lips. "I don't think so, my dear foolish queen. Whether you want to admit it or not, you need me."

Her gaze narrowed. "And why would you assume that? You are nothing but a youma spirit that has been given a human body which to reside."

"That's true," he drawled. "But the body you gave me is the body of Endymion's top general, the man that trained him and taught him how to fight. I retain General Kunzite's powers and his knowledge of Endymion. As such, I probably know him better than anyone, except Serenity perhaps."

"That little bitch!" Beryl spat. "I'm sick of her always standing in my way!"

"She's the least of your worries right now," Kunzite said smoothly. "I would be more concerned about Endymion and what his plans are. You know that he's going after the princess himself, don't you?"

"Yes, and that bothers me," Beryl conceded. "Endymion isn't as brainwashed as I would have liked. I'm afraid that if he spends too much time with her that it will undo everything I have done to try to get him."

Kunzite barked a laugh. "With all of the dark energy that you poured into him, I would be more afraid of him overthrowing you. Do you honestly think that if he gets the Silver Crystal from Serenity that he will just hand it over to you? I don't think so. When you reprogrammed his brain you warped and twisted him into someone that's just as greedy and power hungry as you are. He may be even more so since he actually has a legitimate claim to ruling the planet and you don't."

Beryl pinched the bridge of her nose. "What is your point, Kunzite? I'm assuming that you have one."

His grin grew. "I do, my queen. What we need to do is get to the crystal before he does. One you have it he will have no choice but to join you fully if he still wants to have any control over his precious planet."

Beryl snorted. "And how am I supposed to get my hands on the crystal, send you after it? I don't trust you to hand it over to me any more than I do Endymion. Don't think that I have forgotten about your attempted betrayal. You would stab me in the back as quickly as he would."

That was true enough, but Kunzite had done some long, hard thinking about how close he was to suffering the same fate as the other generals…and it all boiled down to self preservation.

"I have a proposition for you, your majesty," he replied in a sincere voice. "I will not attempt to gain the Silver Crystal myself. I will seek to capture the princess and bring her before you so that you may have the honor of taking the crystal for yourself. I only have two requests from you if I do that."

She couldn't help but be intrigued. "And what would those be?"

His piercing gray eyes met hers. "I want my own country to rule as king and I want the fair princess of Venus for myself."

After a moment of stunned silence, Beryl threw her head back with a shrieking laugh. "Are you quite serious? I can understand you asking for your own little piece of Earth, but to ask for Sailor Venus…you would have to sleep with a knife under your pillow just to keep her from killing you in your sleep."

A devilish smile appeared on his face. "That will be unnecessary. I will simply keep her tied to my bed where she belongs. I've learned some useful tricks from you over the years, my queen. Now I would suggest that you make up your mind quickly, your majesty. Have you bothered to check up on your prince lately to see what he is doing?"

Beryl almost ran to grab her staff with the crystal orb at its top and gazed into the swirling mist. A screech of outrage tore from her throat a moment later when she saw Endymion holding Serenity pinned against a door, their lips almost close enough to kiss.

"Fine, Kunzite!" she exclaimed. "You will have your country and your princess! Just stop those two before something happens."

Kunzite stood from the throne and bowed to her. "It will be done as you ask, your majesty." Then he teleported away.

* * *

**_Tokyo_**

Serena was frozen in shock. It had been one thing to know that Darien was Endymion's reincarnation, but to have him standing in front of her looking exactly like he had in the dreams that had plagued her for so long was a little mind blowing. She had always thought of Endymion and Darien being two separate people that shared the same soul, but now that line was blurred.

She felt like there was someone else inside her crying, and though she was new to the knowledge that she was the moon princess, she knew that it was the part of her that remembered being Serenity that was weeping for her fractured prince, a prince that needed her help.

Recovering her wits, she put her hands on his shoulders and tried pushing lightly. "Darien! What are you doing?"

Those black eyes bore down into hers as he tsked. "Come now, Serenity. You know exactly who I am. You said my name just a few moments ago."

She pushed against him harder, but he didn't budge. "Stop it, Darien! This isn't funny!"

"Don't call me that name!" he snarled. "I am Endymion, crown prince of Earth. And you are Serenity, heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom. Let's not try to pretend otherwise."

"I am not!" Serena ground out forcefully. "I am only Serenity's reincarnation. My name is Serena Tsukino. And you are Darien Shields, Endymion's reincarnation."

He chuckled darkly. "You may be a reincarnation, you silly girl, but I am not."

"Yes you are!" Serena insisted as she bucked against him in an attempt to make him back up. "Your name is Darien. You're seventeen years old and a junior in high school. You lost your parents in a car accident when you were six and suffered from amnesia. You lived in an orphanage until you started high school and got your own apartment. Your best friend is Andrew and the two of you play basketball for the school's team. I also know that you want to be a doctor someday and that you moonlight as a masked superhero!"

Endymion froze as her words struck something inside of him. She spoke with such conviction that he could almost believe that she was telling the truth…almost.

He shook his head. "No. You're wrong. That was just what I wanted you to think. I know exactly who I am."

Irritation flashed inside of Serena, and she beat against his chest as she screamed. "Evidently you don't know who you are, you big, stupid jerk! You may have forgotten, but I know you better than anyone! You were Endymion at one time, and I was Serenity. And we loved each other enough to tell everyone else to go to hell! Beryl didn't like that and she attacked the moon with the intention of killing me and stealing you and the Silver Crystal for herself. But she didn't count on the fact that you were willing to sacrifice your life for mine. I held you in my arms as you bled to death for me and then I killed myself rather than face a life without you. And then my mother used her dying breath to give us a second chance at life. So don't you dare tell me that I don't know who you are, because I do!"

Endymion was stunned speechless at her outburst. She was either a very convincing actress or Beryl had been lying to him worse than he thought. As he stared down into those soft blue eyes that were rapidly filling with tears he felt that other presence inside of him surfacing once again.

"Serena," he whispered softly as he wrapped his arms gently around her waist.

A sob choked in Serena's throat as she saw his eyes turn back to the deep ocean blue that she loved so much. She knew that her Darien was in there, fighting to break free of whatever Beryl had done to him. She just hoped that he was strong enough to win.

Her arms crept up to wrap around his neck and she whispered, "Please, remember me, Darien," before she stood on her tiptoes and fastened her trembling lips firmly over his.

A vivid memory crashed through Endymion's head as he felt her mouth on his.

"_I don't give a damn about the crystals anymore!__" __Sailor Moon screamed at him as tears burned in her eyes__. "__Let the Dark Kingdom have them! I don't care! You are the only one that matters to me! Not princesses! Not evil queens! Not brainwashed generals or youmas! Just you, you big, stupid idiot!"_

_He looked at her in shock. "Serena," he whispered._

"_I love you!"__she cried as the tears began pouring down her cheeks__. __"I know I shouldn't, but I do. And I'm tired of fighting against it. Maybe it's wrong, and maybe I'll roast in hell for it, but that's the way I feel and I can't deny it anymore."_

_Then she pulled the mask from his face and gave him a deep, hot kiss._

_When she reluctantly parted from him several seconds later he lifted a hand and brushed the tears from her cheeks as he leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, "I love you too, Serena,"_

"Damn!" Endymion hissed as he jerked away from Serena. The headache that he had faked earlier was now a reality as conflicting thoughts and emotions played through his head. He wasn't sure what was real anymore and what was fake. He backed up several paces.

"Darien," he heard Serena say in concern as she stepped toward him.

"Stay away from me, Serena!" he demanded as a sharp pain sliced through his head and he fell to his knees. "Something is not right with me. You need to stay away!"

"But Darien…" she cried as she took another step closer.

"Just get the hell away from me, Serena!" he bellowed. "I'm not safe, and I don't know what I might do to you! Please! Just run away!"

Serena backed up a step at his tone, wringing her hands in helplessness. She wanted to help him, but she wasn't sure what she could do.

"Oh my!" a condescending voice sneered as Kunzite appeared in the middle of the kitchen. "It looks like we have a little dilemma here, don't we?"

"Kunzite!" Serena exclaimed, shocked at the sudden appearance of a Dark Kingdom general in her kitchen. She whirled and ran toward the table. She needed her brooch and communicator now more than ever.

"I don't think so, little princess!" Kunzite sneered as he popped off a light shot of dark energy.

Serena cried out in pain as the shot hit her right between the shoulder blades and sent her slamming down on the hard tile floor. The breath whooshed out of her lungs and left her feeling dazed.

Kunzite clucked his tongue as he stepped around Endymion, who was still kneeling on the floor and clutching his head. "That's right, Serenity. There's no need for you to call your little friends and get them involved in this. I'm sure we can be mature and handle things ourselves."

Gritting her teeth, Serena raised her head. Her jacket was hanging just a few feet away from her. If she could just reach it she would have her brooch and be able to hit the panic button on her communicator. She started trying to drag herself across the floor.

Then a foot was on her back, holding her down as Kunzite loomed over her. "So you're going to make me do this the hard way, huh? That's fine with me. Queen Beryl fancies a word with you, so you're going to accompany me on a little trip to see her."

Serena bit back another cry as she felt his considerable weight pressing down on her lower back. She felt like her spine was about to snap in two, but she managed to grind out, "Like hell I am! The only time I want to see that bitch is when I'm ready to kill her!"

Kunzite chuckled. "Ooo…still feisty even though I hold the upper hand are you? Face it, Serenity, I have you exactly where I want you and there's no one to help you. Your precious scouts aren't here and your dear boyfriend is…" he paused to look back at Endymion, who was now looking at him with an expression of confusion. "Well, let's just say that I don't think he's going to be charging to your rescue any time soon."

Serena couldn't hold back a short scream as the pressure increased, grinding Kunzite's heel into her back. She knew that she should do something to try to fight back, to try and push him off of her, but the thought of pushing her body up against the foot that was already causing her so much pain didn't exactly appeal to her.

Kunzite let out a low snicker as he reached down, while keeping her pinned in place, to grab one of her pigtails and wrench her head back. "So much for the mighty moon princess. Beryl is going to have a lot of fun with you."

Tears blurred Serena's vision, but they weren't just tears of pain or of hopelessness at her situation. Disappointment at herself swarmed through her as well. Everyone had put their trust and hope in her, the scouts, Luna, Artemis, and Darien; and now she had let them all down.

Then she heard the slightest whisper of sound. It wasn't much, just a light hiss and then a dull thud, but suddenly the weight was off her back. Finding herself suddenly free, she scrambled across the floor the last few inches so that she could reach her jacket and plunged her hand into the pocket. She didn't feel her communicator, but her almost numb fingers closed around the cool metal of her brooch.

She yanked it out and cried, "Moon Prism Power!" She felt the familiar rush of energy as pink ribbons burst to life around her. She jumped to her feet almost before her transformation was complete and looked around wildly to see what had happened.

Her mouth fell open in surprise. Kunzite stood a short distance away with a look of disbelief on his face that probably matched her own. A razor sharp, long stemmed, red rose was firmly embedded in the fleshy part of his upper arm. And a severely pissed looking Tuxedo Mask now stood in the spot where Endymion had been only a moment before.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kunzite demanded harshly.

Tuxedo Mask glared at him. "That's what I want to ask you. What gives you the right to interfere while I'm the middle of taking care of business?"

Kunzite shrugged. "Queen Beryl was concerned that you were becoming…distracted…by the princess. So she sent me in to relieve you and to deliver Serenity to her personally."

"Like hell!" Tuxedo Mask growled. "I warned her to stay out of my way and let me deal with things myself."

"Hey! I'm just doing as I was told," Kunzite snapped back. "If you have a problem with the way things are run then take it up with Beryl."

"Believe me, I will," Tuxedo Mask returned.

Kunzite rolled his eyes. "Whatever! Now if you will excuse me, I have a job to finish." He turned back to Sailor Moon.

She shivered as the general's cold gaze landed on her once more, but she raised a hand to her tiara in an instinctively defensive gesture. She wasn't going to give him the chance to catch her off guard again.

Then the air around her shimmered for just a moment, and Tuxedo Mask appeared in front of her, standing protectively between her and Kunzite. He glanced at her quickly over his shoulder, and she wanted to weep at the sight of those unshadowed blue eyes behind the mask. The man before her may think that he was Endymion and be unsure about which side he belonged to, but her Darien was still inside of him. And he was still protecting her.

"Get out of here, Serena," he said to her in a low tone.

She shook her head adamantly. "No! I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't you get it?" he growled. "Beryl wants your crystal badly, and she will do whatever she has to in order to get it. She also despises you with a passion and she won't give you a swift, easy death. She will torture you until you scream for death, and then she will torture you some more."

"That's right," Kunzite chuckled. "You have proven to be quite a problem for us, both now and in the past, and Beryl always gets her revenge. But if you come with me quietly she might be persuaded to show you a little mercy and give you a death more befitting your station, your highness."

"Back off, Kunzite!" Tuxedo Mask snarled. "I told you, this is my mission."

Kunzite smirked. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Endymion." He disappeared in a flash and reappeared behind Tuxedo Mask, next to Sailor Moon, less than a second later.

Tuxedo Mask whirled around to confront him, his tuxedo changing back to Endymion's armor in less than a heartbeat. He shoved Sailor Moon out of the way before Kunzite could grab her and in a lightning fast move had the general in a headlock with one arm pinned behind his back.

Sailor Moon looked up from where she had gone sprawling on the floor to meet his piercing gaze. In that moment she knew that it was truly Darien looking back at her.

"Darien…" she whimpered softly. To her surprise he glared at her angrily.

"If you see me again, Serena, run," he growled at her. "There's something wrong with me, and I'm a danger to both you and the Silver Crystal. I can't be trusted, so it's best that you stay as far away from me as you can."

She shot to her feet. "But Darien…"

"I mean it, Serenity!" he yelled at her as his eyes flashed to black once more. "Don't be stupid enough to think that I am the person you once knew. I'm no better than Beryl. And if I get my hands on you I intend to take the Silver Crystal myself. So if you value that pretty little head of yours you will stay the hell away from me!"

And then he disappeared, taking Kunzite with him.

"No, Darien! Come back!" Sailor Moon cried softly as her shaky legs gave out and she slumped to the floor. Her transformation faded as she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes to hold back the tears of frustration.

"Argh!" she shrieked a minute later. "I don't believe this! I had him right in front of me and now he's gone again. Am I ever going to catch a break?"

'_At least you know he's alive,' _her inner voice whispered to her.

That was true. But while he was physically fine, the same couldn't be said for his mental state. Beryl had really done a whammy on him.

But she had been getting through to him right before Kunzite had come barging in, she knew that she had. She was certain that if she had only had a few more minutes alone with Darien that she could have helped him. She had seen the recognition in his eyes as he looked at her. He may wear Endymion's appearance on the outside, but she knew that Darien was still in there. And she was certain that she would be able to reach him if she just had the chance.

She heard a beeping sound coming from her jacket that was still hanging on the chair, and she crawled over to it to reach into the pocket. This time she located her communicator with no trouble and pulled it out. The buttons for Mars and Mercury were flashing furiously, so she pressed them to answer the call. Immediately Raye and Amy's concerned faces appeared on the screen.

"Serena! Are you okay?" Raye demanded as soon as they were connected.

Serena took a calming breath. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Amy arched a brow. "Are you sure? Because my computer picked up on what might have been a negative energy reading around your house a few minutes ago."

Raye nodded vigorously. "Yeah! And the fire was really agitated earlier. I couldn't pick up on anything concrete, but I had a feeling like you were in danger."

Serena pasted what she hoped was a convincing smile on her face. "Nope, nothing going on around here. Everything's quiet." She flinched inwardly at the lie, but she knew that her friends would go into full psycho meltdowns if they knew what had happened tonight between her and Darien. They would rally around her like a pack of psychopathic pygmies and not let her within five miles of him.

And she couldn't let that happen. Darien seemed to be fighting against whatever control Beryl had over him, but he needed her help. And she wouldn't be able to help him if the scouts closed ranks on her. She felt a little guilty about lying to her friends, but it wasn't like they hadn't kept some secrets of their own from her for a long time.

Raye's eyes narrowed on her. "Are you sure everything is okay? You look a little freaked out about something."

Serena forced out a high-pitched giggle. "I'm cool. I was just watching this movie a little while ago and it scared the bejeebers out of me."

Amy sighed. "Serena! What are you doing watching a horror movie? You know that you don't like them and they always frighten you."

Serena wrinkled her nose up at her. "I was just flipping through the channels and ended up on it. I didn't know that it was going to turn out to be a scary movie."

Raye didn't look convinced. "Maybe we should swing by and take a look around, just to be on the safe side."

"That's not necessary," Serena replied quickly. "I told you that everything's fine here. You guys stay at home and get some sleep. I'm probably going to be hitting the bed soon myself."

Raye looked like she wanted to argue with her, but then she sighed. "Okay, Serena, if you say so. But you call if you need us, okay."

"Will do," Serena told them.

"Goodnight, Serena," Amy said quietly. Then she and Raye both disconnected.

Serena heaved a huge sigh of relief. She had always been a horrible liar, and Raye was sometimes too perceptive for her own good. She was going to have to be extremely careful about what she said and how she acted in front of the fire priestess until she got this Darien thing under control.

He would be back. She didn't know when he would be, but she knew that he would. He had pretty much told her that when he warned her to stay away from him. But she wasn't going to do that. He needed her, and she needed him. And there was no way that she was going to give up on him. She was going to find a way to break through whatever mojo Beryl had put on him and get her moody, cranky, sweet, and loveable Darien back.

Determination flowed through her. She could do it. She knew she could. But as she was turning to leave the kitchen, something caught her eye.

It was the rose that Tuxedo Mask had thrown to wound Kunzite. Obviously the general had pulled it from his arm and dropped it on the floor and she hadn't noticed.

Tuxedo Mask may have made a brief appearance here tonight and come to her rescue, but a ripple of fear shuddered through her as she looked at that rose. Just a few minutes before the petals had been a vivid, brilliant, ruby red…

…Now they were as black as tar.

* * *

**A/N **So another chapter down. Darien sure has his marbles mixed up, doesn't he? One part of him wants to remain Serena's protector while the other part wants to dominate her. But the bottom line is that both of his sides have feelings for her. Of course Darien feels only love for her while Dark Endy has a bad case of lust, but I'm a firm believer that true love is a powerful weapon, so we'll see where it goes. I know _Bad Boys _is due for the next update, but I may have _GT _ready before then. I'm also working on chapter 9 of _Sailor Scouts Captured by the Dead Moon Circus _with Raxius, so I'm not sure what will be posted first. But I'll get something up just as soon as I can. Keep those reviews coming! You guys know I depend on them. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	24. In the Dark of Night

**A/N **Hey guys! I'm going to make this quick because I'm trying to upload this on my lunch break. Yeah, school is back in session, so that means back to work for me. But the good news is that working gets my imagination clicking faster for some reason and has snapped me out of this stretch of writer's block that I've been suffering from. So I guess you could say that my job is therapeutic. Anyway let me get my hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**Chibi Kitt**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**saveme57**

**JuliaGulia17**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**jade2nightwing**

**Sailor Saiyan007**

**Huong**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**x-YingYing-x**

**sabina21**

**Elle Mariie**

**afallenblackrose**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**KatanaPrincess**

**rainbabie**

**GoldenDragon326**

**Swinkinator**

**rosie**

**wolfs bloods moon**

**insammity**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

Okay! I think I got everyone. And if I missed someone I am soooo sorry! You can feel free to yell at me if I did. So I hope you guys like this chapter. It's a little mix of everything, just like I usually do. And our fave couple gets to have a steamy moment as well…but I'll let you read for yourself.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 24

In the Dark of Night

* * *

_The night is darkest right before the dawn._

Serena remembered reading those words somewhere once, though she couldn't really remember where, but she had never really understood what they meant until she sat on the window seat in her bedroom and watched as the sky outside changed. One moment it was as black as crow's wing, and the next it was colored in delicate shades of purple and pink as the sun approached the horizon to begin another day.

She sighed tiredly as she stood and stretched, moaning a little as felt the kinks in her muscles from staying in her huddled position all night. But she hadn't felt safe going to bed after the confrontation in her kitchen the night before with Endymion and Kunzite. Not that she could have slept anyway with her emotions as frazzled as they were. She had been jumpy all night, afraid that one or both of the men would just magically reappear in her house as easily as they had disappeared before.

So instead she had sat up all night, clutching her brooch and jumping at every tiny sound. Luna had come home close to midnight and, much to Serena's relief, had promptly curled up on the foot of the bed and had fallen asleep with little talking. So she hadn't been forced to put on a cheerful act for very long. She had been afraid that her guardian would be able to pick up on her nervousness and demand to know what was wrong. And if Luna found out that Darien had been in the house and that he was at least partially under Beryl's control she wouldn't waste a second telling the other scouts. And how could she attempt to reach the real Darien buried inside of Endymion if her friends were constantly in the way? They would never let her near him if they knew the truth, and she would never be able to save him that way.

'_No. It's best that I keep things to myself, at least for now,' _she thought as she began moving around her room, gathering the clothes she needed for the day. Since she was up and about so early she had time to take the shower that she had skipped last night. She just hoped that the coming daylight would keep any unexpected visitors away. She had felt Endymion's tainted aura nearby on and off several times throughout the night and had sensed eyes watching her through the window, but that sensation had finally faded a couple of hours ago.

Luna stirred as Serena was reaching for a clean uniform in her closet. The cat's cinnamon eyes registered surprise at seeing her mistress up at such an early hour and then narrowed as she took in the sight of the still neatly made bed.

"Serena," she exclaimed in a scolding tone. "You didn't go to bed last night?"

Serena jumped at the sound of her voice and whirled around. She forced out a shaky giggle as she tried to bring her pounding heart back under control. "Oh…Luna! Um, no, I didn't quite make it to bed. I fell asleep on the window seat while star gazing." She winced at the lie and hoped that Luna wouldn't see through it.

Luckily Luna was in the process of yawning and didn't notice Serena's slight hesitation. Then she stood up and arched her back before curling back up in a different position. "Oh well! It's your muscles that have to pay the price for sleeping like that, not mine. You weren't nervous about us being here alone without your parents, were you?"

Serena turned back to her closet so her expression wouldn't give her away and grabbed her uniform. "Of course not! Geez, Luna! I'm almost seventeen years old. I can handle staying by myself for a few nights. I'm not a baby!"

"There's no need to get your feathers ruffled," the feline huffed. "I was just going to say that there would be no shame in going to stay with one of the girls if you wanted to. That is what they were reincarnated with you for, to help you."

'_Darn her guilt trips!' _Serena thought as she gritted her teeth. Then she pasted a smile on her face and whirled around. "I know that, Luna. But really, I'm fine. Now, I'm going to take a shower so I can get my day started."

Luna's eyes gazed at her critically for a moment before she shrugged. "Okay. I'm going to catch a little more sleep. Artemis and I have been spending every night in the control room running scans and going over reports, and I'm sure tonight will be no different. But don't worry, we're going to track down Beryl sooner or later."

Serena nodded and slipped into the bathroom. As she waited for the water in the shower to heat she stripped off her pajamas. Then she turned to study her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Despite her sleepless night, she had to admit that she didn't look too bad for it. Only the very palest of purple shadowed the skin under her eyes, and that could be hidden easily enough. She guessed that she was starting to get used to not sleeping after the last few months.

She hurried through her shower and then blew her ridiculously long hair dry until it shown like pure golden silk. Then she dressed in her uniform and escaped back to her bedroom where Luna was now snoozing contentedly on the bed.

She still had an hour and a half before school started, and she didn't feel like killing the time wandering around the house. She knew that it was Andrew's morning to help open the arcade, so she grabbed up her cell phone and paged through her contacts until she reached Lita's number and pressed the call button.

She knew that her auburn haired friend was an early riser, and was proven right when a wide awake sounding Lita answered after only two rings. "Hello."

"Hey, Leets!" Serena buzzed cheerfully.

"Serena?" Lita sounded astonished. "Are you seriously awake this early?"

Serena's nose scrunched up. "Very funny! Hey listen! I figured that you were on my wake up duty this morning, so I just wanted to let you know not to bother. In fact, I think I'm going to wander down to the arcade and visit with Drew for a while. So why don't you and the other girls meet me there before school."

"Okay. That sounds like a plan," Lita agreed. "I'm in the middle of baking a strudel anyway and I'll bring some with me. I bet you'll love it. It's apple."

Serena felt her stomach growl in response. She actually felt hungry this morning. "Sounds great! See ya then!"

She hung up and then quickly twisted her hair up into its normal style. She grabbed her schoolbag and then flew down the stairs where she jammed her feet into her shoes and put on her jacket. She was out the door and into the brisk, early morning before she knew it.

As she walked down the sidewalk that was peppered with a few early morning pedestrians, she went over the events of the night before. She knew that Darien was struggling inside of Endymion. She had seen glimpses of him a few times during the fiasco in her kitchen. She knew that if she could just get the dark prince alone where she could talk to him that she would be able to get through to him and possibly break whatever spell that Beryl had put on him.

Of course having Kunzite lurking around as well could make things difficult if he kept popping up and interfering, but she was just going to have to deal with that when the time came. Besides, she thought as she reached up to touch her chest through her jacket to feel where her brooch holding the Silver Crystal was pinned to the bow on her shirt, she wasn't going to get caught off guard again. This brooch was going to be kept within her grasp at all times. She had even carried it into the shower with her this morning. If Kunzite thought he was going to get the drop on her then he had another thing coming. Sailor Moon would break badass all over him.

There was also the little fact that no matter how intimidating he tried to be, Endymion seemed to be highly protective of her. He had jumped to her defense quickly enough when Kunzite had tried to take her away the night before. And even though he had warned her to stay away from him she didn't believe that she actually had anything to fear from him. It didn't matter if he was Endymion or Darien, it didn't even matter what Beryl had done to mess with his head. She had to trust deep down inside that he would never hurt her. He just wasn't that type of person.

But she was going to have to play the game carefully. She knew how to deal with Darien and all of his moods, and the part of her that was Serenity was certainly capable of dealing with Endymion, but the person that he was now was Beryl's creation. He was now a mix of both his past and his present self that had been corrupted by dark energy. And that could prove to be an intense combination that would make for a hard battle.

Almost as if her thoughts had conjured him, she felt the presence of his aura and looked up to see Endymion stepping out from an alley and into her path. She knew he was Endymion in that moment because his eyes glittered cold and black and a smirk twitched the corners of his mouth.

She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the confrontation. Keeping her eyes averted from him, she smoothed her expression into a blank mask of indifference as she strolled right by him like he wasn't even there. She heard him sigh and then felt his fingers close around her arm to pull her to a stop.

"What, no good morning greeting, Serenity?" he drawled. "That's not very becoming behavior for a princess."

She turned to look at him with what she hoped was a haughty look as she raised a brow. Drawing strength from Serenity's memories she stated coldly, "Forgive me if my manners this morning seem crude, Prince Endymion. But I'm afraid that I have absolutely nothing to say to you."

His smirk grew. "You seemed to have had plenty to say to me last night."

She sniffed and lifted her chin in the air. "Those words were for Darien, not you. He is the only one that I am interested in speaking to. So unless you want to let him out so that we can have a little chat then I see no reason for this conversation to continue."

His eyes wavered for just a moment before they hardened. Then his fingers tightened around her arm almost painfully as he growled, "There is no one to let out. The Darien you knew was just a farce, created for the sole purpose of getting close to you in order to take the Silver Crystal, nothing more."

Her heart broke at those words, but she managed to keep her face impassive. "If you are willing to believe Beryl's lies then you are a fool, Endymion. Believe me when I say that I know who you really are on the inside. And until you are willing to trust in me I have nothing more to say to you. Good day!"

She jerked her arm from his grip and began walking away. But she remained tense in expectation in case he made a grab for her again. But after putting several yards of distance between them she glanced over her shoulder to see him still standing in the spot that she left him, staring after her. His eyes had turned to their usual sapphire blue and he gave her a genuine smile of encouragement before disappearing back into the alley.

Serena let out a pent up breath in a whoosh. She hadn't been sure if acting the way she had would get through to Darien, but obviously it had and he had approved of her handling of the situation. A warm feeling, just like the one that she had always gotten when Darien praised her when he was teaching her to fight, filled her chest.

Hope added an extra bounce to her step as she hurried down the block to the arcade. As the glass double doors slid open and the smell of food hit her nose her stomach let out a large growl. She was going to need her head on straight and to keep her strength up in order to play this dangerous game with Darien. And what better way to do that than to start out with a large breakfast.

She looked around the arcade, not surprised to find it empty. The morning rush wouldn't start for about another half hour when commuters began to make their way to work and school, but it was a testament to how early she was up to find not a single customer there. At this time of the morning she knew that Andrew's dad would be upstairs in his office going over the books while his mom was probably in the back somewhere working on orders. But Andrew should be around somewhere.

She took a look around, searching for her sandy haired friend, but she didn't see him. Figuring that he must have gone to the bathroom or something, she slipped onto a stool at the counter.

She became lost in thought, planning out how she was handle the situation she was in. She was going to have to make sure that she watched herself around the girls so that they wouldn't become suspicious about what was going on. She couldn't trust Andrew with the fact that Darien had been in contact either. He was one of her closest friends, but she knew that his concern for her would make him tell the girls, and it had already been hard enough to get him to agree to keep silent about the fact that her parents were out of town.

She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, so she didn't realize that someone had come up behind her until a low, creepy voice spoke in her ear.

"_I'll get you, my pretty! And your little cat too!"_

She screeched loudly and spun around, her hand flying to her brooch. She expected to find Kunzite or some other Dark Kingdom flunky standing behind her. But what she found instead was the boy that had been like an older brother to her for her entire life.

Andrew stared at her in shock for a moment before doubling over in laughter. "Oh man, Sere!" he gasped. "I wish you could have seen your face. That was priceless!"

"Very funny, Drew!" she snapped with a pout.

He brought his laughter under control and wiped his eyes before slinging an arm around her shoulder. "Don't be mad at me, Bunny. You know I still love you. But you were sitting there and the opportunity was just too much to pass up. Let me make it up to you. Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving!" she moaned. "Feed me please, Drew! I'm begging you!"

He gave her an award-winning smile. "One jumbo deluxe breakfast, coming up! Do you want pancakes with that?"

She shot him a look that had him holding his hands up in the air. "Okay! That was a stupid question. What was I thinking? Of course you want pancakes."

He went to place her order with the kitchen and then returned to set a glass of orange juice in front of her before moving down the counter to help the two men that had just walked in.

Serena reached for the juice then paused as her cell phone began ringing. She pulled it from her skirt pocket and grinned when she saw the number on the screen. Flipping it open she answered, "Hi, mom!"

Ilene Tsukino's voice bubbled over the line. "Hi, sweetheart! I just wanted to call and make sure that everything was going okay."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Mooomm! Everything is fine. You've only been gone one day."

"I know! I know!" Ilene said hastily. "I can't help but worry though. I'm a mother and that's my job. You don't sound like I woke you, so I'm assuming that you got up on time."

"Yes, mom," Serena replied in a suffering tone. "I'm actually at the arcade and Andrew is about to feed me breakfast."

Ilene giggled. "Okay! I can tell that my questioning your independence is starting to get to you, so I guess I'll let you go. Your dad and I should be back sometime tomorrow afternoon, probably before you get home from school, so I guess we'll see you then."

"Okay, mom. I'll see you guys then. And don't worry, Andrew is taking good care of me," she stuck her tongue out at her friend who was giving her a knowing smile.

"All right, sweetheart. Be good. Daddy and I are off to the breakfast buffet now. We miss you," Ilene responded.

Tears prickled Serena's eyes. "I miss you too, mom. Bye."

"Bye darling!" and the call ended.

"Aunt Ilene checking up to make sure I'm not letting you starve to death?" Andrew joked.

Serena laughed. "Something like that. I think it's more that she wanted to make sure that I hadn't burnt the house down trying to cook for myself."

Andrew chuckled. "Well, Sere, you are about the only person I know that could burn water."

She scrunched her nose up. "Why do you and Lita always have to pick on me about my cooking skills? It's not like everyone can be as talented as you two are. Besides, I can cook some things. My mom says that my curry tastes better than hers and I've gotten pretty good at making pancakes too. So I'm not completely hopeless. Now where is my breakfast?"

* * *

"Something's different about Serena today. I don't know what it is, but she just seems off to me for some reason," Raye growled as she set her lunch tray down on the table.

Amy looked up from her textbook of the day with a frown. "I admit that she seems to be acting more cheerful than she has the last few days. But I don't believe that it is any cause for concern. She's been so depressed over the recent events that this is probably just a coping mechanism for her. She's also probably trying to keep us from worrying about her."

Mina picked the piece of pepperoni pizza in front of her and glanced up to where Serena was laughing with Andrew in the lunch line. "I don't know. Raye may be onto something here. The love of Serena's life has been taken away from her. I know she's hurting from it. I can feel it. It does seem strange that she's acting so perky and cheerful today after moping the way she has."

Lita snorted. "I agree with Amy. Serena is just trying to cover up how she's really feeling because she doesn't want us worrying about her. You guys know that's the way she is. She doesn't like for people to make a fuss over her."

All of the heads nodded at the truth of that statement. Serena was the type of person to worry and care about those around her, not the other way around. She would rather be miserable and know that her friends were happy rather than drag them down with her. That was just who she was. But still, something just didn't seem right.

They all looked up as Serena dropped into her chair with her lunch, still laughing with Andrew as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"Oh man!" she gasped. "That movie sounds hysterical. I'm definitely going to have to check it out."

Raye saw an opening and took it. "Hopefully it will be better than the one you watched last night, Serena."

Serena looked up in confusion. "Huh?"

Violet eyes rolled at her. "Duh! Remember the movie you told Amy and I that you were watching last night when we called you. The one that freaked you out."

Her expression fell slightly. "Oh yeah! That one!" She shuddered then whined, "Thanks a lot, Raye! I had managed to block that movie out of my mind until you brought it up."

Andrew's interest was prickled. "Ooo, what was it, a horror movie? Man! I hate I missed that. I like a good slasher film."

"It wasn't very good," Serena muttered.

Andrew looked at her critically. "But what were you doing watching something like that. Especially considering…"

Serena shot him a glare, making him quickly change his sentence.

"…you hate horror movies," he finished lamely.

"I didn't know it was going to turn into a scary movie when I started watching it," she pouted, relieved that Andrew hadn't spilled the beans. She just knew that he had been about to say, "you were home alone."

She pasted a bright smile back onto her face. "Enough talk about scary movies! What do you guys think we'll be doing in gym today?"

Everyone stared at her in shock for a moment. Gym was the one class that they had shared with Darien, and Serena had spent the whole period the day before looking like a lost puppy in search of its master. So this complete turn around in her attitude surprised them all.

Lita recovered her voice first. "Um…I think I heard a rumor that we were starting basketball today."

Amy nodded. "I heard the same."

"Ooo!" Serena squealed to Andrew. "Now will be the chance for you to show off, Mr. Basketball Star!"

The rest of the lunch period passed with everyone eating and making small talk until Andrew stood up a few minutes before the bell was supposed to ring.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Serena complained.

Andrew looked suddenly nervous. "Oh! Um…well…I've got something to go take care of."

Amy sighed heavily. "He's going to pick up Darien's assignments, Serena. I called the school and pretended to be my mother's receptionist. I told them that Darien had a severe infection and I wasn't sure how long he would be out. We thought it would look funny with Darien being gone since he never misses school. So Andrew's getting his work to keep up the appearance that Darien's just sick. If any of the teachers try to call the number I gave to get an update the calls will be directed to me."

Serena had gone rigid at the mention of Darien's name, but then she seemed to relax and smiled. "Good thinking, Amy. With everything else that has been going on I never stopped to think about what people would think about him missing school. He'll probably be ticked when he gets back and finds out that his perfect attendance record has been ruined." She forced out a laugh.

Andrew scurried away while the girls finished up. A few minutes later they gathered their trash and threw it away before heading out of the cafeteria.

"I told you she wasn't watching a movie last night! She's lying!" Raye hissed through her teeth to Amy.

Amy nodded. "I'm afraid you may be right. But that only makes me more concerned about the negative energy reading near her house last night."

"What are you two muttering about?" Lita asked as she fell back from Serena and Mina to join the conversation.

The other two quickly filled her in on the night before and the strange conversation they had with Serena when they had called her after both the Mercury computer and the Great Fire had signaled that something might be wrong.

"Hmm…" she mused. "It is disturbing to think of Beryl having Serena attacked in her home. We'll just have to hope that having her family around will deter the Dark Kingdom from taking any action there. The only interest they've had in regular people up until now was to steal their energy from them. But they aren't collecting energy anymore so Serena might actually be safest at home with her family."

"Here's hoping," Raye and Amy both intoned gloomily.

In the meantime Mina was searching for the best way to break the ice with Serena. As the goddess of love, it was her duty to look after her princess and her sister scouts when it came to matters of the heart, and she knew that Serena needed to talk about Darien. It wasn't healthy for her to keep her thoughts about the reincarnated prince bottled up inside. Andrew had informed her earlier that Serena had a meltdown the night before at the arcade, and that was good beginning, but she needed to let all of her emotions out, not just the sadness and heartbreak, but her pain and anger as well. That was the only way that she would be able to clear her head and focus on taking the Dark Kingdom down.

As her eyes fell on Serena's long, golden pigtails, that now fell a few inches below her knees despite looping the strands around her buns a couple of extra times, inspiration stuck Mina. She began digging through her bag as she spoke. "Hey, Serena! You know how you were talking about needing to get your hair cut?"

Serena looked at her quizzically and nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well check this out!" Mina crowed triumphantly as she pulled out a bright pink flyer. "A new salon just opened up and they're having a grand opening special! All haircuts are half price and they're throwing in free conditioning treatments! Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Yeah, it does," Serena agreed softly as she pulled one of her tails over her shoulder and began fingering it gently. "I would like to get my hair back to a length I can manage easier." Then her voice dropped to a whisper. "But Mina, it's grown so much in the last few days. I think it's stopped now. But what if I get it cut and it grows back again?"

Mina laughed. "I don't think you have to worry about that. I'm sure the worst is over. So what do you say, do you want to come with me? I could use a trim myself before the split ends take over. Oh, please say you'll come! It would be nice to go and get pampered for a little while, don't you think?"

Serena began to grin. "Okay! You talked me into it!"

Neither one of them noticed the man watching them from the shadows of an empty classroom or saw the smirk that appeared on his face before a portal opened behind him and he stepped through it to disappear.

The Mercury computer beeped once, but when Amy pulled it out to check it she saw nothing unusual so she stowed it back in her bag as she continued on to gym class with her friends.

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"Where is he?" Beryl seethed as she paced in front of her throne. "He should have been back by now! How long could it possibly take to spy on one stupid little girl?"

She heard a knock on the chamber door and screamed, "Enter!"

A youma with pale blue skin and long brown hair came through the door timidly. She took one look at the enraged queen before hurrying across the room to kneel down respectfully.

"Your majesty," she said in a shaking voice. "Prince Endymion has returned. I conveyed your request to him that he come to you at once, but he adamantly refused and said that he had more important business to attend to."

Beryl's eyes flared at the news. "Did he now? And did you stress to him the importance of his presence before me?"

The youma nodded frantically. "I did, my queen. But he refused to listen and stormed into his chamber without a word."

"What!" Beryl shrieked. "How dare he defy me again!"

Dark energy crackled around her and then shot out from her in a rush, sending the youma flying across the chamber where it slammed into a wall with a screech before exploding into dust.

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase _'Don't shoot the messenger'_?" Kunzite asked in a dry voice as he stepped out from a portal that had opened during Beryl's temper tantrum. He eyed what little was left of the youma and quirked a brow at the queen. "Bad day?"

Beryl ignored his sarcasm. "Where have you been? I've been waiting forever for you to get back."

He shrugged. "I'm sorry if my delay troubled you, but it took me some time to gather the information I needed. Sneaking into a school full of hundreds of human teenagers is not exactly an easy feat to accomplish without detection, especially when five of the students are sailor scouts and they are the ones that you are attempting to gather information on."

Beryl bit back a growl of irritation. "Well did you find out anything useful? I want to make a move on Serenity before Endymion has a chance to. Once that little bitch is out of my way and I have her crystal I'll have Endymion right where I want him."

A calculating smile appeared on Kunzite's face. "I believe I have come up with a plan, my queen. It will require the use of a certain youma to pull it off. But if it works I believe that you and I will both have exactly what we want."

* * *

Endymion hissed in pain and pulled his fist away from the stone wall he had just sent it slamming into. The skin over his knuckles was broken and bleeding, but as he gingerly flexed his fingers he determined that none of them were broken. These slight injuries were nothing and would be completely healed in just a matter of hours.

He hated feeling weak, he despised it actually, but that was exactly the way he felt right now. He was used to being calm, cool, and in control. He was the prince of Earth, damn it! He had been trained to fight from the time he could walk and had led his father's army to victory on numerous occasions by the time he was sixteen. There was no room in his life for doubt and uncertainty, and he had always prided himself on his ability to keep a level head even in the direst of times. So why was he feeling so conflicted now?

He knew why. It was because of her…Serenity. No matter how much he tried to fight against the strange feelings the little moon princess stirred up inside of him, she had somehow managed to worm her way past his iron hard exterior and touch him on an emotional level…and he didn't like it at all.

Not that he liked the girl in the least. He loathed her for bringing the threat of possible danger to his planet. But at the same time he couldn't deny that he felt something whenever he thought of her. These emotions were foreign to him, and he couldn't quite put a name to them. All he knew was that when he saw her upset that he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her until whatever was troubling her went away.

Then an evil smirk twisted his lips. Of course the thought of holding that sweetly rounded, petite body against his stirred up another emotion inside of him, and it was one that he could identify. It was lust.

Oh yes! He could definitely imagine all of the things he would like to do with dear little Serenity if he ever had the chance. In fact, he had seriously considered taking her last night when he had been in her home. When she had thrown herself against him and kissed him he had come very close to throwing her to the floor and ravishing her until she screamed his name in pleasure.

But then things had gone haywire. Something inside of him had made him stop and push her away. It had almost been like there was another person inside of his body, fighting to take control. His head had felt like it had been split open by a meat cleaver and the confusing images that had been whirling randomly through his head since he had woken up in Metallia's chamber had bombarded him all at once, overwhelming him. He kept seeing himself with Serena, as she was called now, and it seemed that they had spent a lot of time together. Sometimes he saw them arguing, but there were other times where they were laughing together like they were the best of friends.

Then Kunzite had shown up and decided to stick his nose in where it wasn't wanted and everything had gone completely downhill. Most of the events were a blur to him, but he did remember the rage that had torn through him when the general had attacked Serena. Even now, just thinking of the way she had tried to hold back her cries of pain while pinned under Kunzite's boot made him want to go rip the youma possessed man limb from limb.

He shook his head. These feelings weren't right. He shouldn't be feeling compassion for his enemy, much less feel such an intense need to protect her. Sure he had thoughts of making her his queen, but that was only because he wanted her as a trophy of his victory. And having her in his bed every night would be an added bonus.

He strode across the room, armor clinking ominously, and threw the door open before stepping out into the corridor and slamming it behind him. Youmas scurried away into the shadows at the sight of his dark expression.

He needed answers, and this time he was going to get them. An earlier message from Beryl had demanded his presence and he had ignored it. But he was now ready to oblige her if she wanted to see him so badly. He just hoped that she was prepared to deal with him, because he was not in a good mood.

When he reached the doors to her throne room he sent the two youma standing guard fleeing with nothing more than a glare. He put his hands on the knobs and was about to thrust the doors open without the benefit of knocking when the sound of voices made him pull up short.

Cracking the door open slightly, he listened in as Beryl and Kunzite seemed to be having a very intense conversation. He felt sort of childish eavesdropping like this, but since he didn't consider neither Beryl nor Kunzite to be an ally at this point he was on his own. And it was a good idea to gather as much information about his possible opponents as he could.

"Are you sure it is a good idea to try to take them both at once?" Beryl demanded. "I know you harbor an infatuation for Venus, Kunzite, but there is a reason why she is the leader of Serenity's scouts. She was cunning and lethal during the Silver Millennium and I have no reason to believe that her reincarnation should be any different, despite the fact that she presents herself as being nothing more than a spoiled piece of eye candy. She will fight until the death to protect Serenity if she has to."

"I don't believe it will come to that," Kunzite drawled easily. "I plan on incapacitating both girls before they even realize that there is any danger and then transporting them here. This is an opportune time to kill two birds with one stone. Venus and Serenity will be separated from the other scouts, making it easier to catch them off guard. Just think about it. In a few short hours you could have the moon princess cowering before you while I have the fair Venus all to myself. We may never get another chance like this."

Beryl sighed. "Fine, Kunzite! Go ahead with your plan. And keep your preparations quiet. We don't need Endymion catching wind of this and getting involved. He is too conflicted when it comes to the matter of Serenity. It's probably best that we take care of the little moon bitch ourselves without him interfering. Perhaps once she is out of the picture he will settle down and we can move on."

'_Hmph! In your dreams, Beryl!' _Endymion thought as he backed away quietly from the door. As much as he wanted to confront Beryl and strangle the truth from her skinny, anorexic throat, he thought it might prove to be more beneficial to lay low for just a while longer.

Beryl and Kunzite were obviously determined to get to Serenity before he did, and he couldn't let that happen. He needed Serenity's Silver Crystal if he ever hoped to get the red headed witch out of his life permanently. He wasn't afraid of Kunzite. Even if the disguised youma had retained his former head general's fighting abilities he knew that he could take him on. Kunzite had trained him personally in the art of warfare, but the student had surpassed the teacher some time ago.

Beryl, on the other hand, was a little bit different story. He knew that he intimidated her and that he could get away with pushing her around quite a bit because she was so wrapped up in her sick obsession of him that she was loathe to hurt him, but if he were to truly confront her and she fought back she would have Metallia's power behind her. And without the Golden Crystal he would not be able to stand against her.

So his best bet was to bide his time until he could make a move on Serenity himself. And if that meant working around Beryl and Kunzite to keep them away from her, then so be it.

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

Serena stormed into her house that night at a time that was well after dark. Her long golden hair was out of its regular style and hung in shimmering waves down her back. But unlike this morning when the ends had dragged the ground it now only reached to her knees, and that was a relief. But relief was the last emotion that the reincarnated princess's expression showed. She looked livid.

"I can't believe this!" she shrieked as she flipped on the lights in the entry hall and stomped up the stairs toward her bedroom. "It's pretty sad when I can't even take an hour to go get my hair done without the Dark Kingdom deciding to come creeping around!"

She slammed into her room, vaguely taking note that Luna was already gone for the night, and pitched her schoolbag toward her desk before throwing herself across the bed. She pulled a pillow over her face that muffled her scream of, "It's not fair!"

After a few minutes she began to feel suffocated by the pillow and tossed it aside to stare forlornly at the ceiling as she thought back over what was supposed to be a fun and relaxing afternoon gone wrong.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

"You really do have a lot of hair, don't you?" the stylist commented as she rinsed the last of the shampoo from Serena's hair. "It's really pretty though. It's not often that you see naturally blonde hair like yours in Japan. I noticed that the girl you are with has hair just like yours. Are you two related?"

Serena smiled as she closed her eyes, enjoying the pampering. "She's my cousin." She wasn't lying exactly. She and Mina had been cousins at one time, it just happened to be in another life.

"Really!" the stylist exclaimed. "I would have pegged you two as being sisters, possibly even twins. You girls definitely look enough like each other to pull it off."

"Yeah, we've been told that before," Serena replied as she thought back to how many times Minako, as Mina had been known in the past, had stood in for her when she hadn't felt like attending certain events. They really had looked enough alike that no one other than the people closest to them had been able to tell the difference between them.

The woman had then turned off the water. "Well you just sit tight for a minute. All of the dryers are taken at the moment, but as soon as one becomes free I'll slap some deep conditioner on that hair of yours and get you under a dryer. After that we'll see about giving you a good, healthy trim. I know I said that your hair was pretty, but have you ever thought about doing color? I was thinking that you might look stunning as a red head. Your pale skin would be perfect for it."

Serena shuddered at the thought of red hair, her memories turning automatically to Beryl. "Um…no…I like my hair color just the way it is."

The stylist sighed. "I really can't blame you there. I bet with your blonde good looks you have the guys lining up to ask you out."

Serena managed a small, sad smile. "No, not really. But that's okay with me."

"Ohhh," the woman drawled. "I know that look and that tone of voice well. You've got your eyes set on one certain someone. So tell me, is he hot?"

Serena's smile brightened as she thought about Darien's sinfully good looks, the way his shiny black hair always fell over those deep blue eyes of his always gave her a shiver. And that crooked smile of his…she sighed…that smile melted her like butter every time.

The stylist chuckled. "Well I guess your reaction answered my question. You definitely look like a girl that's in love."

"I am in love," Serena replied dreamily. "And he is way beyond hot. He has to be the most gorgeous guy ever to be born. He's also smart, funny, and caring…" her voice trailed off.

The woman snickered. "You've got it bad, girl. Okay, so you just hang here for a minute while I go check on another client. I'll be right back."

Serena closed her eyes as she relaxed in the reclining chair. She knew that Amy hadn't been happy about her and Mina blowing off this afternoon's study group and Raye and Lita thought that they should be brainstorming ideas about how to defeat the Dark Kingdom, but this was a pleasant change of pace. She felt calmer than she had in days. In fact, she was so relaxed that she felt like she could fall asleep right there.

She was actually on the verge of dozing off when she heard a strange hissing sound. Opening her eyes, she looked around to find the source of the noise. And she was shocked by what she saw.

Every hairstylist in the salon held what looked like a hairspray can, and they were spraying the aerosol into the air. But what was coming out of those cans didn't look like hairspray. It had a slight pink tint to it and hung in the air like a vaporous cloud. The salon patrons were passing out, one by one, slumping over in their chairs.

Serena began to feel lightheaded, so she slid out of the chair to the floor where the air was clearer. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she was willing to bet money that the Dark Kingdom was behind this. It looked like Sailor Moon was going to be needed.

She crawled across the floor, her long hair trailing wetly behind her, toward a back supply room. And she prayed fervently that the fog caused by the knock out gas kept anyone from seeing her. She shot a glance in Mina's direction, hoping that she could count on some backup from her, but a brief look at her blonde friend showed that she was completely unconscious under the dryer where she was sitting.

She made it to the back room, where luckily the air was clear, and jumped to her feet, ripping off the shampoo cape as she reached for her brooch on her shirt and whispered, "Moon Prism Power!"

As soon as she had completed her transformation she grabbed her communicator and pressed the call all button. She cursed softly when she heard the beeping out in the salon that came from Venus's communicator. She hoped that didn't call attention to helpless friend.

In just a few seconds Raye, Lita, and Amy's concerned faces appeared on the screen and she announced in a harsh whisper, "We have a situation at the hair salon. I'm pretty sure it's Dark Kingdom related. I need you guys here as quickly as possible. Venus is out of commission at the moment, so hurry!"

She heard three quick confirmations before cutting the link. Then she peeked around the doorframe back into the salon. She almost groaned aloud when her suspicions were proven correct. All of the stylists had disappeared and now a youma stood in the middle of the dissipating vapor.

'_Oh you have got to be kidding me! How much freakier can these youma possibly get?' _Sailor Moon thought wildly. She had seen some messed up looking youma since she had begun fighting the Dark Kingdom, but this one ranked up near the top. It wasn't the bulky, red armored body or even the braids of hair that stuck up from its head that made it unusual. That was fairly normal for a youma. It was the sight of the giant hair clipper in the place of where the right arm should be that made Sailor Moon apprehensive. That thing looked like it could do some damage.

The air next to the youma shimmered as Kunzite appeared. He looked around in satisfaction for a moment before he asked, "So was the plan a success?"

The youma nodded. "It was done as you asked. Neither one of them ever knew what hit them. There's one," she pointed to Mina's unconscious form. "And there's…" she faltered as she turned to find the chair that Serena had been in a few minutes before empty. "Where did she go? She was just there."

Kunzite growled. "Well you better find her quick before she gets away. Queen Beryl will not be happy if the moon princess escapes us."

The youma squeaked in alarm. "I'll find her! She couldn't have gotten far. She had to be affected by my sleeping gas." The monster began checking every person in the place.

"Make sure you do!" Kunzite commanded. "Your orders are to find Serenity and deliver her to her majesty. In the meantime, I'll be taking this one back personally." He stepped toward Mina.

Anger sparked inside Sailor Moon as she saw the general reaching for her friend. First the Dark Kingdom had taken Darien and now they were trying to take Mina too! No way! It would be over her dead body before she allowed any more of the people she loved to fall into Beryl's clutches.

She barreled through the door and screamed, "Get the hell away from her, Kunzite! Don't you dare lay a finger on her!"

He turned to her with a smirk. "Well, well, Serenity. I see that you are still here after all. And you're so quick to jump to your captain's defense. That is quite bold of you, princess."

"Just shut up and step away from her!" she snapped. "There's no way that I'm going to let you do to Mina what you did to Darien!"

His smirk grew. "And what are you going to do about it? Are you going to try to stop me?"

"You better believe it, buddy!" she shrieked as she jerked her tiara off her head and it turned into a glowing, spinning disc. "I'm not going to lose any more friends to you."

He gave her a droll look. "Are you really going to attempt that tired old trick on me again? I thought you would have learned by now that your little tiara is no threat to me. It's no more than an annoying fly for me to swat away."

"That was then, and this is now. And I think you might want to think twice about who you're messing with," she stated coldly as she subconsciously activated the power of the Silver Crystal hidden inside of her brooch.

A shiver of apprehension shook Kunzite as a crescent moon began glowing on Sailor Moon's forehead and her spinning tiara began crackling with silver energy. He knew that he was no match for the princess if she decided to use her full power. His best bet would be to take her by surprise. He gave a subtle gesture to the youma to attack.

The youma sprang forward with its clipper enhanced arm aimed for Sailor Moon. The attack caught the young super heroine off guard and she screeched as she jumped out of the way. She lost her balance and went rolling across the floor,

The youma howled in victory and dove in for the kill. Sailor Moon froze up, knowing that she didn't have time to move or counter attack. If only the other girls had gotten here before this had happened.

Then, almost in slow motion, she saw her saving grace. Just like it had on too many other occasions to count, a red rose came streaking into sight, striking the ground between her and her attacker and making the youma pull up short. She whipped her head around and felt like crying when she saw him.

Tuxedo Mask sat nonchalantly in one of the styling chairs, one leg crossed casually over the other and his cane in his hand. He looked over the situation with an almost bored expression.

"Tuxedo Mask, you're here!" Sailor Moon barely breathed.

His eyes were cold and hard, but blue, behind his mask as he flicked a lazy look over her. "Don't get the wrong idea, Sailor Moon. I'm not here to help you. I'm here to help myself."

"Endymion, what are you doing here?" Kunzite snarled. "How dare you interfere with my mission!"

Tuxedo Mask gave him a cocky smile. "Consider it payback for interrupting me last night when I was in the middle of something. Besides, if you think I'm just going to stand by and let you capture the Silver Crystal for Beryl then you're wrong…dead wrong."

"Are you threatening me, prince?" the general sneered.

Tuxedo Mask rose from the chair. "Oh, it's not a threat. It's a promise. Of course Serenity could make things much easier on herself if she would just go ahead and hand the crystal over to me."

"You're both insane! I wouldn't give my crystal over to anyone, much less you two," Sailor Moon muttered as she looked away from Tuxedo Mask to hide the tears that were burning her eyes. Her gaze landed on the rose that had saved her from the youma and saw that it had turned black, just like the one the night before had. The symbolism of what that meant made her want to break down and cry. But she didn't have that luxury right now.

Kunzite shrugged. "Whatever! You two can battle things out between yourselves. I've got what I came for." He reached for Mina again.

"No! Mina!" Sailor Moon screamed as she jumped to her feet. She threw the tiara that she was still holding in her hand at him and it sparked to life in midair, glowing brighter than it ever had before.

Kunzite hissed as the tiara slammed into his forearm, cutting through his sleeve and skin as easily as a hot knife through butter. He also swore he heard a snapping sound, and if the pain he felt was any indication he was certain that the moon princess had just broken his arm. He looked to the slumbering Mina and growled. There was no way that he was going to be able to take his princess with him today. He was just going to have to retreat and try another time.

"You bloodthirsty little bitch!" he snarled at Sailor Moon. "You may think that you have won this, but the battle is just beginning." He turned to the youma that had been standing quietly and awaiting orders. "Kill her! I don't care what you have to do, just do it. Then you can drag her dead body back to Beryl!" Then he opened a portal and stepped through it, disappearing.

The youma growled and lunged at Sailor Moon again, who was barely able to dodge the attack.

"Um…how about a little help here?" she screamed at Tuxedo Mask when he just stood there doing nothing.

He smirked at her before sitting back down in the chair again. "No, I think I'll let you handle this on your own. That is unless you want to hand the crystal over to me now. If you do I might be persuaded to assist you with your little predicament."

She glared at him for a moment before jumping out of the way of another attack. Then she shot him a murderous look. "You suck, Darien!"

He chuckled like he found her anger amusing, but continued to sit there like he didn't have a care in the world.

Sailor Moon looked around the salon, crowded with unconscious bodies, and knew that she needed to get the fight out of there before somebody got hurt. She didn't like the idea of letting Mina out of her sight while she was still passed out, but she had done some damage to Kunzite and didn't think that he would be back any time soon. So she had to take that risk.

"Come on ugly! Catch me if you can!" she taunted the youma before running out the door.

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

Serena groaned and sat up on the bed. Yeah, this afternoon had been a disaster. She had eventually beaten the youma. The other girls had shown up right after she had led it outside and Mina had woken up shortly after and had transformed and joined them. The scouts had combined their attacks to weaken the youma and then she had used her wand on it. She had been surprised when the youma had transformed into all of the stylists from the salon. Evidently that particular youma was able to control several people at one time.

But the worst part had been that Tuxedo Mask had wandered out to observe the fight and the other scouts had seen him standing over to the side and doing nothing to help. When the fight was over the girls had confronted him and he had told them flat out that the Silver Crystal was his only concern. Then he had vanished through a portal.

The stylists had woken up and wandered back into the salon in a daze to continue working. Sailor Moon had grabbed to opportunity to escape the lecture from her friends that she had felt coming and had detransformed before going back to finish her haircut. But the calm peacefulness of the afternoon had been shattered and the experience wasn't as joyful as she'd thought it would be. At least she didn't have to deal with hair that dragged the ground anymore though. That had been a pain.

Of course all of the girls had stuck around until she was finished and then had bullied her into going to the arcade so that they could talk. Over a burger and a milkshake she reassured her friends over and over that she wouldn't have anything to do with this brainwashed version of Darien and that she would run and call them for help if she much as caught sight of him.

She'd felt bad about lying to her friends, because she had no intentions of staying away from him. She wouldn't have the chance to heal him and win him back if she did that. And she _was_ going to save him. She was determined to.

Thankful that at least her secret that she was staying at home alone was still safe so she could get a break from her smothering, yet well meaning friends, she rose from the bed and hurried into the bathroom, thinking about how she wanted to spend her night. She knew that her muscles would hate her dearly if she spent another night on the window seat and the couch didn't sound appealing to her at all. Her bed sounded so comfy, but she was afraid that it would lure her to sleep. Maybe if she sat up in it so she wasn't as comfortable she would be able to keep herself awake.

Her decision made, she quickly changed clothes, opting for a large sleep shirt instead of her flannel pajamas. The nights weren't as cold as they had been since spring was right around the corner, and her room felt slightly stuffy without her window being cracked open, so she didn't feel the need to wear her heavy, confining pajamas. Nor did she dare take the chance of opening her window. True, if anyone from the Dark Kingdom wanted to get in they could probably just pop in, but the locked window made her feel better.

After changing she scurried downstairs, double checking that the doors were locked before snagging a handful of cookies and a glass of milk from the kitchen. Then she hurried back up to her room. She eyed her schoolbag warily. She had an Algebra assignment sitting in the bag, but she just couldn't find it in her to work on it. She'd probably be lost on it anyway. Thankfully it wasn't due for a few days, so she'd get Amy to help her with it later.

She crawled onto the bed, sniffling back tears as she thought about the nights that Darien had snuck through her bedroom window to help her with her homework assignments. He'd always had a way of explaining things to her where they actually made sense. Those were also some of the times with him that she treasured the most, the two of them sitting on her bed together as he tutored her in that low, rich voice of his. Even now, just the thought of his voice made her shiver in delight.

She fought back the tears as she settled herself in a sitting position, propped up against a couple of pillows against the wall and reached for the TV remote. She wasn't going to give into despair over this. She was going to get him back and soon they would be having their late night study sessions again. She was sure of it.

She flipped through the channels until she found a movie that she liked and then settled back to watch it as she ate her snack. A couple of hours passed and that movie ended only to be followed by another one that was a favorite of hers. But she only lasted about an hour into the second movie before sleep overcame her and she snuggled down into the pillows, fast asleep.

She didn't dream anything at first. She was simply floating in a soft blackness that felt soothing. But gradually the darkness lightened and her vision cleared.

She found herself in Darien's apartment, sitting with him on the couch as they watched the same movie that she had just been watching. They were laughing and joking together comfortably as they attacked the snacks on the coffee table before them.

During a dramatic part of the movie, Darien fell completely silent, causing her to turn toward him questioningly. She found him staring at her with some deep emotion burning deep in his eyes.

Then he reached out to cup her cheek as he whispered, "I love you, Serena, so much."

Tears prickled her eyes at his declaration. "Oh, Darien! I love you too!"

He leaned toward her and took her lips in a kiss so tender that the tears spilled over to streak her cheeks. He pulled back slightly with a gentle smile before kissing her tears away. "Don't cry, Sere. We're together now."

She shook her head. "I know. I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because I'm happy. I thought I had lost you forever."

His dark blue eyes bore intensely into hers. "You will never lose me, Serena. No matter what, I will always be with you."

Then he kissed her again, but this time the kiss was full of passion. Serena threw herself wholeheartedly into it. She loved him so much, and now he was here with her. Everything was perfect.

As their mouths waged war they maneuvered around until she was lying on the couch and he was on top of her, pressing her into the cushions.

She gasped as his lips left hers to leave a fiery trail down her neck. "Darien!"

She felt him smile against her skin. "You're mine, Serena. Forever!"

"Yes," she whispered as she pulled his head back up so that she could kiss him again.

Then the darkness returned, but she could still feel his lips against hers and the weight of his body pushing down on her. She gave herself up to the sensations and closed her eyes, though it didn't matter because it was already dark. But when his lips parted from hers once again to attack her neck, her eyelids flickered open to find that they were now on her bed in her room.

'_What an odd dream,' _she managed to think before she found herself distracted by what Darien's lips were doing to her. She moaned when he found the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder and nibbled lightly.

Normally she tried to wake herself up whenever her dreams took a turn toward the X-rated, but this felt so good that she didn't want to give it up. She'd probably blush like crazy for weeks to come at the memory of this dream, but she decided to revel in the moment.

She sank her fingers into his silky, midnight hair and tilted her head back to give him better access as she purred, "Mmm…Darien…"

His chuckle tickled her ear as he moved up to swirl his tongue around the delicate pink shell. Then she shivered as he blew a warm breath across it.

"Do you like that, princess?" he asked in a low, husky voice.

"Mmm hmm…" she barely breathed although alarm bells were beginning to ring in the back of her mind. Something about this was off. She just wasn't sure what it was.

Then he pulled back to look at her with coldly glittering eyes and smirked. "Then you're going to love this."

At that moment Serena knew that she was no longer dreaming. Her nice dream of spending a tender, loving moment with Darien had turned into a nightmare. The only problem was that this wasn't something that she could just wake herself up from because she was no longer sleeping. And the solid male body pressed tightly against hers was very, very real.

"You're mine, Serenity!" Endymion growled as he took her lips with brutal urgency.

* * *

"Stupid bitch! Doesn't she ever get tired of hearing herself talk?" Endymion snarled as he slammed his way out of Beryl's throne room. He'd known in advance that he would get an earful from the redheaded witch after interfering in her plans at the salon earlier, but he'd never thought that he would have to suffer through a lecture from her that would drone on for hours.

The only good side was that she had given Kunzite just as much hell as she had him. The bad side was that she wanted both of her _"boys", _as she called them, to get along and play nice with one another. Clearly she was delusional, because there was no way that he was going to work with her twisted version of Kunzite, especially not to benefit her. He was on his own mission, and he was going to play by his rules. If Beryl didn't like it, then that was just too damn bad.

He returned to his chamber, his armor and the rest of clothing melting away as he strode into the adjoining bathroom to take a shower. He may detest the use of dark magic, but it did make life here more bearable. He couldn't imagine having to survive without hot running water. And somehow Beryl had used the power she wielded to create a bathroom complete with a large, sunken tub and a decent shower.

As he stepped under the blast of hot water, he let his thoughts drift back over the afternoon's events. True, he hadn't gotten his hands on Serenity or her crystal, but he had shaken the moon princess badly with his aloof attitude. He had seen it in her eyes when she looked at him.

He had also read the longing in her expression, and that thought made him smirk. She wanted him. He could tell. Serenity may not like who he was, but she was lusting for him the same as he was for her. And that could prove to be useful in overpowering her.

He thought about it as he continued with his shower. Perhaps playing on her feelings for _"Darien"_ was the key to getting her exactly where he wanted her. She obviously had feelings for the person she thought he was. She had shown that clearly the night before in her concern for him when she'd thought he was injured and he had tasted her desperation when she had kissed him.

"Yeah, that's the way I should handle her," he muttered as he turned off the water. "If she wants Darien so badly, I'll give her me. It shouldn't make a difference since we are the same person. And once I have her delirious with pleasure it should be no problem to take the crystal from her. Hell, she'll probably be willing to give it to me after I'm done with her."

Dripping wet, he stepped out of the shower. He focused his energy and was rewarded a moment later when he found himself dry and dressed in modern clothing. He still found the dark jeans, gray hoodie, and tennis shoes he was wearing to be odd, but he had to admit they were comfortable. His armor had been like a second skin to him for so long that he felt strangely exposed without it, but this clothing was much less constricting.

He wondered what his little princess was doing right now. He had checked up on her several times the night before and had watched her as she kept vigil at her window. Now he wondered if she was doing the same tonight and if she was still home alone.

Figuring that it wouldn't hurt to check, he summoned a portal that transported him right into her front yard. He glanced up at the window he knew to be hers and saw a soft light glowing there, but no sign of his princess. A quick check for auras also told him that she was alone in the house.

Grinning, he looked around to make sure that there were no nosy neighbors looking out before springing lightly into the branches of the huge tree right outside her window. A wave of nostalgia hit him as he made his way from branch to branch. It was strange, but this felt familiar to him, like he had done this many times before.

He crept along a large branch until he reached the window. He looked inside and was delighted to see the reincarnated princess fast asleep. From the TV that was playing and the way she was slouched down in the bed, it looked as if she had been trying to stay awake but had lost the fight.

This opportunity was too perfect! He reached for the window, listening to a subconscious part of his mind that told him that it would be unlocked because she usually left it open for her cat. But as he pushed against the glass he was dismayed to find that it was locked tight.

A wave of guilt from that other part of his mind hit him. Had she locked the window because of him? Was she scared of him? He didn't want her to fear him.

He pushed those thoughts aside. Something as simple as a locked window wouldn't keep him out. She had to know enough about him by now to know that. He concentrated for a moment and disappeared from the tree branch. He rematerialized milliseconds later at her bedside.

As he stared down at her he was struck once more by her fragile beauty. On the outside she appeared to be as soft and delicate as a fairy, but he was fast learning that on the inside beat the heart of a warrior. Sure she was sometimes loud, as she had proven earlier at the salon, but at the same time he had to admire her for her strength to stand up and defend her friends. It was a noble trait that he could respect. She would make him a fine queen.

She shifted in her sleep and a tiny sigh puffed past her lips, drawing his eyes to them. They were pink and glistening, almost like they were begging for him to kiss her. Deciding to put his plan into motion, he sat on the side of the bed and leaned over her. After a moment's hesitation, he pressed his lips to hers.

He was shocked when she responded to him. Even though she was clearly still asleep, her mouth molded itself to his. And when his tongue ventured out to lick her lips she moaned and opened to him.

Passion ignited inside of him, and before he realized it he had pulled her body down so that it was laying flat on the bed and had crawled on top of her. The breathy little sounds coming from her throat spurred him on, and he tore his lips from hers to kiss his way down her neck.

He couldn't help but smile when she gasped, "Darien!" It seemed that he had been right about her feelings, and now she was playing right into his hands.

Her hands came up to cup his face, and then she pulled him into a kiss so hot that it was amazing that the bed didn't catch on fire. After a minute he felt like he was suffocating, so he pulled his lips from hers to once again tackle her neck. He felt a change in her reactions and glanced up to see that her eyes were open. He grinned as he scraped his teeth against the juncture of her shoulder where it met her neck and delighted in the moan that echoed in her throat. It seemed that his princess was awake and ready to play.

"Mmm…Darien!" she purred as she tilted her head back.

And just like that, the game was on. Lust, wanting, longing, and need tore through him. He had to have her! He made his way up to her ear and swirled his tongue around it. A shiver racked her body when he blew lightly across it.

"Do you like that, princess?" he asked in a low, husky voice.

She sounded breathless as she replied. "Mmm hmm…"

That breathy, little moan did wonders for his male ego. He pulled back to look down at her and smirked as he took in her flushed cheeks and shining eyes. "Then you're going to love this," he stated. She was his…and he wanted her.

"You're mine, Serenity!" he growled and then dove in to kiss her like a man possessed.

The moment he did a vision filled his head.

_He was in his private rose garden back home at the palace and he was pacing by the fountain as if he were waiting for something. Then he heard a rustling noise behind him and turned to see Serenity running toward him, her long white dress fluttering behind her and her crescent moon birthmark shining softly on her brow. He opened his arms as she drew near and she jumped into them with a glad cry._

"_Oh, Endy!" she squealed, peppering his face with tiny kisses. "I missed you so much! I didn't think I was ever going to be able to get away tonight. Luna kept lingering around until I had to order her to go to bed."_

_He grinned at her. "Well you're here now. How much time do you think we have before one of the scouts come and drag you back home?"_

_A mischievous smile graced her lips. "We should have a while. Venus is supposed to be watching me tonight, so she'll give us as long as she possibly can. She's such a hopeless romantic."_

"_Good," he said, swinging her up into his arms and walking toward the nearby gazebo. "Then that means I can take my time and go slowly tonight."_

As Endymion came back to the present, he felt a change inside of him. The pressure of his lips on Serena's lightened, changing the kiss from dominating to tender. He wasn't sure why he did. But after a moment he realized that the girl under him wasn't responding. She was laying still and stiff. That wasn't a good sign.

He ended the kiss to lift his head so that he could look down on her and he frowned when he saw her staring at him with an empty expression. Concern welled up from somewhere deep inside of him and he stroked a finger down her cheek as he whispered, "Sere, what's wrong?"

It was if those three little words broke whatever spell she was under. She glared up at him, her eyes like blue chips of ice. "I would appreciate it if you got off of me, _your highness_!"

He was confused. She wanted him, didn't she? She had responded to him. She had kissed him back. Okay, so she had been asleep when he began. But when she woke up she had still been an eager participant. So what had happened?

"What do you mean?" he asked bewilderedly.

She pushed against his shoulders. "What I mean is that I want you to get off of me, right now! What are you doing here?"

Part of him wanted to growl, _"Hell no he wasn't going to get off of her!" _But for some reason he found himself rolling to her side and then sitting up on the edge of the bed. "I just came to see you," he muttered.

She scrambled into a sitting position. "And I told you that I didn't want to see you! What the hell did you think you were doing, coming in here and kissing me like that?"

Agitation roared through him and his eyes flashed to black. "I don't see what you're complaining about. You seemed to be enjoying yourself until a minute ago. You were moaning and shuddering in my arms."

"I was asleep!" she hissed.

"Not for the whole thing," he replied smugly. "You seemed to still be getting pretty into it once you woke up. So why the sudden change of heart?"

"I thought I was still dreaming, damn it!" she shrieked. "I was fuzzy headed and half asleep and…"

"And?" he prompted.

Her hot, angry glare sliced through him. "I thought you were Darien, okay!"

His eyes turned back to blue and he grinned like her answer pleased him. "But I am Darien. He and I are the same person."

"No you're not!" she spat. "Darien Shields would never do what you just did! He is kind and respectful!"

"Well maybe you didn't know your precious Darien as well as you thought you did!" he spat.

She looked so angry for a moment that he thought she just might slap him. Then she seemed to deflate and she sighed. "No. I know Darien very well, almost better than I know myself. And I know you, Endymion, the real you. But I don't know this twisted creation of Beryl's that you have become."

Uncertainty swamped through him. "What are you talking about?"

Tears swam through her eyes. "I've loved you in two lives, both as Endymion and Darien. But the way you are now…I don't love you like this. I don't know exactly what Beryl did to you to turn you into this cold, shallow person, but this is not who you are. The real you is still inside you, though. We just need to find a way to set him free."

Endymion froze in thought, both at Serena's declaration of love and her accusation that Beryl had done something to him. She'd insinuated that they'd had a relationship, not only in this time, but also in the Silver Millennium. The vision that he had experienced a few moments before could support that theory, but could he really trust any of the thoughts in his mind anymore?

That also brought up another point. Beryl had been insisting that his memory had been damaged due to an attack by the Silver Crystal, but Serena was claiming that Beryl was the one who had caused the damage to him. He knew that the red headed witch hadn't been completely truthful with him about what happened. She was only looking out for herself. But could he trust Serena? She seemed genuine in her feelings, but she could be nothing more than a very convincing actress.

Serena watched carefully as several emotions played across Endymion's face. She saw confusion, frustration, and anger, but there was also an underlying sadness to him that touched her deeply. "Endymion…"

His eyes snapped to hers. They flashed black again for the briefest moment before returning to tortured blue. He sank his hands into his hair. "I don't know who I am anymore."

"I know who you are," she whispered softly. Then she scrambled off the bed. "I have an idea. I want to show you something. I think it might help you. Come with me."

He warily eyed the hand that the now smiling blonde held out to him. "Where are we going?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just trust me. I'm only asking for a few minutes of your time. I just want to try something. If you don't like it, you can leave."

"Okay," he agreed hesitantly and took her hand and stood. "But you better not be trying to lead me into a trap set by your little scout friends. I'll be angry if you do."

Hurt filled her eyes. "I would never do something like that. Whether you want to believe it or not, you have been my friend and ally for a while now."

He smirked at her short sleep shirt. "You're not going out dressed like that, are you?"

She looked down at herself and blushed lightly. "Oops!" Then she stuck her hand under her pillow to pull out her brooch. She held it up in the air and cried, "Moon Prism Power!"

Endymion smirked as he watched her go through her transformation. He wondered if she realized that she was practically naked when she did that except for the ribbons that wrapped around her. And they didn't cover that much. But he kept his comments to himself and enjoyed the show. When she was done he had to keep himself from groaning aloud as his jeans became unbearably tight. Perhaps she would have been better off staying in her nightshirt. At least it had covered more than her fuku did.

He tore his eyes away from the hint of her body suit clad backside that was peeking out from under her blue skirt as she turned to him with an innocent smile and said, "Aren't you going to change too? Or are you going to go like that?"

He concentrated for a moment and felt his armor and cape appear around him.

Sailor Moon wrinkled her nose at him.

"What? You don't like the way I look?" he couldn't help but tease.

Her cheeks turned candy apple red. "It's not that. It's just that we're going to be going by rooftop. I know you're comfortable in your armor, but it might get kind of loud if it starts clanking around."

He sighed and pulled a rose from the inside pocket of his cape. The armor melted away to be replaced by a tuxedo and a mask appeared over his eyes. "Is that better?"

Her entire face flamed impossibly redder, but she nodded. "Yeah. Let's go!" She unlocked her window and pushed it open before leaping out.

He chuckled and followed behind her, catching up to her just two houses away. "So where are we going?" he asked her again as he easily matched her pace.

She just gave him a mysterious smile. "You'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"That bastard!" Beryl screamed as she watched the vision in her orb of Endymion racing across the rooftops of Tokyo with Sailor Moon. "How dare he betray me so blatantly! I am trying to give him everything, even his planet back, and yet he still goes to her! I won't stand for this! Kunzite! You worthless fool! I summon you before me right now!"

The air shimmered a few seconds later as the platinum haired general appeared, cradling his broken arm against his chest. "You called, my queen?" he gritted out between his teeth.

"Look at this!" she screeched, pointing to the orb. "Even after all I said to him earlier, Endymion still decided to defy me by seeking out the moon princess. No matter what I do that little bitch still has him under her spell. He was in her bed just a few minutes ago!"

Kunzite smirked indifferently. "So Endymion is shagging Serenity again after all this time? I can't say that I'm surprised. After all, they were always sneaking away to be together during the Silver Millennium. And since you spied on them so much back then you have to know that their relationship was anything but platonic."

A furious hiss sizzled in Beryl's throat. "He's not sleeping with her yet, and I'm not going to let that happen. I have to stop them before they become any closer. Even if the princess is too much of an amateur to use the Silver Crystal to heal Endymion, she's already beginning to break through the barrier of the dark energy inside of him. And if he were to screw the little tramp it might be enough for his memories to break free from the hold I have on them. If that happens we are as good as dead! As long as I have some sway over Endymion's mind I have leverage over the princess and a chance to get the crystal from her. If he returns to her side she will come for us and possibly destroy us all."

"I don't know what you want me to do about it," Kunzite snorted and gestured to his injured arm. "I'm in no condition to face either one of them right now since you decided that it was better for me to suffer from my injury rather than heal it."

Beryl glared at him, but walked toward him. Her hand glowed with dark energy as she placed it on his broken arm.

Kunzite snarled in pain for a moment. But then relief washed through him as the bone and the cut he had received from Sailor Moon's tiara were healed. He flexed the arm experimentally to find it as good as new.

"Now, Kunzite," Beryl growled in a low, dangerous voice. "This is what I want you to do. You are going to go and retrieve the moon princess for me. And I will no tolerate any failures this time. You will drag her before me by that golden hair of hers or I will make sure that you don't live long enough to regret it. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Kunzite wasn't usually easily intimidated, but he gulped at the insane gleam in Beryl's eyes and nodded. "Yes, your majesty."

A cruel smile twisted her lips. "Good boy. Do whatever you have to do to get her. And try to not mess Endymion up too badly in the process. I want to see if he'll beg for the life of his whore once I have her in my grasp. If he wants to play hardball, then I will oblige him. By the time I am done with them Serenity won't even be a memory."

Kunzite bowed hastily and then fled from the room, leaving Beryl to turn back to watch the young couple in her orb.

She ran her tongue over her fangs. "That's right, Endymion, enjoy her now while you can. Because once I have gutted her in front of you I am going to completely take you over. I thought it would be nice to leave some of yourself inside of you, but I see now that you aren't going to play by my rules. So you really leave me no choice except to wipe your mind completely. Then I will be able to mold you into the man I want you to be. I didn't want it to be like this, but at least your body will be intact. And that's all that matters."

* * *

**A/N ***shudders* Have I ever told you guys that Beryl seriously creeps me out? Well, she does. Then I have to go and make things ten times worse by writing her character the way I do. I literally have had nightmares about that witch. Why won't she leave poor Serena and Darien alone? *snickers* Oh, that's right! Because I won't let her! Okay, so this chapter was originally a little bit longer, but I wanted to get this up today so I've moved the next scene to the beginning of the next chapter instead, and I think it will work out better that way. So you guys can count yourselves lucky, because I was going to leave you with one of my cliffhangers that I know you just love to hate. Good news though! I have definitely decided that since this story is evolving the way it is that _What If _is going to get a major overhaul. It's going to be bigger, badder, and longer than the original, so I'm super psyched over that. I want all the seasons to flow smoothly together. Now I've gotta run! Don't forget to review me, PLEASE! Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	25. A Dark Obsession

**A/N **I know all of you have been waiting patiently for this, and I hope that you're not disappointed. I have just found myself up to my eyeballs lately when it comes to writing since I have this story, _Bad Boys_, and _GT_ all creeping toward their conclusions. Plus I have already begun the beginning stages of revamping _What If _because I would like to launch it's new form soon after _Rekindled _ends so that we can move on to _Stolen Hearts_. On top of that I have about three other fics that I have started that are going to need some major work if I ever hope to post them and, according to the poll I have on my profile, it is almost unanimous that the readers of my _Lunar Princess _saga want it to continue after _GT_. So, yeah, lots going on.

Anyway, moving on. Get ready for a roller coaster of emotions in this chapter. Endymion and Serena go through so many mood swings here that even I am thoroughly disgusted with both of them. It is getting so bad that I am almost thinking that I should change the category of this fic to angst. Serena and Darien both laughed at me when I mentioned it to them, but they always seem to laugh at me when I get frustrated. I think the only thing that stops them from openly ridiculing me is the fact that I hold the power to kill both of them off if I get mad enough. Beryl doesn't have anything on me! Now let me get my hugs out so you can get started. BIG HUGS TO:

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**GoldenDragon326**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**KatanaPrincess**

**sabina21**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**saveme57**

**JuliaGulia17**

**Chibi Kitt**

**Tiny2008**

**Sailor Saiyan007**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**jade2nightwing**

**Shinobi of life**

**afallenblackrose**

**Seredhiel05**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**SlackerDee**

**rainbabie**

**Jenbunny**

**Phenitial**

**Bluemoon3**

Ginormous thank yous to you all! You guys are the best. Now, on with the story.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 25

A Dark Obsession

* * *

"I wish you would just tell me where we are going already!" Endymion snapped as he jumped after Sailor Moon.

The blonde girl spun around as her feet touched down on the roof and rolled her eyes at him. "I told you, you'll see when we get there. Don't be such a Mr. Impatient-pants!"

Endymion was shocked at her behavior. She might be a princess herself, but _he_ was _the_ prince of Earth and they were on _his _planet! Such actions would have never been tolerated back during the Silver Millennium. The most important thing that was drummed into the heads of every royal from the time that they were babies was the need to conduct oneself properly.

Okay, so he hadn't exactly followed that code himself recently. It hadn't been very gallant of him to sit by earlier and watch Serenity fight that youma without offering any assistance, and he had definitely been out of line for sneaking into her bedroom and forcing his attentions on her. But this was war, and war was ugly sometimes. And until he found a way to figure out exactly what was going on, he had to consider the moon princess his enemy.

She, on the other hand, seemed determined to do the exact opposite. Sure, she had turned quite haughty and had frozen him out a few times, but she only seemed to do that whenever he was being particularly nasty. Other than that she seemed open and genuinely concerned for him. She treated him like…like a _friend_. And nobody had done that for him since his generals.

'_It could still be a trick, so keep your guard up,' _he cautioned himself. Serenity may seem genuine in her words and actions, but when push came to shove he wasn't entirely convinced that he could trust her any more than he did Beryl. The years of dealing with the women of the court as they vied for his attention merely because he was the crown prince had taught him that some of the most calculating manipulators in the world existed behind the guise of a beautiful woman.

"Hey!" Are you coming or not?" a voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see that Sailor Moon had jumped to the next roof and was standing there with her hands on her hips as she looked at him with an expression that was half amusement, half exasperation.

"Yeah. I'm coming," he muttered as he jumped over to join her. She surprised him when she took his hand in hers and pulled him behind her as she leapt to the next roof.

About two blocks later she stopped and turned to him with a smile. "This is the place. Come on!" She led him to the edge of the roof and they both dropped down to the sidewalk below.

Annoyance began bubbling up inside of Endymion again as he looked around to see that they were on a street that was lined with businesses. It was deserted at this late hour, but there didn't seem to be anything particularly special about the spot.

"What are we doing here?" he growled. "Don't tell me that you want to go on a shopping spree in the middle of the night.

She shook her head and giggled. "Of course not, silly! I told you that I wanted to show you something. Now come over here." She began walking toward one of the buildings.

His patience was wearing thin. He felt the dark part of him that had been corrupted by Beryl's energy lunge to the surface as he reached out and grabbed Sailor Moon roughly by the arm. He gave her a harsh shake. "I'm tired of playing games, Serenity."

Sailor Moon gulped when she saw his blue eyes flash back to that cold, hideous black, but she refused to let any fear show on her face. "Let go of me!" she gritted out between clenched teeth as she jerked her arm away from him. "You need to stop being such an ass! You said that you were confused about who you really are, and I'm trying to help you with that. But I can't do it if you keep acting like such a jerk!"

Endymion clenched his fists at his side to keep from yanking her back up against him. She had to be the most infuriating person, besides Beryl, that he had ever met. But while he wanted to kill the red headed witch, he didn't feel that way toward Serenity. True, he felt like throttling her sometimes, like right now for instance for leading him on this wild goose chase, but he didn't really want to hurt her. In fact, he would be perfectly happy if she invited him to continue what they had started on her bed just a little while ago.

"Stop looking at me like that!" she snapped as she rubbed her upper arm where he had grabbed her. Red marks in the shape of his fingers had already appeared to mar her pale skin.

His knees almost buckled and his stomach felt like it had twisted into a knot as a wave of guilt and remorse surged up from somewhere deep inside of him. For a moment he thought he was going to be physically sick and he slammed his eyes closed as he fought back the nausea. Then, one of those random memories that he wasn't sure was real or not flashed through his head.

_He was jumping through the night sky, dressed as Tuxedo Mask with Serena cradled in his arms and wrapped in his cape. He chuckled as he looked down at the top of her blonde head. "I wouldn't move around so much if I were you. It's a long way down if I drop you."_

_She stopped squirming and gripped the lapels of his tuxedo jacket firmly in her hands as she growled,_ _"Don't you dare drop me!"_

_He pressed his face against the top of her head and whispered, "Don't worry, Serena. There's nothing in this world that could ever make me hurt you."_

He snapped back to the present when he felt a pair of tiny, gloved hands cup his face and an anxious voice crying, "Darien!"

His eyes popped open to meet a pair of crystalline blue ones that seemed to suck him in. Feeling like he was drowning, he murmured, "Serenity," and dipped his head down, dying to taste her pink lips once more.

"Whoa there, buddy!" Sailor Moon said shakily as she jumped back to put some distance between them. She was grateful to see, however, that his eyes had turned back to blue. Blue-eyed Endymion she could handle. It was when his eyes turned black from the negative energy inside of him that he frightened her. He became so cold and calculating then, nothing like the Darien she knew or the Endymion she had once known. It was at those times he became Beryl's creation, a dark, twisted version of the earth prince. But even then she didn't think she could bring herself to fight him. Not as long as the Darien she loved was still trapped inside of him somewhere.

Endymion took a step toward her, and she unconsciously took a step back. She saw his eyes darken again, but this time in pain and confusion instead of from the negative energy. She took another step backward and felt her back hit a wall. She stood frozen as he approached her and then flinched when he raised his hand. She expected him to grab her again and prepared herself to have to push him back.

Instead he reached out and trailed his fingers lightly over the reddened skin on her arm and whispered, "That's probably going to leave a bruise. I'm so sorry, Sere. I promised that I would never hurt you. And yet I did it anyway. And now you're afraid of me."

Sailor Moon's head shot up. He sounded so sad that her heart cried out for him. She offered him a tentative smile. "I'm not afraid of you, not the real you anyway. But I have to admit that this new person that Beryl has turned you into…intimidates me a little bit."

He shook his head. He didn't want her to feel intimidated by him. He wanted her to…

'_You want her to what, love you?' _a voice sneered inside his head. _'Why should you care if she loves you? She is the princess of the moon, and right now she is the biggest threat to your planet. The only thing you should be concerned with right now is taking the Silver Crystal from her. After you have her weak and powerless you can worry about what you want to do with her next. Make her queen of Earth and have her in your bed every night if that's what you want. But first you must remove her as a threat, no matter what it takes.'_

'_NO!' _a second voice screamed as another presence seemed to thrash to life inside of him. _'I promised that I would protect her. I can't hurt her. I won't!'_

Endymion groaned as a splitting pain sliced through his head, much like it had the night before when he had cornered Serena in her kitchen. It was as if there were more than one person inside his body and they were battling for control.

Sailor Moon grew concerned when she heard the tortured moan vibrate deep in his throat and his body suddenly slumped against hers, pinning her firmly against the wall. He rested his forehead on the bricks just above her shoulder, but his face was turned slightly toward her. She could see that his eyes were clenched tightly shut and his face held a rigid expression as if he were in pain. A fine sheen of perspiration had also broken out across his skin.

She wedged her hands between their bodies and pushed against his chest, ignoring the wild thumping of his heart under her palms, to move him back just a little. Then she slid one trembling hand up to his cheek. "Darien! Darien, talk to me! Are you okay?"

Her scared voice crashed through his head and drowned out the other two voices warring inside his mind. Her voice was like an anchor to reality, and he latched onto it like a drowning person clinging to a life preserver. Gradually the voices faded and the pain in his head lessened. He took in a few deep breaths to get control of himself before opening his eyes and pushing himself off the petite girl that was practically holding him up.

"Sorry about that," he muttered, his cheeks heating in embarrassment as he met her concerned blue eyes. He detested weakness, but that was exactly what he had felt for the last few minutes. He'd been scared and weak, and he had depended on a girl that may or may not be his enemy for support. How pathetic! His eyes skittered away from hers.

"Hey!" she said softly, laying a gentle hand on his arm. "Are you…?"

"I'm fine!" he interrupted her harshly, jerking his arm away from her comforting touch. "Can we please just get on with whatever it was you wanted to show me so we can get it over with?"

For a moment he thought she was going to cry. Her eyes widened and shimmered with moisture, but no tears ever fell. Then she raised her chin stubbornly and snapped, "Fine! This way!" She spun and stomped away, her boot heels clacking angrily on the concrete.

He followed her until they were standing in front of a large, plate glass window. She waved a hand toward it and bit out waspishly, "That is what I wanted to show you!"

He looked up, and then froze in shock. There before him was a large, beautifully painted portrait of himself and Serenity together. He was dressed in a tuxedo much like the one he was wearing now, minus the mask, while Serenity wore a long flowing gown of pure white. Her golden tails of hair rippled like silk all the way to the ground.

But what astonished him the most about the painting was the position that they were in. They stood close together. He had one arm wrapped around her waist while she had looped one of her arms around his neck. Her other hand rested palm up in his and in it sat a golden, star shaped locket.

But what astounded him even further were the expressions on their faces. He gazed down at her with what could only be described as a tender, loving look. And she was looking up at him with an expression of such utter love and devotion that it seemed real. In fact, if the painting could come to life, he had no doubt that their painted selves would fall immediately into a kiss.

He realized that he was gaping with his mouth open and snapped it shut. He cleared his throat a few times before asking gruffly, "Who painted this?"

Sailor Moon giggled softly. " A friend of yours named Peggy. Her grandmother runs the orphanage where you stayed after your parents died in the accident and you two got to know each other quite well. We ran into her a short time back and she asked us to pose for her. This is the result."

He shook his head in disbelief. "We posed for a painting together?" That didn't sound like something he would do with his enemy.

An irritated little growl came from her. "Well it wasn't exactly the best half hour of my life either! Peggy kept fussing if I so much as twitched a muscle, and then my arm started falling asleep. On top of that, you spent the whole time staring at me, and that made me feel self-conscious. And then after all of that, Zoicite decided to show up and attack Peggy because she was one of the Rainbow Crystal carriers and you two got into a pretty nasty fight. He almost killed you that day, but luckily I was able to use my Twilight Flash against him. That's not even counting the fact that Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and I were almost flattened into pancakes by the boulder attacks that the youma Peggy turned into used against us."

"Whoa! Whoa!" he stopped her, his head reeling a little with all of the words that had just come gushing out of her mouth. "You lost me there. Why were Zoicite and I fighting?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Duh! Because we were trying to keep Beryl from getting her hands on the Silver Crystal, that's why. Could you actually imagine what the Earth would be like if she took over?" She shivered dramatically. "Brrr! That's a scary thought."

The dark energy inside Endymion reared its head once more at the thought of anyone else being in control of _his _planet. He snorted condescendingly at the blonde. "And you think the planet would be much better off if you were the one calling the shots?"

She actually giggled at his question. "I wouldn't even attempt it. Ditzy, klutzy me trying to rule a planet, that's a laugh! No, I don't think so."

"Oh, spare me the innocent act!" he sneered at her. "You may be able to fool others with those big blue eyes and bubbly personality, but I know what you're really up to, Serenity. The moon always wanted to be in control of everything. Your mother tried for years to talk my father into joining her little alliance. He consistently refused, which caused war to break out between our planets. Now you're trying to pick up where she left off. You want the Earth for yourself and your little scouts because all of the kingdoms on the other planets have been destroyed."

Sailor Moon reared back and stared at him in shock. "Is that the bull that Beryl's been feeding to you? I know you can't possibly believe her lies. You're too smart for that. My mother never tried to force anyone to join the alliance. Each planet had their own choice about if they wanted to or not. And the moon never went to war with anyone, much less the Earth. The only reason that any fighting happened at all was because Beryl filled a bunch of people's heads full of lies and made them think the moon was evil, all because she was jealous of me and wanted you and the Silver Crystal. Then she kidnapped your generals, brainwashed them, and then attacked the moon. She was the reason why we all died, because of her jealousy and thirst for power."

"I told you before, I'm not a reincarnation. I didn't die that day," he replied automatically, but his voice lacked conviction. He knew that Beryl was definitely lying to him and that Serenity might be as well, but there was no way that he had died and had been reincarnated. If he had lived an entire second life he would remember it…wouldn't he? Sure, his brain was definitely not up to par right now, but other than a few memories he had from this time that Beryl claimed came from his time that he had spent undercover while spying on Serenity and her scouts, the only other memories, vague as they were, were of his life as Endymion.

"Ooo!" Sailor Moon fumed, stomping her foot in anger. "I hate that witch for what she's done to you! She's taken away most of what made you who you are and left behind just the bare essentials that she has twisted around for her own selfish purposes. Let's get a few things straightened out right now mister! Number one, I have no ambition whatsoever to try to take over this planet. I'm only trying to protect it from Beryl. My biggest concerns are trying to stay alive and making it through high school."

"But you are the moon princess and you have the Silver Crystal," Endymion rebuked her.

"Big stinking deal!" she shrieked. "I didn't even know I was the princess until just a few days ago. And I have the Silver Crystal, big whooptie doo! Just because I have it doesn't mean that I'm going to run off and conquer the first planet I come across. I'm not a power hungry bitch the way Beryl is! That's her forte, not mine! I'm not interested in becoming a queen. I just want to be a normal girl! Besides, this is the 21st century. Monarchy is dead except in just a handful of countries. And a lot of those countries are ruled by a parliament or something, not the royal family. That is the world that I'm fighting to protect! I just want to be able to live my life in a world that is not enslaved by the Dark Kingdom. So you need to get the archaic idea that I'm out to steal your precious little planet out of your head right now, because I'm not!"

He opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. She was clearly in a high temper and on a rampage. "Just suck it up for a minute and let me finish! The second thing I want to point out to you is that you _are_ most definitely a reincarnation. I know this for a fact because you died in my arms on that last day on the moon. What was supposed to have been one of the happiest nights of my life turned into a nightmare when that witch showed up. You jumped in front of the sword that she tried to kill me with and then you bled to death as I held you and cried while she laughed. I knew my life was over at that point, so I decided to end it on my own terms. Maybe it was cowardly on my part, but I picked up your sword and stabbed myself with it so that I could join you instead of facing whatever torture Beryl had in mind for me. I knew that there was no way that she was going to give me a quick, merciless death; not after she had just accidentally killed you because you had saved me. And I knew that there was no way that I could fight her, not all by myself. You were gone. My friends and my mother were hovering at the brink of death. I was alone. So I chose the easy way out. I will be forever thankful to my mother though. Because of her we got a second chance at life."

She whirled and walked several steps away, but not before he saw the glittering tears that were clinging to her lashes. He stared at her back, unmoving and unblinking for several long moments as his mind rushed to assimilate everything she had just said. Either she was telling the truth, or at least believed that she was telling the truth, or she deserved an Academy Award. But as he watched her and took in the way her shoulders were slumped and shaking and the way she had wrapped her arms tightly around herself he felt a giant lurch somewhere in the region of his heart. Nobody could pull off a performance like that unless they were sincere, and he was starting to believe that she truly was. Serena wouldn't lie to him. He didn't know how he knew that, he just did.

A harsh, rasping sound broke through his thoughts, and it took him a moment to realize that it was coming from Sailor Moon. She was now bent over slightly at the waist and gasping breaths hissed through her teeth like she was trying to keep from either screaming or sobbing, or perhaps both.

He didn't stop to think about what he was doing, he just reacted. A few long strides brought him to her side and he wrapped his arms around her to draw her up close against him. The moment he did she went wild in his arms. She slapped at him and tried to pull away, but he responded by tightening the embrace. He put one hand behind her head and forced it down to his chest before he buried his lips in her soft hair and whispered, "Shh, Sere. Please calm down. It's killing me to see you like this."

Those words broke her. She let out a ragged cry as she wrapped her arms around his waist and melted against him. She buried her face into the starched white fabric of his tuxedo shirt and let the tears flows. In seconds there was a huge wet patch right over his heart.

'_God! She's so tiny!' _Endymion thought as he rested his chin on top of the head that barely reached his collarbone. How could someone so small contain all of the emotion and passion that flowed through her? Surely she would explode.

"I hate this!" her muffled voice grumbled a few minutes later after she had brought her panicked breathing under control. "Why did Beryl have to come back? I liked my life the way it was before I became Sailor Moon. Sure, you were a jerk to me most of the time, but back then I was just plain old Serena Tsukino. I didn't have to worry about crystals and youma attacks. The biggest problem I had then was trying to get to school on time so that I didn't wind up in detention and whether or not you were going to pick an argument with me. I don't regret growing closer to you, but sometimes I wish I could go back to my normal, uncomplicated life. Things were so much simpler back then."

The words she uttered were serious, but the way she was grumbling reminded him so much of the way a five year old might whine over a broken toy that he couldn't help but chuckle at her. "You would really choose to be a regular girl over being a princess?"

Her head rose up so that she could look at him with her watery, red rimmed, blue eyes. "You better believe it!" She pushed away from him when he smirked down at her and raised a mocking brow. "Ooo! You make me so mad when you look at me like that! If you're mean enough to pick on me now I'll…I'll…Well, I'll do something!"

He laughed then, a real, true laugh. "Meatball Head, the only thing you'll do is trip over your own feet and go sprawling out on the ground. Then you'll wail loud enough to damage the eardrums of everyone in a five-mile radius. That is your specialty after all."

The both froze as those words tumbled past his lips.

Finally, Sailor Moon broke the dead silence between them. "What did you just say?" she demanded in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

Endymion's forehead was creased in concentration. "I don't know. I have no idea where that came from."

A loud squeal erupted from Sailor Moon and she twirled in a circle, hugging herself. "It's working! I hoped that showing you that painting would help you remember who you really are. It has to be working because only Darien would have ever said that to me!"

"Um…" Endymion muttered apprehensively as he watched her with a confused look. "Could you please stop spinning like that? You're making me dizzy just looking at you."

Her laughter rang like bells, but she did stop twirling around. She seemed to be a little swirly-eyed herself from all of the spinning, but it didn't dim the excitement burning in her crystal blue orbs. Then another squeal tore from her throat as she grabbed his hand and began pulling him behind her. "Come on! There's something else I want to show you!"

Taken off guard, Endymion allowed himself to be jerked along. When she jumped up onto the roof of a building, he followed easily after her, asking, "Where are we going now?"

She merely smiled at him. "You'll see. If that painting began jogging your memory, then what I'm going to show you next will blow your mind!"

* * *

"Would you like me to apprehend them now, Lord Kunzite?" the youma asked the platinum haired man standing next to her on the dark roof.

Kunzite's gray eyes never left the embracing couple below them. "Not yet. I'm hoping that they will go someplace that is a little more confined. This is too open of an area for you to attack them. They would be able to escape us easily out here and we want to deal with this as quickly an as efficiently as possible. We'll continue to watch them until a suitable time presents itself."

As he said this, the general reached up with a gloved hand to wipe away the trickle of sweat that was running down the side of his face. Venus hadn't been kidding before when she told him that he was no good at hiding his aura. The former resident of the body he was in hadn't excelled at it either, preferring to focus more on physical than mental exercises. That was why he had been the perfect choice to take over the body of the former head general. They had a lot in common, including a fascination with the golden haired princess of Venus.

In fact, she was the reason why he was exerting so much mental energy at the moment. As much as he wanted to see her again, he knew that involving her in tonight's activities would only complicate matters. So he was doing everything in his power to keep her from sensing that he was there so that she wouldn't come running.

That was also why he was waiting before he gave the order to attack Endymion and Serenity. He knew that the moment the youma attacked that the negative energy it gave off would be detected by Sailor Mercury's damn computer, and then she would alert all of the other scouts. So if he could wait until the prince and princess were in an enclosed area, he would have a better shot at hitting them hard and fast. And if luck and surprise were on his side he would be able to drag them both back to Beryl before the scouts even had a chance to figure out what was going on.

"They're on the move," the youma hissed next to him.

Sure enough, the two young royals had once again taken to the rooftops. "Let's follow them," he told the youma as they jumped after their clueless prey.

A few minutes later the two of them landed on a roof and watched as Endymion and Serenity disappeared inside a building. Kunzite's eyes gleamed in victory. He was fairly familiar with this building…and it was the perfect spot to launch an ambush.

"Let's give them a few moments to relax," he informed the youma. "Then when they are feeling all safe and secure we will strike."

The youma backed up a few steps in shock. She had never seen the tough, no nonsense leader of Queen Beryl's forces ever show any emotion before, but right now there was what could only be described as a sinister smile on his face. Talk about creepy!

* * *

Amy had always been a light sleeper. So she shot up in the bed almost immediately, her hand automatically reaching for the Mercury computer on her nightstand, as the small handheld device began beeping. She took just a moment to read the information on the screen before scrambling to snatch up her scout communicator and press the emergency call button.

She was already out of the bed and heading for her window as three anxious faces appeared on the small screen…just three. After what she had just seen she hadn't really expected to see a fourth, but she had hoped.

"What is it, Amy?" Mina mumbled around a yawn.

Lita was rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, considering that it's the middle of the night, I know this can't be a social call."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Very astute of you. We've got some Dark Kingdom activity going down."

The three sleepy faces were suddenly wide-awake at her words.

"Hey!" Raye exclaimed. "Where's the Meatball Head at? If we have to wake up for this, then so does she."

Amy swung her leg over the windowsill before stating in a tight voice. "Well, considering one of the energy signatures I'm picking up on looks to be Darien's, where do you think she is?"

"Shit!" Lita swore loudly.

Mina sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Damn it! I'm going to strangle her!" Raye hissed.

Amy transformed as she slid out the window to stand on the narrow ledge a few feet below her window, thanking god for the hundredth time that she wasn't scared of heights because she'd be screwed if she were. But even most people that weren't bothered by heights would consider it to be suicidal to stand on a four-inch wide ledge on the side of a thirty-story building with nothing between them and the ground. She didn't think about it though as she made the short jump up to the roof above her.

As her blue booted feet landed safely on the roof, she heard scuffling sounds coming over the communicator. She looked down at it to see Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter now looking back at her.

"Where are we headed?" Venus asked her.

Mercury told them the location, which incited another round of curses, and then signed off as she began jumping from roof to roof. She only prayed that they could get there before something bad happened to Serena.

* * *

Endymion had been looking around the living room in a daze for the last few minutes. There was nothing fancy about it. In fact, it was very plain and simple with white walls and serviceable black furniture. It was nothing like he was used to since the opulent royal palace was the only place he could remember living. But something about this place screamed familiarity to him and he felt…comfortable here.

"Well?" Sailor Moon asked from where she stood nearby, watching him carefully. "What do you think?"

"I…lived here?" he said slowly. The words coming out sounding more like a question than a statement.

She nodded as she reached to switch on another lamp to brighten the room a little more. "Yep! For a little over two years now. When you started high school you decided that you'd rather be on your own than stay at the orphanage, so you filed for emancipation and bought this place. I've always thought that it was a little large for a teenage boy living alone, but I guess you can afford it with all of the money your parents left you. I'd give you the grand tour, but I've only been here a few times so all I've seen is the living room, kitchen, and your bedroom."

He arched an eyebrow at her and grinned. "My bedroom, huh?"

A blush flooded her face. "It wasn't like that, you hentai! You brought me back here once when I passed out after I healed a bunch of people that Zoicite almost sucked dry and you let me sleep in your bed."

She slapped her hands to her burning cheeks. "Not like that! Geez! That sounded a lot less sordid in my head. I was unconscious so you let me have the bed while you took the couch. Nothing happened!"

A hint of black swirled through his eyes as he smiled devilishly. "But would you have complained if something had happened?" He began to stalk her slowly.

She let out a startled squeak and ran around the coffee table, careful to keep the piece of furniture between them. "Stop that! We're here to try and get your memories back, not to do, well…anything else."

Endymion felt amused as he looked at the flustered blonde, but he halted his pursuit. If he really wanted to he could just teleport behind her. But she looked so beautiful in all of her blushing, stammering glory that he didn't want to ruin the moment.

She was relieved by his actions and felt slightly less jumpy when she saw the swirl of blackness fade from his eyes once more. She was still a little nervous about being alone with him in the apartment, especially after what had happened in her bedroom earlier, but she felt like this needed to be done. Darien's memories were fighting to be set free, and perhaps being here was just the key they needed to unlock them.

"Um…why don't you look around and see if anything jogs your memory," she said with a wave of her hand. "I'm just going to pop into the kitchen and see if you have anything to drink. Do you mind?"

He blinked hard. "Uh, no. Help yourself." She said that this was his place, and he had no reason to doubt that. This apartment did feel familiar to him. But it felt strange to be acting as host in a place he couldn't remember living in.

She gave him a smile. "Thanks. Now I just hope you have something in there with caffeine in it. I'm kinda tired. In fact…" She pressed a hand to the brooch on her chest and a bright flash of light later she was standing there barefooted and in her nightshirt. "That's much better. Trying to stay in my scout form when I'm already tired is exhausting."

Endymion let the tuxedo he was wearing fade back into the jeans and hoodie he had been wearing earlier as he watched her walk through the door that presumably led to the kitchen. Then he wandered over to the entertainment center that held a fairly large flat screen TV and a modest assortment of DVDs.

It was strange that he couldn't remember ever watching a single movie, but as he traced his fingers along the row of plastic cases he discovered that he automatically knew every one of the movies; the plots, the characters, and who the stars were. It was very odd indeed.

He searched the shelves, and then the tables, looking for anything; a picture, a knick knack, anything personal that would identify this space as being his. But he found nothing. The room had almost a sterile quality to it.

Then he saw a couple of thick books and a few folders sitting on the coffee table. He wandered over to it and found a note that had been scribbled on a sheet of notebook paper sitting on top of them.

_Hey Dare – I've been picking up your schoolwork for you while you're gone. I used my spare key to leave it here just in case you come back here first. But you better call me or come by the minute you get this and let me know that you got away from Queen Psycho-Bitch or I'm going to be totally pissed! Hope to hear from you soon – Drew_

He picked up the note, wondering who this mysterious person was, and wandered toward the kitchen door. "Hey, Serena…" he looked up from the note and paused.

Serena was standing in front of the refrigerator, a can of soda held loosely in her hand as she stared at a photograph that was stuck to the freezer door by a magnet. Her head whipped around at his entrance and he could see the sadness and longing in her eyes as she looked at him.

She gestured to the picture. "I wish we could go back to those times again. Life was a lot easier back then. Did you need something?"

'_You.' _He started to say. But then he cleared his throat and held up the now rumpled piece of paper that he had clenched in his fist. "Who is Drew?"

Her expression lightened and she giggled as she pointed to the picture. "This is Drew. Come here so you can see."

He shuffled over to stand beside her and looked at where her finger was pointing to the blonde boy that he had seen her with on a few occasions.

"That's Andrew, your best friend," she told him softly. "The other blonde boy sitting next to him is Kobyashi, another friend of ours. He and Asanuma, who isn't in this picture because he's the one that was taking it, have gone away for a while. But they should be back this summer. The girls you all know of course."

He nodded as he zeroed in on himself and Serena, right in the middle of the shot. "Were we arguing when this picture was taken?"

She shrugged. "Probably. That was the story of our lives back then. You would pick on me. I would get mad and yell at you. The next thing you know we would be having it out in a full-blown verbal war. So don't ask me what we were arguing about that day, because it could have been anything." Then she pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. "Of course, considering this picture was taken at lunch it's probably safe to say that you were picking on me about my eating habits."

"And yet you still wish for things to be that way again?" he asked in confusion. "That seems a bit masochistic to me."

She shook her head. "I'm not saying that I miss fighting with you exactly. It wasn't always bad though. For the most part it was just picking and teasing, and I think we both knew that. Now sometimes one of us would step over the line and say something hurtful that would cause a big fight. But I sincerely believe that eventually we would have moved past all of the bickering even if we had never turned into Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. It just may have taken us a little while longer to get to that point."

She looked up at him then and was surprised to see that he was studying her intently, like she was an interesting lab specimen that needed to be examined closely under a microscope. His eyes held her transfixed as they bore into hers, and she felt almost as if he were trying to penetrate her mind so that he could read her every thought.

She began to fidget under the weight of his unnerving stare and finally succeeded in tearing her gaze away from his. Desperate to break the silence that had fallen between them, she let out a shaky laugh. "So did you get past the living room in your explorations? There're still other rooms to explore. Besides your bedroom there are a couple of spare rooms. I don't know if anything is in them though. I've never been in them. Let's go see what we can find."

Endymion sighed in frustration, but followed her when she grabbed his hand and pulled him from the kitchen and down a hall. Serenity, it seemed, had more mood swings than a pregnant woman, and her emotions swung faster than a pendulum on a clock. Barely fifteen minutes ago she had been close to having a nervous breakdown in the street. Now she was acting as if that incident had never happened as she plowed ahead with her grand scheme to try to get him to remember the life that he seemed to have forgotten. It was almost enough to give him whiplash trying to keep up with her moods and it was mentally draining trying to figure her out.

Serena pushed open the door to the first room and looked in, wrinkling her nose when she found it empty except for a bookshelf full of books against one wall and a couple of boxes stacked in a corner that were clearly labeled as holding old notes and tests from Darien's freshman and sophomore years of high school.

"Oh my god! You really are a major nerd, aren't you?" she grumbled.

He raised an eyebrow at her statement. "I beg your pardon."

She waved a dismissive hand and quickly shut the door. "Oh, don't get uptight! I've just never known anyone, well, except for Amy, that takes school as seriously as you do."

He frowned at her. "Education is very important. There is a whole, big world waiting out there once you become an adult. And you won't make it very far if you spend all of your time sleeping and daydreaming through class, Meatball Head. You should remember that."

For a moment, Serena looked as though she might throw a temper tantrum at his words, but then the anger fled from her face to be replaced by a wide grin. "Ha! That was a Darien Shields line if I ever heard one! It won't be long now and we'll have you back to normal! I just know it!"

She hurried to the next room and looked in to find it completely empty. "Geez! You really need to buy some more furniture or something. You've got all of this wasted space."

He shrugged but didn't answer her. He had no idea why these rooms were empty. But if Darien was anything at all like him, he probably figured it was a waste to furnish rooms that he obviously didn't use.

Serena sped by another door. "That's just a bathroom. Nothing worth seeing in there." Then she paused at the closed door at the end of the hallway. She licked her lips nervously and then glanced shyly at him. "Um…this is your room." She reached for the knob and opened the door.

Endymion tapped his foot impatiently. Big deal if this was his room. If it was anything like the rest of the apartment then he knew that he could expect more white walls and sparse furnishings. But then Serena flipped a light switch and two lamps flared to life to bathe the room in soft light.

Recognition roared through him as he stumbled through the door in a daze. Sure, the rest of the apartment had felt familiar, but this room he actually remembered. This was his haven, and he had put a lot of time and thought into making it his sanctuary where he could escape and find peace when he needed it.

"It's great, isn't it?" Serena asked from where she still stood in the doorway. "It's a little dark for my tastes, but it suits you perfectly. After all, red and black are your favorite colors."

He looked around, taking in every detail and feeling exhilarated because he could remember putting this room together. He remembered shopping around until he had found the bedroom suit that included the high, king-sized bed frame with head and footboard, two nightstands, a dresser, and an armoire that held a TV and a stereo. They were all made of solid wood and painted a smooth, glossy black. Then he had searched relentlessly until he had found a desk and a bookcase that matched. The walls were the deep, rich red of a newly bloomed rose. In fact, he had conjured a rose and had taken it to the paint store so that the paint could be matched perfectly.

"I remember this room," he mumbled softly. Now that he had taken in the majority of it he started noticing the smaller details. There were a couple of basketball trophies on one of the shelves, a black backpack sat on the floor next to the desk, a varsity jacket hung on the closet doorknob, and a navy blue school blazer was tossed over a chair.

Yes, this room looked lived in. It looked like it actually belonged to someone. And with a start of surprise he realized that it belonged to him. He laughed and threw himself onto the bed where he sank into the fluffy, black silk comforter. "I actually live here! This is my room!"

"I'm glad you finally figured that out. I've only been telling you that ever since we got here," Serena grouched, but in a good-natured way.

Endymion disappeared from the bed and rematerialized in front of her before she could blink. Then he scooped her up in his arms and spun her around. "You weren't lying to me! You really do know who I am! You were telling the truth!"

"Of course I was telling the truth!" she snapped irritably. "Did you honestly think I was making it all up? That's Beryl's forte, not mine. She's the evil one here. I have no reason to lie to you."

Endymion laughed at her irritation. Perhaps it was a little insensitive of him to do so, but he felt so free at the moment that he didn't care. Beryl had been lying to him the whole time. And Serenity, dear, sweet, beautiful Serenity had been telling the truth.

'_You idiot!' _a voice raged in his head as he felt the darkness rising up inside of him once more. _'This is exactly the kind of trap that you swore that you wouldn't fall into! You are playing right into Serenity's hands! Don't let yourself be swayed by a pair of big blue eyes and a tempting little body. She is only using you the same way Beryl is because she wants to get her hands on this planet and you know it!'_

'_Shut up!' _he growled back at the voice. But he began to panic when the horribly cold feeling of the negative energy inside of him began to spread, clawing at his insides like a rabid animal. Normally he would let it take him over without a second thought. He knew it was wrong, but despite his initial dislike of being infused with the dark power that Beryl had given to him, a small part of him had begun to revel in the new abilities he had. He felt empowered when he allowed the negative energy to flow through him, like he was truly worthy to be the prince of this planet.

But now it disturbed him. That dark part of him was powerful, but it wanted to harm Serena. The negative leviathan that resided inside of him wanted to dominate her, possess her; to strip her of her power and beat her down until she bent to his will like a trained puppy. And that was what he'd thought he'd wanted too, until she had proven to him that she was worthy of his trust. Now he only wanted to protect her.

He pushed back against the swell of darkness rising inside of him, determined to beat it down. He knew that if he let it take him over that Serena would be hurt, and he would die if he hurt her. He looked around anxiously, trying to find something, an anchor that would keep him firmly grounded to this reality. And he found it in Serena's blue eyes that were looking at him with such trust and devotion that it almost made his knees buckle.

Serena panicked for a moment when she saw the warring emotions that flitted across Endymion's face and his eyes kept flickering back and forth between midnight blue and soulless black. Her first instinct was to tear herself out of his arms and put as much distance between them as she could, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was so close to getting Darien back, and he was fighting inside. She owed it to him to be as strong and as supportive as possible.

His eyes were darting around like a frightened animal, so she reached up to lay a gentle hand against his cheek, hoping to get his attention. His eyes snapped to hers immediately and she felt the bond between the two of them jerk to life in a way that she hadn't felt since before he had been taken. His emotions slammed into her, almost making her stagger under the weight of his confusion and anger, but she refused to back down.

She stroked his slightly whisker roughened jaw lightly as she pleaded softly, "Please, Darien. Stay with me. Don't leave me again." She focused on her own emotions and tried to send them through the bond to him, hoping that he would be able to feel her love for him.

His eyes stopped flashing and remained blue. Then they dropped a few inches down to her chest.

Serena looked down quickly, sincerely hoping that nothing embarrassing, like her shirt coming unbuttoned, had happened. She would die of mortification if it had. But instead she saw that the shirt had only gaped open enough to reveal the star locket that she wore around her neck. That was what he was looking at.

As if in a trance, Endymion trailed his fingers down the column of her neck, then they brushed her collarbone before hovering slightly over the golden star. "This is the locket from the painting," he whispered.

She nodded. "Yes. I gave it to you once, in another life. You had to leave me for a while, but you promised that you would come back to me. I gave you this locket so that you could look at it and think of me. Then somehow it found you in this life, and you returned it to me."

He gently placed his hand over it. And the moment he did a vision appeared in his head.

_He stood on a balcony of the moon palace, looking out over the pale, rocky landscape. Then he sighed and turned to the woman beside him. "I have to go."_

_Serenity bit her lip to keep from crying, but nodded. "I understand. You have to protect your planet from Beryl. If she's not stopped she will take over the Earth. You must do what you can to prevent that."_

_He smirked at her. "Will you miss me while I'm gone."_

_She turned to glare at him. "What kind of a question is that? Of course I'll miss you! I'll cry into my pillow every night, wishing that you were there beside me."_

_He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "I'll miss you too, Sere. But hopefully this won't take long. I'll have Kunzite, Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoicite with me. With them by my side I'm sure that we'll make quick work of Beryl and her rebels."_

_Her words were muffled against his chest. "I sure hope so. But no matter what, don't forget that you have to come back here a month from now. That will be when my mother makes the official announcement of our engagement and she's planning a grand ball. I don't want to attend my own engagement party without my betrothed."_

_He chuckled and hugged her tightly. "I'll be here, never fear. I just want you to promise me that you won't come down to Earth while I'm gone, no matter how much you miss me. Beryl is already jealous of you and there are rumors flying around that she is now setting her sights on capturing your mother's Silver Crystal. So it's too risky for you to be on Earth right now. I hate to think of what she would do to you if she managed to get her hands on you."_

"_Hmph!" Serenity sniffed. "I'd like to see her try it! Even if you aren't around to protect me I still have my scouts. I doubt even Beryl could stand up against Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury all at the same time."_

"_But they would have to be with you in order to protect you," he retorted. "And let's face it, my love, you are very adept at giving your scouts the slip. So for my peace of mind I want you to promise me that you will stay here where you will be safe and guarded."_

_Her head jerked up and she muttered, "Everybody always treats me like I'm helpless, but I'm not! I may not have inherited the Silver Crystal's power yet, but I do have power of my own and can take care of myself."_

_When he remained silent and merely gave her a look she raised her hands in defeat. "Fine! I'll be a good girl and stay here where I will be bored out of my mind. Are you happy now?"_

_He laid the back of his hand against her flushed cheek. "Yes I am. I'm not doing this to be mean, Sere. I just want you to be safe. You are the most important person in the universe to me. My life would have no purpose if you were gone."_

_Tears sparkled on her lashes as she whispered, "Endy…"_

_He bent his head down and kissed her gently._

_When they parted several seconds later, Serenity reached up to unfasten the golden star locket she wore around her neck. Then she placed it in his hand and closed his fingers around it. "I want you to take my locket with you. That way you'll have something of mine to look at and remember me."_

"_Like I could ever forget about you," he joked._

_She slapped playfully at his shoulder. "I'm serious, Endy!" Then her expression sobered. "Now I want you to promise me that you will come back to me."_

_He pulled her body up flush against his and stared into her eyes. "I will come back to you, Serenity. I will always come back to you. No matter what."_

_Then he claimed her lips in a fiery kiss._

Endymion jolted as memories began pouring into his head. Not his memories of being Darien Shields, but his memories of his life as Endymion. They were his true memories, the ones that Beryl had either locked away or twisted for her own uses. Some of them were still hazy and vague, but he remembered enough to remind him of what exactly had happened in the Silver Millennium.

Anger and elation surged through him simultaneously. The anger he felt was for Beryl. That evil witch had destroyed everything! She had kidnapped his best friends and had brainwashed them into fighting for her. She had killed his parents and torn his kingdom apart. Then she had decimated the moon, forced his generals to kill the scouts, fatally wounded the queen, and attempted to murder the love of his life. She'd killed him as well, but that mattered very little to him. Serenity's life was what was important to him.

But as he looked down into those crystal eyes that he loved so much he felt a wave of pure bliss roll through him. They had both died, him by Beryl and Serenity, according to what she had told him earlier, by her own hand. The news that his intended bride had ended her own life with his sword still rattled him, but here they stood now, alive and together once more.

He slid his hands up to cup her face gently between his palms and whispered reverently, "Serenity."

Serena gasped as she felt a flood of emotion flow through their bond from him to her. There was relief, joy, contentment, and love that was so pure and untainted that it brought tears to her eyes. She felt a spot on her forehead grow warm and knew that her crescent moon birthmark must have appeared, but she didn't care. Everything took on a dreamlike quality as she drowned in the sapphire depths of his eyes.

"Gods, Serenity! I love you so much!" Endymion murmured in a husky, emotionally cracking voice before he bent down and took her lips in a kiss so hot that she literally stopped breathing.

All coherent thought flew out of Serena's head the moment his lips touched hers. She had been able to resist him earlier when he had been under the control of Beryl's negative energy, but this was different. He was in control of himself now. Something that she had been holding in her hand slipped from her fingers to hit the floor with a dull thud, but she paid it no attention as she went up on her tiptoes and flung her arms around Endymion's neck so that she could tunnel her fingers into his thick, silky hair.

Belatedly, a warning voice from somewhere inside her mind popped up and began screeching at her, _'What are you doing? You are supposed to be trying to bring Darien's memories back, not taking a time out to have a hot and heavy make out session with Endymion! Geez! The guy may not be under the control of negative energy right this second, but he's stuck in the consciousness of his past self. This isn't fair to Darien! I thought you loved him!'_

'_Oh my god! What AM I doing?' _Serena thought as the voice, which had sounded a lot like Raye for some reason, brought sanity crashing back inside her muddled brain. But deep inside she knew what had happened. She was still adjusting to having Princess Serenity's thoughts and memories inside her head, mixing and mingling with her own. And being in such close proximity to Endymion had brought all of Serenity's emotions to the forefront of her mind, making her lose focus on her true mission for just a moment.

But she was back in control now, and she pulled her lips away from his just as the backs of her legs hit something. Without her realizing it, Endymion had backed her across the room to the bed. Heat rushed to her cheeks as memories of Serenity and Endymion's many…intimate encounters played through her mind. But they weren't the moon princess and the earth prince anymore, and she wanted her Darien back before she gave any thought as to where their relationship would go from here. They hadn't even been on their first date yet!

She moved her hands to Endymion's shoulders and pushed gently against him to put a few inches of space between them. "Endymion, stop. We need to talk."

He looked down at her in confusion as he placed a hand on the side of her neck. "What is bothering you, my love?"

Crap! Those eyes of his were borderline hypnotic. Falling under his spell could be so easy. But she forced herself to stay strong. She licked her suddenly dry lips nervously. "Um…as nice as being with you is, we still have some problems we need to take care of."

His eyes had followed the trail of her pink tongue and were now fastened on her glistening lips as he mumbled in a low voice, "Such as?"

She let out a frustrated noise and pushed him back a step. "Uh, Beryl is the biggest problem that comes to my mind. There's the little matter that she wants to kill me so that she can take my Silver Crystal and conquer the world. Not to mention we still need to get you back to normal."

Irritation bubbled up in Endymion, causing the hold he had on the negative energy inside of him to slip. Cold spread through his body as he glared down at the blonde princess. "You prefer my weaker reincarnation to me? You used to love me as I am. I can protect you from Beryl better than he ever could. If your precious _Darien _had been capable of taking care of you we wouldn't even be in this situation right now. But obviously he was so pathetic that he went and got himself captured, leaving you alone with only the scouts to stand between you and Beryl. What kind of protector does that?"

Serena froze in shock for a moment before rage, unlike any she had ever felt before, fell over her, covering her vision in a red haze. Before she realized what she was doing, she raised her hand and brought it cracking across Endymion's cheek in a stinging slap.

"You bastard!" she screamed at him. "How dare you make yourself out to be so superior to Darien? He is just as much of a man as you ever were! Maybe even more so! The only reason why he was captured by the Dark Kingdom was because he sacrificed himself to save me! Is that any different than what you did to save Serenity, huh, IS IT? So you need to climb down off of your proverbial high horse, _your highness_, because Darien is the one that I love and I WANT HIM BACK!"

Endymion's head had jerked to the side from the force of her unexpected slap, making it impossible for her to see his eyes. But as he slowly turned his head back so that he was facing her, a jolt of fear crackled down her spine just like one of Jupiter's lightning bolts. His eyes were blacker than obsidian and burned with an anger so hot that she swore she felt the heat from it scorch her skin.

He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and jerked her up against him. "So you want to play like that, do you? I have to admit, you almost had me fooled, Serenity. True, you may not be after the Earth the way Beryl is, but you are still just as treacherous as that witch is. You have the face of an angel, but your motives are greedy. I am nothing to you but a tool to try and get your little boyfriend back. Admit it!"

Serena's teeth rattled as he shook her, but managed to glare at him. "That's not it at all! You said it yourself earlier that you and Darien are one and the same, and you were right. You are a part of Darien the same way that Serenity is a part of me. That's what makes us who we are today. It's not a matter of loving one part of you more than the other. I love all of you, the part of you that is Darien and the part of you that is Endymion. I always have, even before we found out about the past."

Endymion stopped shaking her, but maintained his tight grip. "Pretty words, Serenity," he sneered down at her. "But do you honestly expect me to believe you now?"

"Yes, I do!" she cried in desperation. But she couldn't stop the whimper that slid past her lips a moment later as his hard fingers dug even deeper into her tender skin. "Darien, please stop! You're hurting me!"

_WHAM! _Her plea hit him like a punch to the gut. He actually doubled over slightly as his fingers released her. The coldness of the negative energy faded away and Endymion felt his own consciousness grow fuzzy as that other presence inside of him thrashed violently to life and began pushing him down.

It took Serena a shocked moment to realize that Endymion had let her go. But when he moved back a couple of steps and she found herself no longer pinned between him and the side of the bed her sense of self preservation kicked in and she began to edge away from him slowly, trying to keep from drawing attention to herself. She bit her lip though to keep from crying at the tortured sight he made as he wrestled internally with himself. Her poor Darien! She had thought that she might be able to bring him back to himself again, but now she could see that whatever magic Beryl had used to manipulate him was just too strong.

In her mind she was already formulating a plan. Step one was to get out of the apartment and away from Endymion. Once she did that she was going to hightail it to Amy's. She had planned on talking to the Mercurian scout tomorrow, but now she felt like she couldn't wait. She had done some thinking earlier before she had fallen asleep. If the Silver Crystal could be used to heal the victims of the Rainbow Crystals, maybe it could be used to banish the dark energy from Endymion and return him to normal.

She cursed inside her head at the thought of how little she actually knew about the Silver Crystal. She had trained with it very little during the Silver Millennium because she had still been young and her mother had planned on ruling for many, many more years to come. They had thought that they had plenty of time for her to learn the ways of the crystal. If only they had known what the future held.

Luckily, Amy had complete, detailed reports on the Mercury computer about the Silver Crystal and what its powers were. If anybody could answer her question about if and how the crystal could be used to save Darien it would be her quiet, blue haired friend. She just needed to get to her.

She had managed a few shuffling steps and had put a couple of feet of distance between her and Endymion without him noticing, or so she thought. She was preparing to make a break for it and run when his hand shot out quickly to grab one of hers. A sharp squeak tore from her throat.

"Damn it, Serena!" he growled. "Didn't I tell you last night to stay the hell away from me? You never listen to anything I say, do you, you silly Meatball Head?"

She froze. She knew that tone of voice all too well. That was Darien's _'You're in trouble for putting yourself in danger and now I'm going to give you a lecture' _tone. It was the one that he always reserved for when he was upset with her for throwing herself in the path of a youma or something of that nature. And she had been on the receiving end of it more times than she could count in the last couple of months.

Her head turned, eyes widening as they clashed with a pair of still angry, but thankfully blue eyes. And as she stared into them she noticed the difference between Darien and Endymion's eyes for the first time. While both of them had the killer sapphire gaze that had the ability to suck her in, there was a slightly haughty look in the earth prince's eyes that never completely disappeared. She had never noticed it before, until it was gone like it was now.

"Darien?" she barely breathed. She hardly dared to hope that this was really him. She had been disappointed so many times tonight already. Each time she thought she was getting through to him the dark energy inside him would flare up and he would turn into Beryl's creation again. His mood swings were highly unpredictable, and it gave her new respect for her father and brother. They always disappeared and tried to stay out of sight whenever she and her mother were going through their time of the month because they said that the mood swings scared them. And while she was pretty sure that neither hers or Ilene's PMS was anywhere near the level of Endymion's ever changing emotions, she could respect Ken and Sammy's reluctance to engage in any confrontation.

But as much as she wanted to believe that this was Darien standing there, she remained wary. With all of the nasty tricks that Endymion had pulled, she wouldn't put it past him to pretend that he was Darien just to try to catch her off guard. She shook her head. "Unh uh! I'm not falling for any more tricks. There's no way you're Darien."

His expression was irritated, but the sides of his mouth twitched like he was holding back a smile. Then he chuckled. "Of all the times for you to become logical, you pick now. What am I going to do with you, Meatball Head?"

Her determination wavered a little. He sounded like Darien and he was acting like Darien, but she couldn't be sure. "How do I know it's really you and not a trick?"

He rolled his eyes. "Because I know you probably better than anyone. Go ahead, ask me anything."

She thought for a moment. "What's my favorite school subject?"

He clucked his tongue. "That's a trick question. You don't have a favorite subject. You view school as being only one step above hell and you despise all of your classes equally. Although you do seem to harbor more resentment toward Algebra and English just for the simple fact that Miss Haruna teaches those classes. You call her the 'Dragon Lady' because she's always slapping you with detention."

"Lucky guess!" she fired back, not completely convinced yet. "What did you give me for Christmas?"

He smirked. "That depends. Are you talking about the stuffed bunny that I fixed up to look like you, or the locket that you kept refusing to accept?"

Hope began bubbling in her, but she had one more question for him. And it was something that only the two of them would know. "Where were we when we kissed for the first time?"

His smirk turned into a genuine smile. "Well, if you want to call that brief encounter of the lips a kiss. We were in the chemistry lab during the winter dance. I kissed you, and then I told you that I was Tuxedo Mask and that I knew you were Sailor Moon. You got upset and walked out on me. Then Nephrite attacked and everything went haywire. Later on I drove you home and you asked how I found out about you." He let go of her hand and turned to open the drawer in the bedside table and pull out a white handkerchief with two pink embroidered bunnies in the corner. "I still have it."

The combination of his answer and his heart-stopping smile melted any resistance left in her. "Darien!" she cried, bursting into tears as she threw herself at him.

Darien caught her up in his arms and held her close, taking a moment to revel at the feel of having Serena in his arms again. But it wasn't safe for her to stay here with him, and he knew that. So all too soon he set her back from him gently. "Serena, you have to go."

She looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Are you crazy? I'm not leaving you."

"You have to," he growled at her. "I'm the one that's in control at the moment, but I don't know how long it will last. Whatever Beryl did to me split Endymion and I into two separate consciousnesses. She thought that she had banished me, but instead I was closed off in a corner of my mind. Endymion's the one that has been corrupted by the negative energy, and he's strong, too strong for me to hold back for very long. I don't think he would hurt you, but it's hard to say. When his anger is fueled by the negative energy it's like someone else entirely takes over and neither one of us are in control. And I would die if you ended up hurt or in Beryl's hands."

Serena fisted her hands in the fabric of his hoodie at his chest. "I don't care. I'm still not leaving you." Then her eyes brightened. "Come with me. I'm going to see Amy. I had an idea earlier that I want to talk to her about. I think I can use the crystal to turn you back to normal, but I need her advice first to make sure I do it right."

He shook his head. "Serena, I can't trust myself around you right now. But it is a good idea for you to go to one of the girls' house. I don't want you staying alone at your place. And don't worry about trying to heal me. You and I both know that using the crystal is dangerous. You could die if it takes too much of your energy. You just concentrate on getting rid of Beryl and Metallia for now. We'll worry about me later."

She jerked him down so that their noses were almost touching as she ground out in a furious voice, "Don't you tell me what I should and should not be worried about right now, Darien Shields! I know that using the crystal is risky, but it's a risk that I'm willing to take if it means getting you back. I know that I'm going to have to face Beryl eventually, and I'm going to need you by my side when I do. I'm going to need everyone, you and the scouts, if we hope to beat her."

He stared into her indignant eyes, surprised at her outburst for a moment, before he chuckled. "Do you always have to be so…"

A hissing sound interrupted what he was about to say, and they both looked up to see what appeared to be a snake-like whip made of black hair speeding toward them.

Darien grabbed Serena around the waist and launched them across the bed. They rolled off the mattress and landed on the floor on the other side, but instead of sprawling they both landed in a defensive crouch.

The bed shuddered and they looked up to find a youma standing there looking down at them. She had the pale blue skin and perfect super model body that a lot of the youmas seemed to have and was dressed all in black leather, from her skimpy corset style top and barely there micro miniskirt to the thigh high stiletto boots she wore. Her eyes blazed bright blood red and her long black hair slithered around her like living snakes.

When she spoke, her voice hissed like a snake. "Ssssoooo, you evaded my sssurprissse attack. That'sss not a problem. I will ssstill get you both. You can't essscape me."

"Gorgona!" Kunzite snapped as he walked into the room. "Don't waste time toying with them. Beryl wants them both delivered to her as quickly as possible and we don't want to stay here long enough for the scouts to show up. So just grab them and let's get on with it."

"Asss you wissshh, Lord Kunzite," Gorgona hissed, and strands of her hair shot toward the two stunned teens.

Darien lunged out of his crouch and ran for the door, dragging Serena behind him. As they ran down the hall his tuxedo materialized around him. "Serena, transform!" he demanded as he pushed her against the wall to avoid one of the hair whips chasing them. An enraged screech echoed down the hall when it missed.

Serena's hands flew up to her chest, but it wasn't until they encountered nothing but smooth cotton that she remembered that she was wearing a sleep shirt and not her school uniform with the bow on the front where she normally kept her brooch pinned. Her forehead wrinkled. Where was her brooch anyway?

Then horror struck her as she remembered the sensation of the brooch falling from her fingers as she'd kissed Endymion. How could she have been so stupid? Now, not only could she not transform, but also the Silver Crystal was inside the brooch!

"What are you waiting for?" Tuxedo Mask practically yelled at her as he peeled her away from the wall and continued to jerk her behind him down the hall. "Now is not the time to hesitate! You need to transform now!"

They entered the living room and were heading for the balcony doors that were still standing open. He turned slightly as he ran and pulled her up into a bridal hold in his arms in one fluid movement. She could feel his muscles bunching up as he prepared to jump through the door and out into the night sky.

Then a swirl of dark energy appeared before them as Kunzite materialized, blocking their way. "I don't think you'll be leaving just yet," he snickered. "This party is just getting started."

Tuxedo Mask considered just barreling into the general and knocking him out of the way, but the presence of the long, light purple energy blades that Kunzite was holding in each hand made him rethink that decision. There was too much of a risk that Serena could get hurt by the glowing weapons. And why hadn't she transformed yet?

He quickly reversed directions, whirling toward the front door instead. He had to get them out of the apartment. As long as they remained there without room to maneuver they were confined and trapped. But the youma, Gorgona, was blocking that exit as well, her tendrils of hair writhing in anticipation.

He tried going back down the hall again, thinking that if he could just make it into one of the bedroom they would be able to escape out of one of the windows. But several strands of Gorgona's hair shot forward, attempting to grab them and cutting him off from his destination. So he ducked into the kitchen instead.

Serena was trembling violently in his arms and he whispered frantically to her. "Sweetheart, I know you're scared, but I really need you to transform and help me right now. I don't think I can get us out of this alone."

Her arms tightened around his neck, and her voice, when it answered, was so low that he had to strain to hear it. "I can't transform."

He gave his head a hard shake; sure that he had misunderstood her. "What do you mean? Of course you can transform. We'll fight our way out of here together and then we'll get you someplace safe. Okay?"

She lifted her head to look at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "No, I can't. I don't have my brooch. I dropped it in your bedroom."

Damn! That was not good. He tried to think quickly. "The crystal! You do have the Silver Crystal, don't you?"

She was already shaking her head before he finished. "No, I don't."

"Shit!" he groaned. They were in trouble. They were cornered like rats with nowhere to go. And he didn't even bother asking her if she had her communicator with her. He was pretty sure if she did she would have called the scouts by now. This was so not good.

He set her on her feet and pushed her behind him, pinning her between his back and the cabinets as Gorgona appeared in the doorway. Several steel tipped red roses appeared in his hands.

Gorgona cackled. "You can run, but you can't hide, my little trinketsss. Queen Beryl wantsss to sssee you."

"Tough shit!" Tuxedo Mask snarled, never wavering from his protective stance in front of Serena. "You'll just have to go back and give our regrets to Queen Bitch. We're not in the mood for socializing tonight."

Gorgona smirked. "I'm afraid you have no choiccce." A dozen of her hair snakes snapped forward.

Tuxedo Mask flung his roses at them. He was successful in severing several of them, eliciting a scream from Gorgona, but one of the writhing serpents slammed into his stomach. He flew across the room where he crashed head first into the refrigerator before falling to the ground. Although he was dazed, adrenaline fueled him, and he pushed himself up immediately. Then Serena screamed.

His blurry eyes snapped up just in time to see two of the hair tendrils wrap around Serena's legs and jerk her feet out from under her. She fell back, head cracking against the edge of the countertop, before her body slumped to the floor. Then the hair began dragging her across the slick linoleum toward Gorgona and the portal that Kunzite, who had come up behind her, had just opened.

"No! Serena!" Tuxedo Mask yelled as he scrabbled across the floor toward Serena. Her eyes were open, but she seemed to be on the verge of unconsciousness. His hands tangled in her hair that was trailing across the floor behind her as he reached desperately for her hand. He almost sobbed in relief when his fingers closed around her limp ones.

Kunzite chuckled darkly. "You may as well give it up, Endymion. Beryl wants her and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

Tuxedo Mask glared up at the youma possessed general. "You can go to hell! There's no way that I'm going to allow that bitch to sink her claws into Serena! She'll kill her!"

Kunzite's expression turned smug. "That's the general idea. Once Beryl has the Silver Crystal and little Serenity is dead there will be no one to stand our way. Beryl will take over the Earth, and I will have my own little piece of it to lord over and the fair princess of Venus in my bed. Sounds like paradise, doesn't it? Of course, you may not even realize it once Beryl gets done with you. She's not exactly happy with the way you have been acting." He snapped his fingers. "Gorgona! Make sure that Prince Endymion accompanies us."

"Of courssse," she hissed, and more hair serpents sprang to life.

Tuxedo Mask kept one hand tightly clasped around Serena's, even though they were both being dragged across the floor, and with the other he conjured several more roses. But before he could throw them one of the snakes of hair wrapped painfully around his neck and began to squeeze. He tried to draw a breath, but his airway was constricted. Then a sudden yank tore Serena from him.

He was beginning to feel lightheaded and blackness was creeping in around the edges of his vision as he and Serena were both pulled into the dark void. The last thing he registered before the darkness swallowed him were several voices screaming, "Serena!" and four shadowy figures that had just rushed into the entry hall.

Then he was freefalling through blackness. He felt as though hours had passed, but in reality it was probably only a few seconds. The choking pressure released his neck, and he sucked a huge, grateful breath into his burning lungs.

That breath was knocked out of him soon after as he stopped falling and his back smacked into something hard. His poor lungs were further abused when a weight plowed into his chest. He felt paralyzed for several long moments, but then he slowly regained the ability to breath.

After pulling in a few experimental breaths, he slowly opened his eyes, only to find that something was lying over his face where he couldn't see. He clawed it away from his eyes and looked down to see that what had been blocking his vision was Serena's hair, and that she was evidently what had fallen on him.

Her body was splayed across his with her head resting just below his collarbone. Her eyes were closed and that scared him. Had she passed out from the pressure and vertigo of traveling through the portal, or was her unconsciousness caused from hitting her head when Gorgona had grabbed her?

He shook her gently, being very careful in case she had other injuries. But he needed her to wake up. "Serena! Can you hear me? Come on, let me see those baby blues."

She squirmed against his chest for a moment before her eyes fluttered open. Then she raised her head a little bit so that her cloudy, slightly dilated gaze could meet his. "Darien?" she murmured, slurring a bit. Then she winced and put a hand to the back of her head. "What happened?"

He had already taken a look around and seen where they were, but before he could respond to her question and give her the bad news a grating female voice sneered instead.

"Endymion, Serenity, it's so nice of you to join me."

* * *

"Damn it!" Venus shrieked as Kunzite dove into the portal that the youma had just dragged Serena into and it vanished.

"That effing bastard!" Jupiter snarled next to her.

For once, Mars looked lost as she stared at the spot where the portal had been and whispered, "No, Serena!"

Mercury was on the verge of tears for a moment, but then choked them back as she whipped out her computer and began scanning. But it didn't pick up on anything now that the portal was gone. She switched programs to track the Silver Crystal's energy. The Dark Kingdom had managed to stay hidden so far, but perhaps the crystal's power was strong enough to penetrate whatever was shielding them. If they could get a lock on where Serena was they would be able to use the sailor teleport to go to her.

But when the computer beeped and revealed the location of the crystal her knees went weak and she couldn't stop the strangled moan that caught in her throat.

Venus's head whipped around, blonde hair flying. "What is it, Mercury?"

Mercury shook her head, pushing past her and the other scouts to sprint down the hallway. After a stunned moment the other three followed her. They caught up with her in Darien's bedroom where she bent over and picked up something from the floor.

Mars groaned as she saw the gold, circular brooch in Mercury's hand. "That stupid Meatball Head! Mercury, you better find out where Beryl's hiding her damn base at pretty quick, because once we get Serena out of there I'm probably going to kill her myself!"

Jupiter sucked in a shaky breath. "Well, Serena may not be able to transform, but at least she's got the Silver Crystal. That will help protect her."

"I'm afraid not," Mercury replied, voice cracking with emotion. She pressed the hidden catch on the side of the brooch and the secret compartment opened to reveal the Silver Crystal nestled inside.

Venus fell to her knees. "Oh Great Selene! This cannot be happening!"

Static electricity crackled and popped around Jupiter. "You mean she's in Beryl's clutches and completely helpless? That bitch will kill her!"

"No," Venus whispered. "She's not completely helpless. She has Darien with her."

Jupiter snorted and rolled her eyes. "Like that makes me feel any better! Darien Shields doesn't happen to be high up on my list of favorite people right now. Not after he just stood by while we fought that youma at the salon earlier. It seems to me that he's chosen his side and it's not ours."

Mars shook her head. "Not necessarily. Whatever Beryl has done to Darien has messed him up badly. I sensed it in his aura earlier. It was really muddled and confused. But from what I saw as he was dragged into that portal I could tell that he was himself, at least for now. We just have to hope that he can protect her."

Mercury had opened her computer again and was typing rapidly. "That's all the more reason why we have to find the Dark Kingdom base as quickly as possibly. Darien's good, but he won't be able to hold off Beryl for long. If only I could get some kind of a lead on where they were."

They all fell silent, each racking their brains to try and come up with some way that they could rescue their princess. The only sounds heard for several minutes were the clicking of Mercury's typing and the occasional frustrated sighs that escaped them.

Then they all jumped when they heard a loud thump from the front of the apartment. After one wide eyed look at each other they jumped up and ran down the hall to investigate, on guard in case Kunzite and his youma had returned to fight them. But what they found instead shocked them more than if Beryl had just walked up to them and offered to be their best friend.

Serena was on her hands and knees in the entry hall, near where the portal she had been pulled through had been, and she was slowly crawling across the floor. Her long hair fell around her, but couldn't hide the fact that the large shirt she wore was sporting a few rips or hide the bloody claw marks on her arm that looked as if they had been left there by an animal of some kind. Ragged sobs were tearing from her throat.

"Serena!" the scouts all shrieked and ran toward her. Venus and Mars reached her first and grabbed her just as her hands slipped from under her and she went plummeting toward the floor.

She thrashed against their hold for a moment, eyes wild as they darted around feverishly. Then she froze, one hand gripping her chest over her heart as she panted for breath. A few seconds later her body jerked like it had been hit by one of Jupiter's lightning bolts and she screamed, "_DARIEN!_"

Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell into the waiting arms of her scouts and best friends.

* * *

"You!" Beryl screeched as she sent another blast of dark energy slamming into the armored body of Prince Endymion as he lay helpless on the cold stone floor of her throne room. "How dare you help that disgusting little moon slut escape!"

Endymion ground his teeth against the pain, but no sound came from him. Serenity was safe, and that was all that mattered. He had known from the moment he'd summoned a portal and pushed her through that Beryl would probably kill him for it, but he didn't care. By now his princess was back with her scouts and the Silver Crystal where she could be protected. He had tried to follow her, but Beryl had been too quick and had attacked him before he could. Now he would probably die.

And he was okay with that. Just knowing that Serenity was out of Beryl's clutches brought him peace. He could die now with no regrets. He just wished that his last memory of Serenity had been her smile instead of her frightened, tear streaked face, the same as it had been the first time he had died. Alas, it seemed that history had a way of repeating itself. At least this time his princess wouldn't witness his death, and he hoped that her friends would give her the strength to live on. She had to survive this time. She was the only one that could defeat Beryl once and for all. Hopefully she remembered what he had told her before he had shoved her through that portal.

As another energy blast jolted his body, he retreated into his memories, feeling a little thrill run through him that he could finally remember them. To block out the pain he recalled the way Serenity's lips had always tasted of sweet, ripe strawberries when he kissed her. He remembered the way she would twine her fingers into his hair and press herself against him. And how could he have ever forgotten the way that she would whisper in his ear as they made love. He would have loved to rediscover those things with her reincarnation, but some things just weren't meant to be.

Belatedly, he realized that Beryl's attacks had stopped. He cracked his eyes open to find the demented witch standing over him with a look of disgust on her face. And when she spoke, her voice was as cutting as sharp, cold steel.

"Why, Endymion?" she spat. "Why did you betray me like this? All that I have done, I was doing for you."

Endymion hacked out a sound that was somewhere between a cough and a laugh. "No, Beryl. All that you have done was for your own selfish gain. You only care about yourself, and you don't care who you have to kill to get your way…even me."

"That was a mistake!" she shrieked. "It never would have happened if you hadn't decided to protect your precious Serenity from me! We could have had it all, Endymion, the Earth, the moon, the entire galaxy if we wanted it. We would have been strong together. And now when I am trying to correct the mistakes of the past you choose to defy me. I have tried to return everything to you. I took you from that common life you were living and restored your nobility. I was going to deliver the Earth back into the hands of its true king. All I asked in return was for you to get the Silver Crystal from that silly little moon brat and for you to make me your queen. But instead you allowed Serenity to trap you in her spell once more, just like she did when she stole you from me the first time. You are mine, Endymion!"

Although every inch of his body was screaming in agony, he glared up at her. "I was never yours, Beryl. True, there was some talk at one time about a possible betrothal between us, but I refused the idea because I knew you weren't the one for me. You, on the other hand, couldn't take no for answer. You were playing around with magic that you had no business messing with and it warped whatever feelings you had for me into a dark obsession. Sorry, but that's not my cup of tea."

"And Serenity is?" she hissed in a low voice.

A peaceful smile appeared on the prince's face. "Yes, she is. Unlike you, Serenity possesses a pure and loving heart that is untainted by the darkness that rules yours. I was an arrogant rogue before I met her, but she taught me the joys of loving. I will be forever grateful to her for that."

Beryl's eyes flared red-hot. "We'll see how grateful your princess is for knowing you when the end comes. I promise you this, Endymion, Serenity will suffer under my hand like no one has ever suffered before. And when I finally kill her she will die cursing your name and regretting the day that she ever met you. That is the vow I make to you."

To her surprise, he smirked. "Go ahead and try, Beryl. But I think you might be shocked at what Serenity is capable of. I make a vow to you as well. You will fail. I have complete faith and trust in Serenity, and I sincerely believe that she will bring about your downfall."

"Blind trust!" Beryl scoffed. "That little girl is nothing to me! She is inexperienced and immature with no idea the wealth of power she holds in her hands. I will kill her, and then the Silver Crystal and the Earth shall be mine."

Endymion sighed. "Time will tell. Now, if you're going to kill me I wish you would go ahead and get to it. I really hate dragging things out and there is nothing you can do that will make me help you. So you may as well do it now."

A vicious, predatory smile appeared on the dark queen's face as she stared down at the incapacitated earth prince. A devilish gleam lit her eyes and she ran her tongue over her fangs before she cooed in a deceptively soft, silky voice. "Are you in such a hurry to die, my dearest prince? No, I could never bring myself to purposefully kill you, no matter how much you have irked me. I have special plans for you, my darling."

Then she shot him with a massive energy blast.

The last thing that went through Endymion's mind before he lapsed into darkness was Darien's voice inside his head saying softly, _'I love you, Serena.'_

* * *

**A/N **I know, that was a horrible place to leave things. But it just seemed like the right spot to me. And to those of you that are wondering what happened after Serena and Darien were taken to Beryl, don't worry. It will be explained in the next chapter. So like I said earlier, there were a lot of mood swings here. And just when it looked like Serena was going to get Darien back, the proverbial shit had to hit the fan. The red headed bitch-tress is getting desperate and stepping up her game, and that can't be good for our heroes, especially poor Darien. The countdown clock to the final showdown between Beryl and Serena has been set, and now it's ticking. But more heartbreaks and confrontations are on the way before we get there. Don't forget to drop me those reviews and let me know your thoughts. Without them this story would shrivel up and die a premature death. Lots of love and hugs to all of you! Later gators!

~Sere~


	26. Important Update

Hi everyone! I know most of you have clicked on this hoping that this would be an update for this story, but unfortunately it is not. First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Sara and I am Christi's (Sere-chan's) cousin and occasional partner in crime. Some of you may know me better as Mina-chan from some of Sere's author's notes in the past. Anyway, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my cuz wanted me to dash off a quick note to let all of her readers know why none of her stories have been updated in a while. Last week she was involved in a pretty major car accident. She's doing okay now and she's resting comfortably at home after having to spend a few days in the hospital, but she's understandably not feeling up to par and has a couple of bad injuries that have really slowed her down, the worst one, in her opinion, being that her right arm is in a cast that makes it almost impossible for her to type. But she wants me to let everybody know that she is okay and the story ideas are still flowing through her head. She also wants me to reassure you all that the stories she has in progress will be finished. In fact, she has given me her precious flash drive with the rough copies of what she has written, and with her help I am going to try to get the chapters ready for posting. Pretty much, I'll be doing all of the finger work while she dictates what she wants and she will have final say over editing and whether or not a chapter is ready, so she's still the boss. There is also a Halloween story that she has been trying to get together that we hope to be able to post some time this month.

So we're hoping that everyone can please be patient for just a little while longer while we work together to update these stories and we hope to continue GT, Bad Boys, and Rekindled very soon. Sere says to send out lots of love and hugs as always, and that she will be back in full control as quickly as she possibly can. Thanks for reading! Later!

Sere-chan (Christi) and Mina-chan (Sara)


	27. Never Giving In

**A/N **Hiya everyone! Thank you for waiting so patiently for this update, and tons of hugs to all of you for your continued support and best wishes for my recovery. I am pleased to say that hopefully I will soon be reaching the end of my ordeal. I returned to work this past week, which was kinda awkward, but the good thing about working in a school library is that there are a lot of things I can do one-handed. The good news is that I have a doctor's appointment next week and they're going to take off my cast and do some x-rays. And if I have healed enough I will only have to wear a brace instead of this horrible cast, which will make a world of difference. I'm ready to really dive back into my stories myself.

A kajillion and half humongous thank yous to Mina-chan for all of her help with this chapter. She is a very busy girl with work and school, but she has been an absolute gem in taking the time to help organize my rough drafts into something that we both hope is readable and hopefully slightly entertaining. Luv ya Cuz! You are the best!

Please forgive me for not giving out my individual hugs like I usually do, there are just so many people to thank that it would take me hours to list them all. It's already taken me an absurd amount of time just to type this note. So please accept the thousand hugs I'm giving out as a token of my thanks. You guys are the greatest readers in the fanfiction world! And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Now enough babble out of me. On with the show!

**_ENJOY!_**

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 26

Never Giving In

* * *

"_Serena! Can you hear me? Come on, let me see those baby blues."_

_Serena heard Darien's voice pleading with her and fought her way back to consciousness. As she squirmed around she realized that she was lying against something that was firm, yet forgiving. She realized that it was Darien's chest even before she heard the rapid thump of his heart below her ear. Heaven knew she had run into his chest enough times to know what it felt like._

_She opened her eyes, blinking a few times to try to bring her blurry sight into focus. She lifted her head slightly to find Darien looking down at her with concern lining his face._

"_Darien," she whispered, shocked at how slurred her voice came out sounding. She sounded like she had been drinking. Then pain shot through her head and she winced as she put a hand to the back of her skull, feeling the large bump that was beginning to form there. "What happened?"_

_Then she heard that voice, that horrible, grating voice that had been haunting her nightmares for months now. "Endymion, Serenity, it's so nice of you to join me."_

_Her blood ran cold in her veins as that voice invoked memories that she had been trying very hard not to think about recently. She could still remember that evil, malicious tone speaking over her as she held Endymion while he bled to death. The sharp, metallic tang of blood was still as fresh in her mind now as it had been on that night so many centuries ago._

_She felt Darien shifting beneath her as he sat up. He set her gently over to the side before he turned a burning glare upon the Dark Kingdom queen. "What the hell do you want, Beryl?"_

_The flame haired witch clucked her tongue against her fanged teeth. "Now, now, Endymion, you've been with me for several days now. I'm sure you've had enough time to realize that I don't allow anyone, not even the mighty prince of Earth, to speak to me in such a disrespectful way. You know very well what I want, and she's right there beside you."_

_He shot to his feet, his cape billowing out wide as he took a defensive between her and Beryl. "I won't let you have Serena, Beryl! It will be a cold day in hell first!"_

"_Oh dear," Beryl replied in a mock concerned tone. "I was afraid that we would run into this little problem. I sent you to get the princess and bring her to me, Endymion. But I knew from the moment I discovered that you were spending your time kissing her and playing around with her instead of fulfilling your mission that you had no intentions of doing as I asked. You've allowed that little moon tramp to slither her way back into your head just like she did before. She's playing mind games with you, Endymion. Why can't you see that?"_

"_The only one playing mind games around here is you, Beryl!" he fired back._

_Serena stumbled unsteadily to her feet behind him. Her head spun and ached and her stomach burned as it churned with nausea. She wanted nothing more than to go to Darien so she could lean on him for support and bury her face into his cape until this nightmare was over, bur since she had neither her brooch nor the Silver Crystal with her she knew that he was their best shot at making it out of there alive. And he didn't need to be hindered by her clinging to him if it came down to a fight._

_Beryl's eyes brightened as she spotted her over his shoulder. "Think whatever you like, Endymion, but I will get what I want in the end." Then she disappeared._

"_Where did she…?" Serena started to ask, but her words were cut short as Beryl reappeared next to her. She began to shriek, but began choking instead when a surprisingly strong, bony hand wrapped around her throat._

_Beryl grabbed her by the thin fabric of her nightshirt and jerked her close. "I have had just about enough of you, Serenity," she snarled in her face. "There is no way that you can defeat me. Give me the Silver Crystal now!"_

"_Never!" Serena managed to gasp despite her restricted airway._

_Beryl rolled her eyes and then looked toward Tuxedo Mask. "Endymion, tell your little slut that it's useless to fight against me and that she would be better off just giving into me now."_

_Tuxedo Mask was tense and alert. Serena could read from his stance and expression that he was looking for a weak spot. If Beryl faltered or had a lapse in attention for just a moment, he would strike. But despite the seriousness of the situation, a small grin curved his lips. "If there's one thing that I've learned about Serena, it's that nobody tells her what to do. She does what she wants, when she wants. And she's a scrapper. So I'd watch out if I were you."_

_It took a moment for his words to penetrate Serena's fuzzy brain. Was he saying that he wanted her to fight back? She was half faint from that blow to the head and lack of oxygen, plus Beryl was several inches taller, many pounds heavier, and in control of her powers. What damage would she be able to do to the witch? If only she hadn't dropped her brooch. It was like a clichéd scene from a manga or anime. The heroine gets sidetracked by the romantic, good-looking guy and then finds herself in a really bad spot. It was just her luck._

_Then, as if in a dream, she remembered one of her training sessions with Darien when he was giving her pointers on how to take down someone larger and stronger than her. He'd told her that the knees were always weak spots, and if you hit an enemy in the knee you could possibly send them to the ground._

_Serena wasn't sure how much damage she would be able to do. She was barefooted. And without being able to move her head to look down she couldn't be certain exactly where Beryl's knees were. She was just going to have to wing it._

_Beryl was laughing. "As if I would be afraid of a weak, pathetic little girl like her. She is nothing! If she won't willingly hand over the crystal, then I'll just kill her and take it."_

"_You wanna bet!" Serena spat as she pulled back her foot and kicked as hard as she could._

_Her foot hit a little higher than she intended, an inch or two above the knee, but the crack of her foot against bone was enough to make Beryl loosen her grasp. She yanked herself out of the witch's clutches, hearing her shirt tear as she did, but Beryl didn't let her go completely. She was hunched over in pain, but held on tenaciously to the tattered strips of fabric._

"_You stupid little lunarian whore!" Beryl screeched. "I'll take great joy in slicing that angelic little face of yours to ribbons before I kill you!" She swiped at Serena with her curved, crimson tipped claws._

_Serena threw an arm up in front of her face to protect it and cried out in pain as those razor sharp nails sliced into her skin, drawing blood. Then there was a blur of black in front of her and she felt herself being ripped away from Beryl. She stumbled a few steps before righting herself, and then looked up in surprise._

_Endymion had control of Darien's body once more. Whether he had forced his way back in or if Darien had allowed him to take over because he was stronger, she didn't know. But his armor glinted ominously in the dull light of the cavern they were in and his eyes were still blue, not black, as he stared down the evil queen. His hand hovered over the hilt of the sword at his side like he was liable to pull it out and strike at any second._

_Beryl glared hatefully at him. "Why do you continue to protect her, Endymion? Don't you know that she will bring nothing but death to you?"_

_His expression never changed. "No, Beryl. You are the only one that brings death."_

_Then, as quick as a blink, he whirled to Serena and pulled her up close against him. He leaned down to whisper hotly in her ear, "If I don't make it back, tell Sailor Mercury to concentrate her search on D Point."_

_Before Serena knew what was happening, Endymion had waved a hand to summon a portal. And then he shoved her through it…all alone._

Serena came awake with a jolt, bolting up in her bed as she swallowed the scream that was building in her throat. She was drenched in sweat and shaking violently in the aftermath of her nightmare. She looked around wildly, expecting to find herself back in that cavern with Beryl again, but instead she saw that she was safe inside her pink and white bedroom.

Luna was curled up at the foot of the bed, and she yawned as she blinked her eyes open to look at her mistress in concern. "Are you okay, Serena?"

Serena gulped hard and then nodded. "Yeah, Luna. It was just a bad dream."

Luna's cinnamon eyes grew more concerned. "The same one?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it's not that big of a deal," Serena replied quickly as she threw back the covers. "It's perfectly normal for someone to have bad dreams after they're had an…unpleasant experience."

"I agree that it's to be expected," Luna grumbled as she crawled out from under the blanket that had been thrown over her. "But I hate to see you suffering like this. You sit up most of the night, pouring over the computer and books until you literally pass out from exhaustion. And then when you finally do go to sleep you are haunted by nightmares of what happened to you while you were with Beryl. It's not normal!"

Serena straightened up from where she had been stretching beside the bed. Her eyes were dark with emotion as she said, "What about our lives is normal anymore, Luna? If life was normal then I would be busy worrying about the Algebra test I have next week instead of planning on how to try to take down the Dark Kingdom. My friends would be ordinary high school students instead of sailor scouts. And Darien would be here instead of being in Beryl's clutches and possibly dead! So what is normal about that?" Her voice was crackling with tears by the end of her speech.

Luna bowed her head. "I know this is hard for you. I wish there was something I could do to make it better."

Serena sighed and patted her on the head. "I'm sorry, Luna. I know you're doing all that you can. You and Artemis have been working just as hard as the rest of us to try to figure out what to do next, and I appreciate it."

Then her eyes landed on her beside clock. "Oh crap! I better get my butt in gear! I'm supposed to be meeting the girls at the arcade for lunch in a little while. I can't believe I slept in this late!"

"I can," Luna muttered. "You were up until dawn going over all that information you've scrounged up on D Point and the records Amy gave you about the Silver Crystal. I'm surprised you're even functioning on a halfway normal level."

Serena waved a dismissive hand at her as she flew to her closet. "I'm fine, Luna. I just want to get this business with Beryl over with so that we can get back to having a somewhat ordinary life."

She pulled a dark blue skirt and a lighter blue peasant blouse from the closet before whirling to her dresser to get a set of undergarments and a pair of tights striped in light and dark blue. Then she dashed into the bathroom and banged the door closed behind her.

She leaned against the door for a moment, glad to be away from Luna's sad, knowing gaze. She knew her feline advisor and her friends were worried about her, and she loved them all the more for it, but their constant hovering made her feel more depressed.

In the three days that had passed since she had woken up in her room with her four best friends gathered around her, demanding to know what had happened after she had gone through the portal and chastising her because she had neglected to tell them that her parents were out of town and that she had gone off alone with Endymion, she had had hardly had a moment to herself. If felt a lot like when they had been keeping close tabs on her a few weeks before when Kunzite had discovered her civilian identity.

But this time she hadn't had the heart to order them away. Mina would have probably overturned her decision anyway. They stuck by her side during the day while they went through the motions of going to school, and at night, especially when Luna wasn't there, there was a sailor scout on duty at all times. Instead of getting defensive about it, she would just open the window and invite whoever it was in. The nights were still quite chilly, and there was no sense in her friends freezing if they were determined to guard her.

That thought made her wonder where Raye was. Her dark haired friend had been dozing on her window seat when she had dragged herself into bed in the murky, pre-dawn light. Evidently she must have woken up when Luna came in and had gone home to seek her own bed.

'_That's just fine with me,' _she thought as she pushed away from the door and set her clothes on the vanity before going to the shower and turning it on so the water could heat up. She adored her friends like mad, but everyone needed a few minutes alone to get themselves going in the morning.

As she stripped off her shirt, her eyes automatically went to the spot where Beryl's claws had slashed her arm. She had healed within a day, thanks to her accelerated scout healing, but if she squinted really hard she thought that she could see four paper thin lines that were slightly lighter than her already pale skin. The others said that she was just seeing things, and maybe she was, but the spot definitely burned when she thought about how the enraged, self-proclaimed queen had attacked her. If Endymion hadn't interfered there was no telling what the demented witch might have done to her.

She quickly stripped off the rest of her clothes and stepped under the spray. As the hot water beat down on her, she allowed her mind to wander, reaching out in hopes of sensing Darien just a little bit. But just like she had for the last three days, she felt absolutely nothing. Before her confrontation with Beryl she had been able to catch brief glimpses of Darien's conflicted and corrupted presence. But now it almost felt like he didn't exist.

She had feared in the beginning that he was dead, that Beryl had killed him for helping her escape. But Mina swore that she could still faintly see the string of the soul bond that tied them together. As long as that still existed, that meant that he was still alive. And the hope that thought inspired in her was what kept her going. As long as she had that small tendril of hope, she knew she could get through the day. Sooner or later, the opportunity to strike at Beryl would present itself. And when that happened the entire Dark Kingdom had better watch out. She and the other scouts had a score to settle with them.

Though she knew she was slightly pressed for time, she lingered in the shower. She took her time; carefully shampooing her hair to make she that it didn't become too tangled. Then while she let the conditioner sit in her hair, she shaved her legs and under her arms until they were silky smooth. After that, she rinsed out the conditioner and scrubbed her body from head to toe with her citrus body wash.

Feeling rejuvenated, she turned off the water and wrapped one towel around her head while she used another one to briskly rub her body dry. Then she shimmied into her clothes before she tackled her knee length hair with the blow dryer. She knew that she could have just used the Luna Pen to fix her hair in about two seconds, but there was something soothing about indulging in such a normal chore.

Once her hair was falling like a golden, silken cape down her back, she attacked her face, applying just enough makeup to hide the purple shadows under her eyes and add enough color to her pale features to keep from completely looking like death warmed over.

Pleased with the result, she swung open the door to her bedroom…and then pulled up short at the sight of the two people that were sitting on the edge of her bed waiting for her. She blew out a sigh.

"Now don't start getting defensive on us," Mina scolded her gently.

Serena shook her head as she made her way to her vanity table. "Did I say anything?"

Lita chuckled. "You didn't have to. Your face said it all."

"So I guess you two are my entourage today to escort me to the arcade that I have been walking to by myself for the last four years," Serena quipped as she started parting her hair down the middle.

Mina rolled her eyes. "We're just doing our job. I know you say that we're your friends and not your bodyguards, and I can respect that. But I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we're only trying to protect you because you are our friend and you are important to us. There's also the little fact that we care about what happens to the Earth. And if you happen to say _hasta la vista _to life, then Beryl would be as giddy as a little girl being chased by all the boys on the playground."

"I know! I know!" Serena murphled around the bobby pins she held in her mouth.

Lita grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Besides, coming by here gave me the opportunity to get that recipe from your mom for that cinnamon swirl bundt cake she made at Christmas. I've been dying to try that recipe." She waggled an index card from the tips of her fingers.

Serena glared in the mirror as she secured her first hair bun. "If you make that you better save me some. I love that cake. And maybe I need to have a talk with mommy dearest about respecting my personal space. I thought about hanging a _'Do Not Disturb' _sign on the door, but she'd probably ignore it and let you girls in here anyway. No one understands the meaning of the word _privacy _anymore."

"Oh, don't get your buns in a bunch!" Mina countered. Then she blushed madly. "I meant your hair buns, not your other buns!"

Lita chortled madly and fell back onto the bed. "Why, Mina! Is there another side to you that we don't know about? Has the goddess of love decided to explore other avenues besides ogling men?"

"Why you!" Mina screeched, grabbing the first thing she could lay her hands on and using it to whack her friend over the head.

"Stop!" Serena shrieked as she lunged across the room at them and wrestled the item from Mina's hand. She smoothed the stuffed animal that had recently been a weapon with gentle fingers before laying it back on her pillow.

Both Mina and Lita fell silent when they saw that it was the stuffed bunny that Darien had given Serena for Christmas. Despite her initial dislike of the gift, she hadn't changed a thing about it. It's long, golden ears were still tied up to resemble her own hairdo and it still wore that tiny t-shirt that depicted a plate of spaghetti with two meatballs perched proudly on top. And Serena considered it to be one of her most treasured possessions.

Mina stared at her friend and princess with eyes that were wise beyond her years. "Serena, I…"

"It's fine," Serena interrupted her as she walked stiffly back over to her vanity table and finished pinning up her second bun

Lita arched a brow at Mina before she shrugged and said, "Hey, girlfriend! I know you're all messed up inside because of this whole deal with Darien, but you shouldn't let it bring you down so hard. Beryl's time is coming, and when it gets here we're going to show her who's boss, okay. We'll kick her scrawny little ass and you'll get Darien back. I'm sure you two will be planning dates and grossing the rest of us out with sickeningly sweet mushiness before we know it."

"Hmph!" Mina huffed. "You're giving them too little credit, Lita. I bet they'll be looking at wedding rings and picking out baby names as soon as they fall into each other's arms."

Serena's mouth popped open in shock and her eyes grew wide. "Mina! I'm only sixteen and Darien is seventeen. I think it's a little premature to start planning a wedding just yet. Besides, neither one of us has even finished high school yet."

Mina waved her off dismissively. "Those are just minor details. You two were the same age when you planned to get married in the past. Besides, we live in Japan. Nobody here bats an eyelash when people get married young. Just look at how many married people we go to school with. That girl in our homeroom class, Natori I think her name is, got married to that college guy last summer that her parents had promised her to. And if the rumor mill can be believed, she'll become a mother this next summer."

"Ugh! Arranged marriages! That is so archaic!" Lita groaned. "I can't believe some people still do that. This isn't the Dark Ages!"

"Amen!" Serena muttered. "I'm glad my parents don't believe in that crap. Could you imagine having to marry somebody that your parents picked out for you because they think it will be a good match?"

Mina snickered. "Like your dad would have ever done that. He would be perfectly content if you remained a virgin spinster forever and never left home."

Serena dissolved into giggles. "You are so right! Daddy is beyond overprotective. Thank god for my mom and her voice of reason."

Lita, glad to see her friend laughing and smiling again, jumped up from the bed energetically. "Well, Serena, if you're done primping," she winked at her. "I say we head over to the arcade. Raye will flip her lid if we're late and I'm sure Mina needs her daily fix."

Mina's expression turned bewildered. "What do you mean, _my fix_?"

"Andrewww…" Serena and Lita cooed together as they batted their lashes outrageously.

"You guys!" Mina wailed. Then she lunged after her laughing friends and chased them from the room.

* * *

Ilene Tsukino looked up from the piecrust she was rolling out on the counter as she heard the bang of a door in the upstairs hallway. A smile appeared on her face as she heard several footsteps on the stairs, punctuated by laughter and girlish chatter.

Then Serena's blonde head popped through the kitchen door. "Bye, mom! I'm heading out with the girls for a while. I'll be back later."

Ilene nodded. "Just be home in time for dinner. I'm making spaghetti."

A big grin split her daughter's face. "Mmm! I can't wait! Later!"

Ilene listened to the racket of three girls trying to talk over each other until the banging of the front door behind them cut them off. Then she glanced over to where Ken was sitting at the table. He had looked up from his sandwich and newspaper and was smiling as well.

"See, Ilene," he said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "I told you that there was nothing to worry about. She's fine."

Ilene set her rolling pin back in motion. "She does seem to be more like herself today. But I still can't help but be a little concerned. I'm sure it's just a phase she's going through, but it still worries me. Serena's never been the moody type, but for the last few months it's like she's been on an emotional roller coaster. Even when she smiles I get the feeling sometimes that she would rather be crying. She has these long periods where she's quiet, and I don't mean her normal, daydreaming types of quiet. It's like she's got something heavy weighing on her mind. And she seems to be tired all the time. I have to yell at her every morning now just to get her out of bed. And even then she doesn't crawl out from under the covers until the last possible moment. She's probably logged more detention hours than anyone else at her school. I'm starting to wonder if she's suffering from depression."

Ken chuckled and raised his cup to his lips. "Honey, you're putting to much thought into it. She's a teenager, and they go through a lot of drastic changes in those years. I remember when I was that age. My mom said it was like living with a different person. I wanted to sleep all the time too and, now that I look back on it, I had fits of extreme moodiness. High school is a rough time for kids, and I think our Serena is just going through a tough patch at the moment. I think she's starting to bounce back from it though. Her grades took a severe nosedive there for a while, but they're trying to climb back up. I'm sure we have Amy to thank for that."

Ilene nodded, although she had a sneaking suspicion that a certain dark haired young man had also had a hand in Serena's recent, slightly improved grades. She would never say that out loud though. Ken would probably have a heart attack at the thought of his daughter spending any amount of time with a boy. He had even become leery of her being alone with Andrew and Melvin since they had all hit their teens, and they were practically family.

Serena, and Darien too for that matter, would vehemently deny that they had any polite association with each other. But Ilene wasn't fooled by their stubbornness. She had been wondering for some time if there was a little spark of something brewing between her vivacious daughter and the sometimes-brooding boy, and after watching the two of them together at Christmas she was almost positive that there was. She'd had to stifle many giggles that day as she'd watched them dance around each other and sneak covert glances at one another when the other wasn't looking. It had been a precious thing to witness.

But to save her husband's sanity, Ilene kept her thoughts to herself. She was sure that she'd have her hands full enough with him once Serena and Darien finally realized what was going on between them. She'd have to remember to hide that horrible shotgun when that time arrived.

So she merely smiled at her husband and replied cheerfully, "I'm sure you're right, honey. Now, did you decide whether you want me to make an apple pie or cherry?"

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"Don't you chickens have something else better to be doing instead of standing around clucking?" Kunzite snarled at the group of youma that were clustered around the door to Beryl's throne room.

The assembled youma all shot the stern general with the flashing eyes fear filled glances before they scurried away into the darkness. They knew from experience that he was in a foul mood, and anyone that was unfortunate enough to get in his way and irritate him would end up paying for their transgression with their life. He was feared as much as Beryl was in that regard.

"Worthless youma scum!" he muttered as he approached the large double doors. He took a moment to compose his irate expression and replace it with his normal cool mask of indifference. Then he raised his hand and knocked firmly on the door.

"Enter!" Beryl's voice commanded loudly.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside, wondering why she had summoned him this time. She probably just wanted to rant and rave at him some more. After Serenity had managed to escape her clutches the other night, she had screamed at him for hours on end until he couldn't take it anymore. He'd finally snapped and yelled back at her that it wasn't his fault that the moon princess had escaped. He had only been ordered to bring the girl to their lair, and he had delivered on his end of the bargain. Whatever had happened after that was none of his concern.

In fact, he only had one thing on his mind now, and that was tracking down the alluring Sailor Venus and taking her into his possession. Beryl had promised him the reincarnated Venusian princess in return for his assisting her with her little problem with Serenity, and he was going to make sure that he collected his prize.

But Beryl had refused to allow him to leave their base and had ordered him to stay put. For three days now he had been sitting around, impatiently biding his time until Beryl could finally make up her mind what she wanted the next move to be. But she had remained indecisive...or perhaps inattentive was a better word. For a woman who was so hell-bent on world domination, she was far too easily distracted.

"Ah! Kunzite! There you are! It took you long enough to get here!" Beryl snapped from where she was perched on her throne upon the raised platform.

Kunzite bit back a scathing retort and inclined his head. "I came as soon as I received your summons, your majesty."

Her reddish brown eyes narrowed on him. "I'm sure you did. Now Kunzite, don't forget to greet your prince."

He wanted to snarl, but he kept his features completely emotionless as he nodded curtly at the dark haired prince that was sitting on the throne that had been erected next to Beryl's. "Your highness."

Despite his anger at having to appear subservient to the reincarnated Earth prince, Kunzite couldn't help but feel a twisted sense of satisfaction as he took in Endymion's blank face and empty eyes. Beryl had wanted to try to keep the prince as much like himself as possible, but now that it had blown up in her face she was stuck with only the shell of the man he once was. Kunzite had tried to warn her not to toy around with Endymion, but she hadn't listened to him. Now she was paying the price.

Endymion didn't acknowledge Kunzite's greeting at all. He just continued to sit ramrod straight on his throne as he stared blindly forward. Not even one tiny muscle twitched. He could have been a statue.

Beryl sighed. "Endymion, Kunzite said hello to you. It would be rude not to return the gesture."

Slowly, Endymion's head turned until his dead eyes rested on the platinum hair man. Then he jerked his head forward in a single hard nod before replying in a flat tone, "General."

Beryl rubbed her temple like she had a headache. "Endymion, please retire to your chamber for now. Kunzite and I have business to discuss. I will summon you later."

Endymion rose from his seat, his movements like those of a robot. Then he knelt down to one knee in front of Beryl. "As you wish, my queen," he said in that same voice that was devoid of any emotion. Then he took her hand in his and pressed his lips briefly to the back of it before standing and walking silently from the room.

"Is the honeymoon over already?" Kunzite snickered as the door closed behind the prince. "I get the feeling that you're not exactly pleased with your acquisition."

"Silence Kunzite!" Beryl spat venomously. "I'm well aware of the fact that my plans for Endymion have not gone the way that I had hoped, and I don't need you to rub my face in it. So you would do well to remember your position unless you wish to join your fellow generals in eternal nothingness."

"I don't think you will do that," Kunzite responded boldly. "Whether you want to admit it or not, you need me. You have nobody else to lead your youma now that Endymion has proven to be untrustworthy, and I seriously doubt that you will do it yourself. I know how much you hate to dirty your hands with mundane matters."

"Don't grow too overconfident, Kunzite," she sneered. "I'm not in quite as horrible a position that you think I am. It's true that Endymion isn't much help in the condition that he's in, but all is not lost yet. Once dark energy is given to someone, it can't be taken away unless it's purified by a force like the Silver Crystal. While Serenity may have succeeded in swaying Endymion's loyalty into her favor, she neglected to purify his energy. He may appear to be nothing more than a mindless puppet, but that's only because I have placed a total mind block on him. He will do nothing except what I tell him to do. But if I chose to, I could release his dark side, the one that has been influenced by the negative energy inside of him. If I were to do that he would definitely be the strongest man on the planet."

Kunzite's lips kicked up in sardonic grin. "And since you haven't done that I assume that there must be a flaw with that plan as well. Let me guess. You're afraid that if you reawaken your dark prince that he will only run back to Serenity once again."

Beryl actually appeared nervous for once as she tapped her crimson fingernails against the arm of her throne. "No, I'm not afraid of that. You see, when I attempted to brainwash Endymion before, something went wrong. It was probably because of how much he fought against the negative energy. Somehow he managed to separate his past and present self so it was like there were two people inhabiting the same body. Then Metallia's magic only attacked Endymion, not the boy, Darien, and his consciousness split again, creating two Endymions. One of them is the noble prince of Earth that I remember, while the other one is...something else."

"Something else?" Kunzite snorted sarcastically. "That sounds very vague."

"It's hard to explain!" Beryl almost shouted as she shot to her feet. "The point is that the spell went wrong, and now there are three different personalities in Endymion's body, himself, his reincarnation, and the one that the dark energy created. I had to wait until I caught him at a weak moment so that I could incapacitate him. Once I had identified the three parts I was able to isolate them and lock them away. Now that I have done that, I can control which, if any of the personalities are in charge. But I know that if I let out the boy or Endymion that he will only try to find a way to return to that moon bitch."

Kunzite shrugged. "Okay. So why not give control over to his dark half then? He doesn't seem to be a fan of Serenity's any more than we are. Besides, you said that he was strong, and that's what you've always said that you wanted, to have Endymion strong and at your side. If he's as powerful as you say he is I bet he could end this entire war for you in about five minutes."

"Oh sure! That would solve everything!" Beryl snorted. "Have you not been paying attention to anything that has been going on around here in the past week? I am not over-exaggerating when I say Endymion is strong, and that was my mistake. Since he doesn't seem to have possession of the Golden Crystal in this life, I thought I could compromise by giving him a substantial amount of negative energy. However, I miscalculated how much of his own power that he still retained, and the end result is that he became far more powerful than I intended. Metallia hasn't fully recovered yet, and I fear that if I were to turn my dark Endymion loose that he would have the capabilities to destroy us all. He is power hungry, and he wants this planet back under his control and no one else's."

"That sucks for you," Kunzite replied, barely able to keep a snicker out of his voice. "I guess that means that you're stuck keeping him a lifeless puppet. I don't imagine that he'll be keeping your bed very warm like that."

A maniacal gleam lit Beryl's eyes. "I haven't given up yet. In fact, I have already come up with a solution to my problem. I am going to let Serenity take care of everything for me."

Kunzite crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. "And just how do you suppose to do that? I seriously doubt that girl would help you do anything that may harm the prince."

A malicious, feline smile appeared on the dark queen's face. "It's actually very simple, Kunzite. Metallia requires more energy so that she can be fully restored to her former self. So I'm sending you out with some youma to gather it for me and I want you to let Endymion tag along. In the state that he's in he will obey any order I give him, and I am going to order him to kill Serenity and bring the Silver Crystal to me. Once I have it I will be able to reverse the negative energy inside of him and brainwash him properly."

Kunzite couldn't help but roll his eyes. "And what if he fails? Serenity and her scouts are far more resourceful than you give them credit for. Getting to the princess will not be an easy task."

She waved a sharp-clawed hand. "I have a back up plan for that. Even if he is unable to kill her, I'm sure Serenity's fragile little heart will break at the sight of what Endymion has become. So I'm hoping that the miserable brat has enough brains inside that empty Lunarian head of hers to use the Silver Crystal to purify him. If she does, it will give me a blank canvas to work with all over again. I'll bring him back here and reprogram him once more, the right way."

This time, Kunzite's gray eyes did roll. "With less energy this time, of course."

"Certainly!" Beryl drawled. "I'll make sure to give him enough to make him a formidable fighter, and that's it. After all, what kind of queen would I be if I had a king that could possibly become stronger than me? The one with the most power will be the one that rules the Earth. And that person is me."

* * *

Sailor Moon shivered as a cold wind blew by her and chafed her bare upper arms with her gloved hands. "C…couldn't we h…have found a war…warmer place for this?" she chattered through clacking teeth.

Mars looked up from where she was stacking a pile of broken branches on the ground. "Suck it up, Meatball Head! You agreed that this training is important. And besides, this cold is nothing compared to what we'll have to deal with if we end up having to face Beryl on her own turf."

Venus carried over another armload of wood and set it down before looking sympathetically at her princess. "Raye has a point, Serena. This weather doesn't have anything on the Arctic Circle. And since Beryl never crawls her scrawny little ass out of hiding, it's a pretty safe bet that we'll have to take the fight to her."

"If I can ever pinpoint the Dark Kingdom's exact location," Mercury grumbled as she typed on her computer. "Darien gave us a huge helping hand by telling us that it's at D Point, and that narrows the search down a lot, but that's still quite a bit of area to cover. If we don't know exactly where we're heading before we go in, we could end up wandering around lost in the ice and snow."

Jupiter chuckled. "Oh boy! Wouldn't that be fun! No offense, Amy, but I think I'll just wait until wait until you have us a specific location."

"M…make that t…two of us," Sailor Moon stammered.

"Serena, are you still shivering? It's not even cold enough to snow out here," Mercury commented as she flipped her computer closed. "Okay, I've got the wards in place. That should keep any prying eyes from seeing what we're up to in here."

"Great!" Mars replied as she shot a burst of fire at the pile of wood. After a few seconds flames were crackling merrily. "I don't think we really have to worry anyone seeing us though. This place is pretty secluded."

Jupiter cracked her knuckles. "That's true. But there is someone that knows that this place exists."

Sailor Moon's head shot up and she shot a glare at the green suited scout. They were in the hidden, overgrown clearing at the park that Darien had found for their early training sessions. When the other girls had begun complaining about the lack of a decent place where they could transform and practice with their powers without being seen, she had remembered this spot and told them about it. But it seemed that not everyone was pleased with the location.

"Lita," she said in a calm, carefully controlled voice. "We've talked about this already. If Darien happened to remember this place and tracked us here, I'm not going to avoid him. He saved my life."

"You wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if it wasn't for him," Mars grumbled. Then she exclaimed, "What?" as the others heads turned to look at her. "It's true. Beryl would have never been able to lay a fingernail on you if he hadn't lured you out, Serena."

Sailor Moon rolled her eyes at the raven haired, fiery scout. "He didn't lure me anywhere! If anything, I'm the one that lured him. He was so confused and couldn't remember anything about his life, so I was trying to jog his memories. And it worked too! He may have been Endymion when he first showed up that night, but Darien came back. For just a few minutes I had him back again. I'm sure Beryl punished him for helping me escape, and she probably put another spell on him, but if she did I'm just going to have to find some way to break it. I'm not giving up on him!"

"And none of us are asking you to," Venus hastily reassured her as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We only ask that you exercise a little caution and let us help watch your back. We won't have a chance of saving Darien or the planet if something happens to you."

"That's right!" Mercury agreed briskly. "So on that note I think it's time for us to get on with our training. We're going to need to be at the top of our game to take down both Beryl and Metallia."

Mars, sensing her princess's troubled spirit, said calmly, "Let's give Serena a minute to warm up. She's starting to resemble a popsicle."

She took Sailor Moon's gloved hand in hers and pulled her closer to the now roaring bonfire. Then she leaned down to whisper softly in her friend's ear, "Don't worry, Serena. We're going to get him back. I just know it."

Sailor Moon blinked up at her for a few seconds. Then she gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment before she began hesitantly, "Hey, Raye? Do you still…you know…have feelings for Darien? I mean, it's okay if you do. You guys did date for a little while."

Mars took a half step back in shock at that question, a look of incredulity coloring her expression for about two seconds. Then she smiled softly and shook her head. "No, Serena. I don't have any romantic feelings toward Darien. Believe it not, I never did. Sure, I thought he was cute, and we went out a couple of times, but it was no big deal. As Mina would say, there was no _spark _between us. We never even held hands. Don't get me wrong; I like him, but only as a friend. Besides, I always had a feeling that he was meant for you, even from the first day that I started school at Azabu and I saw you two get into an argument in the hall after you bumped into each other."

A sad little smile appeared on Sailor Moon's lips. "Yeah, that used to be the story of our lives. We'd run into each other at least five times a day. I used to wonder if our skin was magnetic or something."

"I think we all did," Mars chuckled before she sobered. "Okay! It's time to get our heads in the game. And Serena, you know that you can always come to me if you need to talk or just get things off your chest, right?"

Sailor Moon squeezed her hand firmly. "I know, Raye. Save a spot for me next to the Great Fire. I may need to do some meditation of my own before this is all over."

She released her hand and pulled the Moon Crescent Wand from her pocket. Then she tapped the brooch on her chest and it opened to reveal the Silver Crystal. She removed the crystal from its hidden compartment and affixed it in its place on the wand.

Then she took a deep breath and muttered, "Okay! Let's see what we can do!"

* * *

"You know what you have to do, don't you, Endymion?" Beryl purred to the armor-clad prince kneeling in front of her.

His dark head rose. His flat, pupil-less eyes of dark, inky blue met hers with the same lack of emotion that his face shown, but he said nothing.

Beryl growled in frustration. She hated dealing with Endymion when he was in such a near catatonic state. It was almost enough to make her want to release the control she had over his mind and unleash the Endymion that she had unknowingly created. Almost…but not quite. While Endymion's dark side had been frighteningly exciting to her, she knew that she had to protect herself from him. And to do that she had to keep him locked up tight.

He was dangerous, not just to her mission, but to her personally as well. She had gotten lucky the other night when she had been able to incapacitate him while he had been distracted by helping Serenity. Because she knew, without a doubt, that he would have killed her if he had gotten his hands on her.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

"NO! You bastard! How dare you help that little bitch escape!" she shrieked as the last bit of Serenity's golden hair had disappeared through the portal. She saw Endymion preparing to jump through after the moon princess, and she flung her powers out quickly, using her magic to lock down the portal before he could escape as well.

As he spun around, she saw his eyes flash to black and begin gleaming with murderous intent. For the first time she could ever remember, real fear shot through her. Scared for her life, she called upon the strongest magic she possessed to bind and immobilize him.

But even the strength of the spell wasn't enough to hold him. Snarling and growling like a rabid animal, he fought against the confining magic, working his way free a little bit at a time. Knowing she had only perhaps a minute before he would be loose and come after her, she shot him with a large energy blast.

The blast was strong enough to knock men much larger than Endymion flat on their backs, but he barely staggered from the force of it and continued to glare at her as animosity poured off of him in waves. So she hit him again and again.

After about a half dozen he finally went to his knees. And it took just as many to, at last, render him prone on the stone floor. She approached him cautiously, on the lookout in case he was trying to trick her into believing that was subdued.

But as she stood over him and looked down into his face, she saw that his eyes had returned to the ocean blue gaze of the prince that she had fallen in love with a millennium before. Those eyes captivated her just as much now as they had in the past, despite the anger and hatred that spewed from them like burning blue sparks.

"Do whatever you want with me! I don't care!" he spat at her. "Now that I know Serenity is safe, that's all that matters to me."

Hearing the underlying love and concern in his voice as he spoke of that stupid Lunarian whore was all it took to make what little control she had over her temper snap. He was hers! And she was going to keep him…no matter what.

Screaming out in her rage, she railed at him psychotically in between shooting him with blasts of dark energy. It wasn't enough to kill him, but she took perverse pleasure in knowing that he had to be in excruciating pain. She wanted him to hurt…to hurt as much as she did every time he had turned her down in favor of Serenity.

As her episode of insanity finally began to fade, she had a moment of lucidity. All was not lost yet. She could still have Endymion on her side. But to do that, she needed to start all over with him. And Serenity was going to help her achieve that.

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

Beryl took a deep breath before speaking again in a voice much like an indulgent mother would speak to her child. "Remember, Endymion, I asked you to kill the moon princess for me."

His eyes swirled with emotion for just a moment, and then it faded as Beryl tightened the control she had over his mind. He replied in a flat monotone, "Yes, my queen. I will kill the Princess Serenity for you."

"And you will bring the Silver Crystal to me," the dark queen commanded.

"Of course, your majesty," he answered as he took the hand that she extended to him and dutifully pressed his lips to the back of it.

Beryl's eyes fluttered closed in delight for a moment as she savored the feel of his mouth against her skin. She wanted more from him, and she could have ordered him to her bed at any time over the last few days, but she knew that in his condition it would be like making love to a corpse. She wanted their first time together to be memorable, so she was impatiently biding her time. She was kept in such a worked up state that she had almost been tempted to summon Kunzite to her for a round of their game, but he had become so enraptured recently with his little Aphrodite that she was sure that his performance would lack its usual…vigor.

She reopened her eyes as she felt Endymion's lips part from her hand. She gave herself a few moments of indulging in his sinfully handsome looks before she waved the hand that he had just kissed. "Now go! Kunzite should be about ready to depart. While he's busy gathering the energy that I need, your job is to concentrate on Serenity. That is your top priority."

Endymion stood and gave a deep bow. "It will be done as you have requested, my queen."

Beryl watched him with hungry eyes as he left the chamber. She wasn't entirely certain that Endymion would be able to accomplish killing Serenity, given his current state, but she was pining all her hopes on the moon twit using the crystal to purify the prince. If she did, then Beryl would be able to get this fight back on track.

Endymion had once told her that Serenity was his heart. Well she was about to rip it out. Once Serenity was out of the picture, she would take the brat's place as the only woman in the prince's life. And then the world would be theirs for the taking.

* * *

"_Darien?" Serena asked as she looked up from her Algebra homework. "Can I ask you something?"_

_The dark haired junior sighed as he pulled his attention away from his Chemistry book. "Does it matter if I say yes or no? I'm sure you'll just go ahead and ask me anyway."_

_She stuck her tongue out at him. "Jerk! I'm trying to be serious here."_

_He sat back in the arcade booth they were sitting in and put his hands behind his head. "Okay, Miss Serious. I'm all ears."_

_She chewed on her pencil eraser for a moment. "Do you ever think about the future? I mean, like where do you see yourself being ten years from now?"_

_He appeared a little surprised at her question, but grinned broadly. "What brought this up all of a sudden?"_

"_Just answer the question," she insisted. "This Dark Kingdom thing can't go on forever. And if we are successful in getting rid of Beryl we can go back to living our regular lives again. I know you say that you want to be a doctor, but is there anything else you want out of life? You are a reincarnated prince after all."_

"_I guess I never really thought about it," he replied with a shrug, although there was a glint in his eyes that told her that he might not be telling the exact truth. "Until this whole Tuxedo Mask thing started I spent most of my time focusing on school. Med school isn't easy to get into, so I try to keep top-notch grades. What about you? Where do you see yourself in the future?"_

_Now she was the one taken off guard. "Oh! Well…I'm not sure. When I was little I used to dream of being an idol of some kind, but that wore off a few years ago when I realized that I can't sing or act, and I'm entirely too short to be a model. I'm sure my parents expect me to go to college, if I can ever manage to make it out of high school, but I don't really have a clue about what I want to do. Can you honestly picture me working in a stuffy office somewhere?"_

_He chuckled deeply. "Definitely not! But there are lots of other things you could do. Maybe you could be a teacher." He visibly flinched at her reaction to those words. "Or not!"_

_She sniffed haughtily. "I should think not! Do I look like I want my life to turn out like Miss Haruna's?" Then she sighed. "I don't know. I guess deep down I've always pictured myself being more like my mom. I think it would be nice to have my own little family and a home to take care of someday. Of course I'll have to actually learn how to cook first. I would hate to poison my husband and kids with my horrible cooking."_

_Darien's face had softened with some unreadable emotion at her words and a rarely seen gentle smile touched his lips. "That's a nice dream to have, Serena. I hope it comes true for you someday." _

_Then he leaned across the table to tap the tip of her nose with a finger. "But for now we need to concentrate on getting our homework done before we go for your next training session. We've still got some Dark Kingdom ass to kick if we want to have any of our dreams come true."_

Serena's eyes drifted open lazily as the dream faded away and she couldn't help but smile just a bit as she stretched and rolled over onto her side. The dream had really been more of a memory than an actual dream.

That particular conversation between her and Darien had taken place almost two weeks ago, before everything had fallen apart. It had been one of those odd afternoons when it seemed that everyone had something to do and had left the arcade earlier than usual, leaving her and Darien alone in the back booth where they were supposed to be doing their homework before going to train.

It had also been a rare day where she and Darien were displaying zero discomfort around each other. The physical attraction that always seemed to roar between them had been quiet, and they had spent the day harmlessly teasing and joking around with each other in between classes and at lunch. Later, they had gone back to the old pharmaceutical warehouse and trained for a while. Serena had been so comfortable that she had enthusiastically returned the hug that Darien had given her and basked in his praise when he told her that she had made great progress and how proud of her he was.

She sighed as she turned her face into her pillow. Even though she had reclaimed a large chunk of Serenity's memories and knew just how much she and Endymion had meant to each other in the past, she would give up any chance she had of being with him romantically in this life if it meant getting him away from Beryl and back home where he belonged. The old saying _"It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all" _was a crock of bull in her opinion. She would much rather know that he was safe and be able to at least see him everyday, even if she couldn't express her true feelings for him, than to wallow in her love for him and not know where he was.

Knowing that she would probably find it impossible to go back to sleep now, she rolled back over so she could get out of bed. If she couldn't sleep, she may as well continue her fruitless and seemingly endless searching for a way to get to the Dark Kingdom base so she could kick Beryl's ass and get Darien back. For the past few days she had spent just as much time pouring over the satellite images of D Point that the Mercury computer had provided as Amy had, searching for any little sign that would give away the location of Beryl's little hidey-hole.

She had also been going through Sailor Mercury's notes from the Silver Millennium about the Silver Crystal, trying to learn as much as she could about the legacy that had been left to her by her past mother, Queen Serenity. That by itself was a daunting task. She had been practicing with it as well, but only under the watchful eyes of the other scouts or Luna and Artemis. The crystal truly was a powerful object. And since it fed off of her life energy she had to be extremely careful when she used it. If she pushed things too far, the crystal could easily suck all the energy from her body and leave her for dead.

Queen Serenity had known the risks of using the crystal, and she had made sure that her daughter had understood those risks as well. That had also been the reason why Princess Serenity had trained so little with the crystal in the past. The power of the crystal had dangerous potential in untrained hands, and the queen had feared that her daughter would be harmed by it. Thinking that they had plenty of time, she had decided to put Serenity's true training off until she was older.

Now Serena wished that her past self had pushed harder to start that training instead of shrugging it off and accepting it as one less thing she had to worry about fitting into her busy schedule of learning about inter-planetary trade policies, foreign politics, and all of the domestic things that she was expected to know as future queen of the moon. It sure would make things easier on her now if she had that knowledge to fall back on.

"Well sitting here and brooding won't help me figure things out," she muttered. She threw her covers back, and then she paused. She couldn't remember ever getting into bed. In fact, the last thing she remembered was sitting at her desk and going through Amy's notes while her blue haired friend had sat on her window seat studying the latest scans the Mercury computer had pulled up.

Her eyes swung toward the window, and found the padded seat beneath it empty. Luna was missing from her favorite spot at the foot of the bed, so she and Artemis must be pulling another late-nighter in the control room. For all that she could tell, she was alone, for the first time in days.

The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end. Normally she would be thrilled that she finally had a moment to herself, but with as protective of her as everyone had been the last few days she found it troubling instead. She didn't think for one moment that any of the girls would leave her without someone on watchdog duty. Had someone from the Dark Kingdom come in and attacked while she slept?

She closed her eyes and was preparing to try to reach out with her aura the way Raye had been trying to teach her to sense if there was trouble when a sound reached her ears. It was so tiny that she would have missed it if the room hadn't been so silent. And it sounded like the softest of snores.

Scrambling quickly to the other side of the bed, she peeked over the edge and nearly laughed out loud at what she saw. There, nestled up on a pallet of thick blankets in the hidden space between the bed and the wall, was Lita. The extremely tall girl had complained that the window seat wasn't long enough to accommodate her above average height, so it seemed that she had come up with her own solution to the problem.

Serena clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds of mirth that were bubbling in her throat. If she were Mina, she would pull out her camera phone and snap a picture of the sleeping girl. Lita had a reputation at school for being an ass kicking, no nonsense, hard as nails femme fatale, and there were a lot of students that would be willing to pay big bucks to see this softer side of her amazon friend.

But thank goodness she wasn't Mina. And although she was never opposed to earning a little extra pocket money, she would never do something that would compromise the dignity of a friend. Still, a little blackmail material could come in handy at some point. Her hand began inching toward the phone on her nightstand.

"If you lay a finger on that phone, I promise you that it will be in a billion pieces in about two seconds flat," a gruff, sleep roughened voice growled from the supposedly sleeping girl.

"Lita!" Serena squeaked softly as she flailed back to land in a heap in the center of her mattress. "I thought you were asleep."

One dark green eye peeked over the side of the bed to glare at her. "You know I'm a light sleeper. And it looks like that is a good thing. I think you've been hanging around our sneaky little Mina entirely too much."

"I wasn't going to do anything!" Serena tried to protest. Then she quailed under the knowing look she got as Lita's second eye popped open to join the first. "Oh! Okay! I was going to snap your picture, but I swear that I would have never shown it to anyone. You just looked sooo cute all curled up with your blankets."

"I'm not cute!" Lita growled as she shoved her tangled auburn curls from her face. "I'm never cute. I think the fact that I'm bunking on your floor on a Saturday night instead of being out somewhere with a hot guy speaks for itself."

Serena giggled as she looked at her bedside clock. "Well, technically it's Sunday morning now."

Lita waved a hand. "Minor details. Now, what are you doing awake? It hasn't been that long since I put you to bed."

"Ohhh! So that's how I got here. I was wondering," Serena mused.

Lita chuckled. "Yeah. When I got here at two to relieve Amy you were sawing logs across your desk. Amy hadn't tried to move you because she was afraid of disturbing you. She's strong, but she's not much bigger than you are and she was afraid that you would wake up if she tried. It was no big deal for me. You're like a toddler compared to me."

Serena stuck her tongue out at her, and then sighed. "Sometimes I hate being so short. I bet there are leprechauns that are taller than me."

"I think most people are born taller than you," Lita snorted on a laugh. Then she sobered as she took in Serena's dejected expression. "Don't worry about it, girl! There's nothing wrong with being petite. And you're only sixteen; you may still gain a couple of more inches before adulthood. Besides, haven't you ever heard the saying that big things come in small packages?"

"Small, not almost nonexistent," Serena retorted. "I'm surprised that some youma hasn't managed to gobble me up yet. I probably look like a yummy little Happy Meal to them."

Lita snickered into her blanket. "They're probably afraid of getting indigestion from your acidic wit. But seriously, what are you doing awake? I know you've got to be tired. You trained hard with the crystal today, and I know you've got to be feeling a little drained from it. You need your rest."

"I'm fine," Serena insisted. "Yeah, using the crystal is tiring, but it's hard for me to sleep. I feel like I need to be awake, searching for any little piece of information that will lead us to Beryl."

Lita shook her head. "You're going to end up falling flat on your face from exhaustion and then not be any help when it comes time to face that bitch at the rate you're going. I guess I can understand the need to do something though. If I had known in advance that Beryl had taken Nephrite…" her voice trailed off.

Serena leaned forward and patted her hand. "I know. You would have done everything in your power to try to save him."

Lita looked down, pretending to be distracted by trying to untangle her blankets from around her. "Yeah, well…things happen for a reason."

Realizing Lita's discomfort with the subject, Serena backed off. "Yeah. So I think I should go splash some cold water on my face and get back to doing something productive. You can go back to sleep. I'm sure you'd wake up if anything happened anyway." She slid from the bed and stretched.

Lita smirked. "I know I would. So don't think you can sneak out to go on any early morning rendezvous, cause I'll know. By the way, Amy left copies of the most recent scans for you on your desk. I don't know what you two are expecting to find though. If Beryl has taken so many precautions to hide herself up in the Arctic Circle, then it's plenty obvious that she doesn't want to be found."

"I know. I know," Serena grumbled. "I think I'm starting to suffer from OCD or something. Amy goes over every single one of those scans herself, and I sure trust her quick brain and sharp eyes to catch something if it were there. But I still stare at those things until I go cross-eyed, just hoping that maybe I'll pick up something that slipped by her. All it would take is one tiny little flux of energy to make it past whatever magnetic shield is hiding them, and we'd have the Dark Kingdom's location."

"That would be nice," Lita mused. "Then we could go in, kick Metallia and Beryl's scrawny little ass, and then finally put all of this behind us and go back to being normal again."

"That's exactly what I'm hoping for," Serena murmured as she walked into the bathroom.

It had taken her a few days to come to terms with the fact that she was the moon princess that she had spent so much time looking for, but she had accepted that she was indeed the reincarnated Princess Serenity. Most girls spent a good portion of their childhood dreaming that they were a princess, and Serena had been no exception. But knowing now that she had been a princess in a past life made her long for normality. Being royalty was definitely _not _all it was cracked up to be. Give her the plain, ordinary life of Serena Tsukino any day.

She couldn't regret becoming Sailor Moon though. Despite all of the stress and upheaval that living a double life had caused her, she felt empowered in a way. In middle school she had always been the first to jump on board when it was time for the school's annual canned food drive to help support the local food banks. She had spent her days running around the school, encouraging everyone, students and faculty alike, to bring in as much as they could. She'd even enlisted Molly, Andrew, Melvin, and anyone else she could to help canvas neighborhoods and collect donations.

And last year, as part of a teen living class she took, she'd volunteered to help out at a local animal shelter. She'd enjoyed the work and watching all of the dogs and cats that were adopted into new homes so much that she had continued going in and working during the summer even after it no longer counted as class credit. She'd stopped going since she had become Sailor Moon because she just didn't have the time anymore, and she missed it. But now she was a part of something bigger.

Her mother, who was on several charity committees herself, had always encouraged her in her pursuits. And her father had chuckled many times and patted her on the head as he declared that she was out to save the world. And now she really was. It wasn't just the millions of people in Tokyo that were depending on her and the other scouts to keep them safe, the entire planet would be in danger if Beryl somehow managed to take over. And she was determined to do everything in her power to keep that from happening.

But in order to do that, she had to find out where the Dark Kingdom was hiding, and she wasn't going to accomplish that by hiding in the bathroom all night. So she quickly took care of her personal needs and then crossed to the sink to wash her hands and face.

The cool water did wonders for perking her up, chasing away the last bit of sleepiness from her slightly foggy brain. But as she patted her face dry with a towel she glanced up at her reflection in the mirror and was shocked at what she saw.

At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, at least not for her lately. Her normally pale skin was almost ghostly white now, which wasn't unusual for her during the winter months when she didn't spend much time outdoors. But even when she wasn't exposed to a lot of sun or the other elements, she usually had a healthy pink tone to her face. Now it looked like the frozen white faces of the porcelain figurines her mother had on the fireplace mantle in the living room.

Her golden hair still shimmered like radiant sunlight, but it seemed to lack its usual bounce and hung in long, limp strands around her pasty face. Even her curls seemed to have deflated into mere waves that no longer rippled like silk.

But her eyes were what drew her attention the most. They had always been one of her most prominent features, dominating her slender face in large, round pools of sparkling blue. Now they just sat there under the fringe of her lifeless bangs like two hard blue stones. They would have appeared dead if it wasn't for the slightest hint of panic and desperation that she could see buried deep inside of them.

"Geez! No wonder everyone has been looking at me funny even when I try to act like everything's fine," she muttered to her reflection. "I guess I'm not fooling anyone with my _Happy Serena _act. I look like walking death!"

And she didn't have to psychoanalyze herself very far to figure out why she was in such bad shape. She could sum it up in one word…_Darien_.

She was swamped by the rush of guilt she always felt every time she thought of him. Maybe it was irrational for her to feel this way, but she couldn't help it. She felt guilty for so many things that had happened. Maybe, if she hadn't frozen up the way she had that night on the tower; Darien wouldn't have been hurt trying to save her. Maybe then, he never would have been taken. Maybe, if she hadn't been so careless and dropped her brooch the other night, she and Darien could both have escaped from Beryl and be planning the fall of Beryl's regime together, right now.

So many maybes were running through her head that it was enough to drive someone insane. She was actually surprised that she hadn't cracked yet. Of course, from the look of her, it could happen at any moment.

Disgusted at herself for feeling weak, she flung the towel over the towel rack and stomped to the door. She wasn't going to let this feeling of hopelessness get the better of her. She was a sailor scout, and she was stronger than this. She had to fight back with everything she had. She was no longer a pampered, sheltered princess. She was Sailor Moon! And Sailor Moon always met her enemies head on.

It seemed that she was going to be forced to put that theory to the test sooner than she thought. As she opened the door back into her bedroom, she found a wide-eyed Lita standing there with her hand raised, ready to knock. She clutched her communicator and henshin rod in a white knuckled grip.

Serena sucked in a deep breath and then simply asked, "Where?"

"At the amusement park," Lita replied quickly. "Amy just called and told me that she picked up on some heavy youma activity there."

Confusion creased Serena's brow. "But the park doesn't open for the spring season for a few more weeks. Why would the Dark Kingdom be attacking there? There's no one there."

Lita shook her head. "You really have been off in La La Land, haven't you? Some charity group got together and rented the park out to put on some kind of a fundraising benefit winter festival. It's been all over the TV."

"Oh yeah," Serena mumbled. "I remember my mom saying something about it now. But still, it's the middle of the night. Nobody will be there right now."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Lita growled. "I heard that a lot of people came in from out of town to help with the event and that they are using some of the buildings as dorms so that they don't have to stay in hotels. I'm sure there are enough people to give the youma a nice chunk of energy if that's what they're after."

"Crap! We better get moving then!" Serena exclaimed as she dove for her brooch on the bedside table. She had just held it up and was about to call out her transformation when she heard a shuffling sound in the hall.

"Serena?" Ken Tsukino's groggy voice called through the door. "Are you awake, honey?"

"Shit!" Lita hissed softly. "I thought his doctor had put him on sleeping pills!"

"He did!" Serena whispered back. "But they're talking about switching to another brand because these aren't working well. He's probably not even really awake. He's been sleepwalking a lot."

The doorknob rattled and Serena pushed Lita toward the window. "Go! I'll be right behind you as soon as I make sure he's settled."

Lita's hair whipped around as she shook her head violently. "Not on your life! The other girls would skin me alive if I left you alone." Then she let out a muffled, "Eek!" and did a swan dive into her blankets on the other side of the bed where she wouldn't be seen as the door slowly began to open.

Serena looked around wildly and then shoved her brooch under her pillow. She straightened up and forced her expression into a false calm just as the door opened all the way to show her heavy lidded, swaying father. "Hey, dad!"

Ken looked around blankly and then sagged against the doorframe. "What are you doing up? I heard voices."

His voice was so slurred that it took Serena a moment to work out what he was saying. When she did, she smiled gently and said softly, "I just got up to go to the bathroom, daddy. I stubbed my toe on the dresser on the way back and was fussing at myself. That's probably what you heard."

He grinned goofily at her. "Clumsy bunny!"

"Yep! That's me!" she chirped as she approached him slowly and took him gently by the arm. "Now let's get you back to bed so you can get some sleep. You need your rest."

"Now you sound like your mother," he slurred, but he allowed her to steer him down the hall.

She giggled softly. "And mom is usually right, isn't she? Now, get to bed!"

"I'm going! I'm going!" he grumbled as he shuffled through his bedroom door.

Serena watched him in the dim glow of the TV as he weaved his way across the room and climbed into the bed. As he pulled the covers up over him, she eased the door closed. Then she waited with her ear pressed to the wood. Only thirty seconds later his rumbling snores reached her.

She whirled and dashed back to her room where she found Lita transformed and waiting for her by the window.

"Are we clear?" the green suited scout asked with a grin.

Serena rolled her eyes as she pulled her brooch out from under her pillow. "I sure hope so. He should be out for the count now. I'm going to tell mom tomorrow that the doctor really needs to put him on something else. I was hoping that him being on sleeping pills would make it easier for me to sneak out at night when I have to, but instead it's making it harder. I'm going to end up getting busted yet."

"Well, we'll worry about that later," Jupiter said ruefully. Deep inside she wished that she had at least one parent around that would care for and worry about her the way Serena's did. But that wasn't important right now. "We better get going. Raye is already liable to barbeque us as it is."

Serena suppressed a shudder as she thought of her fiery friend and her short temper. "I'm sure she will. It wouldn't matter if we got to the fight before her, she would still find something to gripe about."

Jupiter nodded. "True enough. So are you ready?"

"Let's do this," Serena confirmed as she held her brooch up. "Moon Prism Power!"

* * *

"Where are they?" Mars snarled as she ducked behind a concession booth to join Mercury. "They should have been here by now!"

Mercury looked up, her eyes partially hidden behind the visor over them as she scanned the area. "I don't know. Mina said that she was on her way and Lita was with Serena when I called." There was a beep, and then her eyes were darting back and forth as she read the information displayed inside the visor. "There are five youma present."

"Plus the asshole!" Mars growled as she snuck a glance around the corner of the booth to glare at Kunzite where he stood several yards away. "That smug bastard! What I wouldn't give for just one shot to light him up like a firecracker! I wonder if he would explode like one. That would make for a good show."

"Try to keep that temper of yours under control," Mercury cautioned. "Things could get ugly if you go on a rampage."

Steam was practically billowing from the Martian scout's ears. "I don't rampage! But I am pissed! Why couldn't…" Her voice broke off as screams erupted in the distance. "Damn! The youma must have found the people that are staying here."

Mercury's eyes were moving again behind the transparent blue visor. "I'm afraid you're right. But there's not much we can do at the moment. We may be able to distract them for a moment, but without Serena here…"

"I'm going to strangle that Meatball Head!" Mars snapped. "Lita too! I figured that she would pick Serena up and carry her here if she was dragging. And what about our fearless leader, Mina? She better not be late because she's primping! I don't care if the body of her former boyfriend is strutting around here like he's the freaking king of the universe! Surely she wouldn't be that _blonde_! He's nothing but a slimy, low down, youma possessed…"

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you, Lady Mars?" a silky smooth, baritone voice interrupted her rant as Kunzite appeared, floating in the air above them. He gave the two startled scouts a sly grin. "One could almost think that you sound jealous. Maybe because your darling Jadeite is no longer among the living."

"Shut up!" Mercury exploded as she moved in front of Mars. She knew that the mere mention of Jadeite's name was capable of sending her temperamental friend into an emotional frenzy, and she needed Mars to keep her wits about her at the moment.

Kunzite's silvery-gray eyes turned amused as he surveyed the glaring, blue haired scout. "Oh, I'm sure the knife cuts deep for you as well, Lady Mercury. After all, weren't you and Zoicite supposed to be a couple made in scientific heaven?"

"You snake!" Mercury hissed in anger.

"I'm sure Jupiter feels the same about poor, misguided Nephrite," the dark general continued as if she hadn't spoken. "But perhaps she has a little bit more closure than you two do. After all, she was able to witness the release of his human body. Jadeite and Zoicite, on the other hand, died begging for mercy from Beryl like worms." He chuckled darkly.

Snarls erupted from both scouts as they assumed attack positions. A small tree, just a few feet aware, burst into flames in the wake of Mars's temper while several bottles of water inside the concession both exploded in a an icy rush in reaction to Mercury.

Kunzite's grin grew. Clearly he had touched a nerve with the two girls. "Now, now ladies," he replied in a placating tone. "There's no sense in everybody getting so worked up over things that are in the past."

Flames crackled at the red suited scout's fingertips. "That's what I'm going to do, send you back into the past where you belong! Mars Fire Ignite!" A burst of fire shot from her hands toward the general.

"Mars! No!" Mercury screeched as she dove for her sister scout and tackled her to the ground, and not a moment too soon. Kunzite teleported easily out of range of the attack, and then reappeared several feet away. He shot a blast of negative energy at them, that missed them thanks to Mercury's quick response, but the booth they had been taking shelter behind exploded into thousands of pieces.

"Just what the hell did you think you were doing?" Mercury raged at the girl under her as debris rained down around them.

It was so unusual for anything even closely resembling a curse word to leave the normally calm Mercury's mouth that Mars was shocked silent for a moment. It wasn't often that Mercury lost her temper, but when she did she was a force to be reckoned with, turning just as icy as the element she controlled.

Mars's expression turned sheepish as she glanced away, embarrassed, and mumbled, "Sorry."

"Well I should hopefully think so!" Mercury snapped back frostily as she climbed off of her. "It's too risky for us to try to take him alone. We'll wait for the others."

"If they ever get here," Mars grouched as she got back to her feet.

Kunzite barked a laugh from where he was still hovering a few yards off the ground. "Yes, Mercury, where are your little partners in crime at? I was expecting to be met by the entire troop, but so far only you two have arrived. Have the others finally realized that resisting us is hopeless and given up?"

"Ha! You wish!" Mercury sneered, clearly still in a bad mood. "They'll be here soon. And when they do, you better be ready. Because we're going to kick your butt!"

Kunzite's eyes glittered dangerously. "You think so? Well let's just see what _dear _Serenity thinks when she finally gets here and finds two of her guards dead!"

His hands had been hidden beneath his cape, but now they whipped out, showing that he held a light purple boomerang of energy in each one. With no hesitation, he flung them at the startled scouts.

Mercury and Mars were taken off guard by his sneaky move and had no time to react. But as their eyes widened in horror at letting the dark general get the drop on them, a scream ripped through the night.

"Crescent Beam Smash!"

A bright beam of golden light shot forward and knocked the boomerangs off course, sending them whirling back toward their master.

Kunzite barely managed to catch his weapons with his fingertips before they impaled him, and he hissed slightly as one of them cut a deep gash across a few of his fingers, but his expression showed none of his discomfort as he looked up with a smile that would have melted just about any girl's heart.

"Welcome, fair princess of Venus," he drawled smoothly. "I was hoping that you would grace me with your beautiful presence tonight."

"Oh, shove it, Kunzite! I'm not in the mood!" Venus growled as she materialized from the shadows and rushed forward to join her fellow scouts. "Are you guys okay?"

Mars's violet eyes snapped furiously. "About time you got here!"

"We're fine," Mercury spoke over the irritated Martian scout. "I'm just glad you showed up when you did."

Venus darted a quick glance around. "Where are Moon and Jupiter?"

Mars clicked her tongue against her teeth. "Not here yet. Like that's anything unusual. I swear that Serena…"

"Put a lid on it, Raye! I can't handle listening to one of your tantrums tonight!" Venus interrupted her waspishly.

Mars folded her arms with a huff. "Wow! PMSing much, Mina? Sounds like you need a Midol."

Venus's cheeks flooded with color, but she ignored the jibe. "Can we just focus on business, please? Where do we stand?"

Mercury was quick to report. "Well, we have Kunzite, obviously. There are also five youma attacking the charity workers that have been staying here."

Venus gave a sharp nod. "Right! Keeping the people safe is our first priority. Mercury, you and Mars go and try to run some interference with the youma until Serena and Lita get here." She eyed the smirking, watching Kunzite hatefully. "I'll keep Mr. Full Of Himself entertained for a while."

Both girls immediately protested.

"Mina, you can't…!"

"Are you insane?"

"That's an order!" Venus snapped. "Go! Now!"

Mars and Mercury scurried away, glancing uneasily over their shoulders back toward their friend. Serena may be their princess, but Mina was the official leader of the scouts. It wasn't often that she gave orders, but when she did they were honor bound to follow them.

"I hope that feather brained blonde knows what she's doing," Mars grumbled.

Mercury's face creased with worry. "So do I. I've never heard Mina sound so hard in this life. And I only heard her use that tone once in the Silver Millennium…on that last night. I don't want to see history repeat itself."

Venus exhaled a sigh of relief as she watched her two friends disappear into the night. Then she turned her full attention to the _thing _that wore the skin of the man her past self had loved so deeply.

Kunzite smirked. "Well, well, Aphrodite. If you wanted us to be alone so badly, you should have just said something. I could have us someplace much more comfortable in about two seconds…like my bed, perhaps."

Her blue eyes blazed. "Go to hell, you bastard! I'll never go anywhere with you. You may look like Kunzite, but you are not him!"

He floated down until his feet touched the ground. Then he began stalking toward her slowly. "No, I'm not him. He was pathetic and weak. I am the better, stronger version of him. If you just gave me a chance, I'm sure you will come to agree with me."

"Not likely!" she snorted.

He came to a halt just a few feet away from her and inhaled deeply as her rich, warm scent wrapped around him. "Mmm…apricot and orange blossom. Just like I remember from that night so long ago, before the scent of your blood overpowered it of course." He reached a hand toward her hair.

She slapped it away with a hiss. "Don't you touch me!"

He arched a pale brow at her. "Oh, sweet little love goddess. I have much more than just touching you in mind." Before she could guess his intentions, he lunged forward and wrapped her tightly in his arms.

And then he kissed her.

Venus let out a wordless shriek as she felt his mouth moving over hers. Her eyes widened both in shock and in an attempt to hold back the flood of tears that burst in her eyes. If she was anyone except the scout of love, she might be tempted to give into the illusion that he was the man that she had once loved. But her past self and Kunzite had been bonded together through an ancient Venusian ritual during the Silver Millennium, and deep in her heart she knew that the bond was dead, and had been dead for a thousand years. She felt no pull to this…_being_.

Kunzite lifted his head with a growl when her lips remained firmly clamped shut and refused to allow him entrance. He glared down into those glistening blue eyes and snarled, "Give into me! It will be a lot easier on you if you do."

Then she smiled sweetly at him and said, "Not in this lifetime, buddy!" Then she brought her knee crashing up into his groin.

That move got the result she desired. He let her go instantly and stumbled back with a pained groan, almost going to his knees.

"Maybe that will teach you that you can't always take what you want!" she spat at him as she retreated back a few steps and readied herself for his retaliation. She knew that he would be furious, and she didn't care. She had tried to remain indifferent to him before, but now he'd turned it personal.

After several long seconds of being bent over, huffing and puffing, he straightened up to pin her with eyes that had gone as hard as flint. "So you want to play rough, huh? Okay, I'll oblige you. And I'll try my best not to mess you up too badly this time. I don't want to have to wait too long for your injuries to heal before I have you in my bed where you belong."

Cold fury washed over her face. "The only part of me you'll ever have in your bed is my dead, rotting corpse! And if I were you, I'd be worried about you being the one that gets injured. If I remember correctly, I was able to put a pretty big hurt on you the last time we fought."

"Big words for such a little girl!" he sneered back. "I also seem to remember that I was the one that delivered the blow that killed you."

"Enough chit chat!" she snapped. "Are we going to have this out here, or are you going to go running back to Beryl like the sniveling coward you are?"

Kunzite ground his teeth together as a sword pulsating with a swirl of purple and dark energy appeared in his hand. "As you wish, my lady Venus."

He lunged forward…and the fight was on.

* * *

"Which way do we go?" Sailor Moon panted as she and Jupiter vaulted over the gates of the closed amusement park.

Jupiter shrugged as they resumed running. "I don't have a clue. This place is huge. But I figure if there's a fight going on that we'll be able to find it soon enough."

Sailor Moon jolted as she felt a spike of awareness shiver down her spine. "Oh yeah! There are definitely youma here. And more than one from what I can tell."

Jupiter grinned broadly. "Sounds like fun! I'm always down for a good rough and tumble."

Blue and red light flashed from somewhere near the center of the park.

"Nice of Mars and Mercury to give us a sign," Jupiter crowed as she sped up.

Sailor Moon poured more speed into her legs to keep up with Jupiter's longer stride. It took them less than a minute to cover the distance to where the light had come from and found a few drained bodies lying on the ground outside one of the exhibit buildings. The doors leading inside looked like they had been blasted open and hung crookedly from their hinges.

Without a word, Sailor Moon and Jupiter launched themselves through the doorway, and they both immediately shrieked and ducked as a large wooden table that was hurtling toward them flew over their heads to splinter against a wall.

"What the hell!" Jupiter exclaimed.

That question was answered a moment later when they saw a large youma that was built like a sumo wrestler, only female, hefting a bed frame with one hand a short distance away. Dozens of unconscious bodies littered the floor around it.

Not far away, another youma that almost like a normal woman, except for the fact that her body could stretch like Gumby's, was wrapped around a man and glowing a shimmery blue as it sucked his energy.

A third, arachnid looking youma held a young woman in its many arms as it drained her as well.

"Oh my god!" Sailor Moon squeaked. "Where are Venus, Mars, and Mercury?"

"Damn it!" Mars's instantly recognizable voice screeched then. "Burn already, you Pinocchio wannabe!"

Jupiter grabbed Sailor Moon's hand and jerked her farther into the building, narrowly avoiding the bed that the sumo youma had just thrown at them. As they rounded the corner, they found what had Mars shrieking like a howler monkey.

The youma that had a hold of the fiery scout was twice the size of a normal human and looked like a giant marionette. It was holding Mars upside down by the ankles, and even though Mars was attempting to burn her way free from the walking woodpile, whatever varnish covered the wood was deterring her flames. It was scorched in several places, but it had yet to catch fire.

Mercury was locked in a struggle as well as she wrestled with a youma that Sailor Moon instantly recognized as being the one that had ambushed her and Darien in his apartment a few nights before. Gorgona's long hair was slithering its way around Mercury, trying to enshroud her like a mummy. Some of the long black strands glistened white with frost from Mercury's attacks, but it continued to imprison her. The blue suited scout was now busy trying to keep the hair from wrapping around her face and neck so that she could breathe.

"I'll help Mars. You go give Mercury a hand," Jupiter told her quickly. Then she flashed a grin. "I'm sure you want to get a little revenge."

Sailor Moon grinned back at her. She certainly did have a score that she wanted to settle with Gorgona, and this was the perfect opportunity. "Be careful," she cautioned Jupiter, and then she was gone in a flash, streaking toward Mercury.

Gorgona's back was turned to her, so she had no idea that Sailor Moon was even there, much less heading in her direction. But Mercury saw her friend approaching, and her eyes widened just slightly in acknowledgment and relief.

Anger boiled inside Sailor Moon. If it hadn't been for this youma, Darien wouldn't be back in Beryl's clutches right now. She wasn't normally a fan of physical fighting, but right now all she wanted to do was launch herself at Gorgona and beat her with her bare fists.

Luckily, her common sense prevailed. Even if she caught the youma off guard, she knew she didn't have a hope and a prayer of lasting even a minute in a hands on fight. A sneak attack would definitely work more in her favor.

She slowed her steps until she came to a stop about ten yards behind the youma. With one hand she reached into her skirt pocket to pull out the moon wand, and with the other she carefully removed the Silver Crystal from its hiding spot inside her brooch. Once the crystal was in place, she lifted a hand to her tiara.

Mercury stopped struggling and froze in place. She'd interpreted Sailor Moon's attack and knew that her friend would want her to stay very still to minimize the chance of her being hit.

Sailor Moon's eyes met hers gratefully, and they shared one tiny nod of encouragement. Then the blonde scout charged up her tiara until it was glowing, golden, spinning disc hovering above her palm.

Sailor Moon closed her eyes for the briefest of moments and took a steadying breath. Then she took very careful aim and let the tiara fly.

The gleaming disc sped through the air. And in the matter of just a few seconds, it had neatly sliced through the hair holding Mercury, soared around in an arc, and returned to its mistress's hand.

Mercury staggered away from the youma, shaking the hair off of her as it fell limp around her.

Gorgona spun with a vicious growl. Her red eyes burned hotter than fire as they landed on the petite blonde that had dared to interfere with her mission. "You!"

Sailor Moon's knees knocked together under the weight of that glare, but she refused to be cowed. She wasted no time in pointing the wand at the youma. Her voice cracked just a bit as she bit out, "This is for Darien, you bitch!" And then she activated the power of the Silver Crystal.

Scalding, white-hot light burst forth from the wand to envelop Gorgona. The youma's mouth stretched open in a silent scream as her face contorted in agony. And then she was gone in a poof of dust.

Sailor Moon stopped the flow of energy into the crystal and the light died. She watched dispassionately as the youma dust floated lazily toward the floor. Part of her felt vindicated that she had taken care of the monster that had dragged her and Darien before Beryl, but a small part of her was disappointed that it was over so easily. Darien was surely suffering at the hands of Beryl. Didn't Gorgona deserve the same?

Uncharacteristically morbid thoughts of torturing another creature filled her head as she watched a cloud of sparkling blue energy separate from the dust and zoom away through the building. She sighed deeply. At least she had saved some of the peoples' energy by destroying Gorgona. Then she jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," Mercury squeaked. Then she pulled her into a tight hug. "Thanks for saving me from that thing. I thought I was a goner."

Sailor Moon relaxed and forced a smile onto her face. "No problem, Amy. Now let's see if Raye and Lita need any help getting rid of that walking tree."

But by the time the two scouts had joined Mars and Jupiter, the giant puppet was nothing more than a pile of smoldering ash and dust, releasing another cloud of energy to return to its victims.

"I guess you finally got it to burn, huh Pyro?" Sailor Moon quipped in an attempt to sound lighthearted.

Jupiter chuckled. "Yeah, once we double teamed it, it finally fried."

Mars glared at the two latecomers. "Well we never would have been in this situation if _certain people_ had gotten here on time! What happened, Meatball Head, did you trip like twenty times on the way here?"

"Save the bickering for later!" Mercury jumped in before Sailor Moon could retort. "We still have three more youma to take care of."

Sailor Moon snapped her mouth shut and shook her head. "You're right. We have to put the safety of the people before our petty arguments." She whirled and ran back toward the front of the building with the other three hot on her heels.

But as they rounded the corner, they were just in time to see the sumo-youma, the Gumby clone, and spider-lady disappearing through one of the Dark Kingdom voids.

Mercury whipped her computer out, only to stomp her blue booted foot in frustration a few seconds later when the void closed. "Darn! It disappeared before I could get a reading."

"And they got away with the energy they stole," Sailor Moon grumbled.

"They've gotten smarter," Mars informed them. "They've learned how to build a defense. They were all sucking energy, but as soon as Mercury and I got here they split up. Two of them came after us while the fat one acted as a bodyguard to protect the other two while they continued to drain the people."

"I would have never given youma credit enough to be that smart," Jupiter mused. "But at least we saved some of the energy. And nobody died, right Mercury?"

Mercury looked up from her computer with a small smile. "No, nobody died. Ten people got their energy back when the other two youma were destroyed. They'll probably wake up in a little while. But there are more than twice that many that will probably need to be treated for exhaustion. I'll call emergency services once we clear out of here."

Sailor Moon was only half listening to them as she gazed around uneasily. She wasn't sure what it was, but something was bugging her. Then it clicked. "Hey guys, where's Mina? Didn't she come tonight?"

Mercury's eyes immediately fell to the floor where she shuffled her feet nervously and Mars huffed an indignant sound that sounded a lot like "stupid idiot" before looking pointedly away.

"You guys…" Sailor Moon began in a threatening tone. "What are you not telling me? Amy?"

Mercury jerked her head up and began to stammer. "Well…we sorta, um…ran into a…problem."

"Problem, my crows' feathery asses!" Mars almost shouted. "She's insane if you ask me! Then she had to climb up on her imperial high horse and start acting like she was freaking Cleopatra or the Queen of Sheba or something. If she gets herself killed again it is not my fault!"

"Whoa! Whoa! You lost me there," Jupiter interjected. "What in the hell are you rambling about?"

"Kunzite's here," Mercury admitted softly.

Sailor Moon felt all the blood in her body drain right down to her toes. "Oh no! She didn't!"

Mars nodded. "She did. He was keeping us from coming after the youma, so she volunteered to keep him occupied while we went for the youma."

"How could you two leave her alone with him?" Sailor Moon moaned.

"We didn't have a choice!" Mars snapped back. "She played the leader of the pack card and ordered us away!"

"So what!" Sailor Moon screeched. "I tell you guys to do things all the time, and none of you ever listen to me! So why would you listen to her?"

Even Jupiter had the grace to look a little sheepish at that outburst. "It's because all you ever tell us to do is to stop being watchdogs. But Mina always overrides those orders because, as the head of the scouts, she can do that in the interest of your safety."

"This whole situation is out of control!" Sailor Moon raged. "We have to go help her right now! Where is she?"

Mars sighed and took the lead. "Come on. Follow me. Maybe we can stop the little fool before she gets herself killed.

Sailor Moon fell into step beside her, Jupiter and Mercury right behind them, as they ran through the park. The trip only lasted about a minute, but to Sailor Moon it felt like it lasted an hour. Finally, they rounded the large carousel and found themselves on a wide midway.

The reincarnated princess couldn't help but scream at the horrifying sight before her.

"Mina!"

* * *

The breath whooshed out of Venus's lungs as the heavy booted foot crashed into her chest, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying back several feet where she slammed into the ground.

She would have loved to have stayed right where she was and let the blackness that was dancing around the edge of her vision to overtake her, but the sailor scout spirit inside of her refused to let her. Besides, she'd probably wake up in a much worse situation, like tied to this psycho general's bed, if she gave up now.

So she gave herself one quick second to get her head back on straight before she pushed aside her pain, took a deep breath, and rolled to her feet to face her opponent once more.

Kunzite was just straightening up from picking up the sword that she had knock from his hand a few minutes before. He clucked his tongue as he turned to look at her. "Back on your feet again, Venus? How many times do I have to knock you down before you finally give up?"

She spat out a mouthful of blood that came from the backhand that he had delivered to her just moments before he had kicked her. She glared at him as she swiped her gloved arm across her mouth. "I never give up, you bastard! You should know that by now. I fought you to the death once before rather than give up to you. I may be reincarnated and not exactly the same person, but that hasn't changed."

"You stubborn woman!" he growled. "Don't you see the chance that I am offering you? Beryl wants you all dead! Your princess is weak and doesn't stand a chance against her. When Beryl takes over there will be no mercy for anyone that stands against her. I have convinced her to spare you, but the only way she will do that is if you come with me now. If you continue to support Serenity in this suicidal mission you will die along with her and the other scouts."

She raked him with a contemptuous look. "I would rather die by the side of my friends than run away to save myself. _My _Kunzite would have understood and respected that. He knew where his loyalties lay, and he was committed to his duties. I know that he was devoted to me, but he would have never turned his back on Endymion, Jadeite, Nephrite, or Kunzite. They were bound together every bit as tightly as I am with Serenity, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury. And there's nothing you can do to make me forsake them."

He shook his head. "I was hoping that we could do this the easy way, but I see now that you are going to make me force you."

"You can try," she shot back as she widened her stance, ignoring all the aches and pains that came from the few cuts she had received from his sword and all of the places she was sure were well on their way to developing into a spectacular display of bruises. Thank goodness for accelerated scout healing and the fact that she lived alone except for Artemis. If she stayed transformed the rest of tonight and part of tomorrow, she should be good as new.

That was if she made it out of this alive. At least she could take comfort in the fact that the fake Kunzite looked just as beaten and battered as she felt. She had known that facing him again would prove to be just as challenging as it had the first time, but she had given as good as she had gotten, and she took pride in every scrape and bruise that was beginning to darken his skin. He was even sporting a few energy burn marks where he'd had some close encounters with her Crescent Beam.

"I really didn't want to hurt you," the dark general told her, looking sincerely contrite for a split second before his expression hardened once more. "But if this is the only way for me to get you to see things my way, then so be it."

A smug feeling grew inside of him as he surveyed the injured, defiant girl before him. He really had hoped to be able to take her back to the Dark Kingdom base unscathed, but he would deal with it. He would just have to make sure to not fatally injure her. He only needed to render her helpless so that he could transport her without a fight. She would heal from her wounds in a short amount of time. And he would make sure to keep her confined in a position where she couldn't escape once she had recovered.

And maybe, once Beryl had her greedy paws on the Silver Crystal, she could be convinced to use its power to do a little memory modification on Venus to make her a little more…compliant. He didn't want to erase who she truly was, but he wanted a slight bit more obedience from his future queen. They would be running their own little slice of Earth after all.

He lunged toward her, sword at the ready. If he could get just one good, non-life threatening injury on her, such as an arm or a leg, the rest should be a piece of cake.

But Venus had been anticipating his move, and as he closed in on her she flung out a hand and pointed her index finger at him. "Crescent Beam Smash!"

The golden beam of light shot from her finger, but her mind must not had been as clear as she thought and her aim was off. She had been going for a deadly strike, aiming for his heart in hopes of liberating Kunzite's physical body the way the other generals' had been. She owed her past self's lover at least that much. But instead of hitting his chest, her attack impacted higher up, blasting a hole right through his shoulder.

Kunzite staggered a bit under the onslaught, but his momentum was enough to keep carrying him forward.

Venus cried out in pain as she felt the sharp edge of his sword slice through her side and scrape against her ribs. She raised her tear bright eyes to his for a moment before her trembling legs gave way beneath her and she slid down his body to land in a heap at his feet.

Hot blood gushed over her fingers as she clamped them over the wound, and she figured that this was it. Just like she had a thousand years before, she was destined to die at the hands of the monstrous creation that Beryl had turned Kunzite into. She only hoped that Serena and the others would be able to carry on and defeat Beryl once and for all without her. And Artemis…well, maybe Serena's parents would allow her to adopt him like she had Luna. She knew that he would be taken care of and continue to be of help to the others.

Kunzite was still on his feet, and she sat there, waiting for him to strike the blow that would end her life. As a warrior, she was taught to not fear death. If this was to be her fate, then she would accept it.

Then she heard it; a sound that may have been shrilly grating to some ears, but sounded like an angel's call to her. It was Serena's voice screaming to her.

"Mina!"

She fought to raise her heavy head, and her blurry eyes locked onto Sailor Moon, who was standing a few dozen yards away with a look of horror on her face.

The last thing she saw before the wave of blissful unconsciousness overtook her was the golden crescent moon that flared to life on Sailor Moon's forehead and the glow of silver energy around her as the Silver Crystal responded to its mistress's call.

'_Go ahead, Serena. I know you can take him. Free him for me,' _Venus thought as the last of her consciousness fled her and she collapsed completely as darkness claimed her and she collapsed into peaceful oblivion.

* * *

**A/N **Sorry for the cliffhanger ending. There is another part to this scene that I started to add to this, but it's kinda long and hasn't been edited yet. So since this chapter had already reached the length that it had I decided to go ahead and post it as is. Besides, it will mean an exciting start to the next chapter. _Bad Boys _readers, keep your fingers crossed. The next chapter for it will hopefully be ready for posting soon. Mina is coming over later to help me with it (I love cheap labor! All I have to do is feed her.) so we'll see what happens. In the meantime, please don't be shy about dropping in those reviews. I love hearing your thoughts. Be safe everyone! Later! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	28. Hope is a Fading Rainbow

**A/N **I have decided that no truer words have ever been spoken than the old expression, _When it rains, it pours_. Okay, so I had the whole car wreck thing going on, and I survived the concussion, multiple cuts and bruises, and my glorious broken arm with as little fuss as I could manage. Then, just when things were starting to look up; I got my cast off, got a new set of wheels, and I was diving whole heartedly into my stories…disaster strikes and my computer, my only working computer, died on me. I must have pissed Lita off or something, because then my Droid crapped out too. So not only could I not type a thing, but also I couldn't even check my e-mail. They redid the network at work recently, so now I can't access any websites that aren't work related…and I have been completely lost! Mina-chan, bless her heart, has been completely tied up with work and trying to wrap up her semester (any of you current or past college students know how nerve-racking that can be) so I didn't dare try to impose on her. Anyway, I've been doing things the old fashioned way with pen and paper, which stinks! But money has been tight around my house with the holidays coming and the fact that I missed quite a bit of work after the accident, so I was in a tight spot. Luckily, one of my brother's friends, who happens to be a bit of a computer guru, came into town and took a look at my computer and found out that the power supply had gone out. He was definitely my saving angel because he made a few calls and found the part that I needed and replaced it for me for almost nothing. Wasn't that cool of him! So now I'm back in business once more and typing as fast as my little fingers will let me. I know I'm horribly behind, but I'm going to do my best to catch up and get _GT _and _Bad Boys _updated as soon as possible. I also have a Christmas one-shot planned, just like I do every year, and hopefully it will get finished in time.

Okay, enough babbling! Time for my hugs! _BIG HUGS TO:_

**Seredhiel05**

**Jess**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**sabina21**

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**Ariel Night**

**saveme57**

**Chibi Kitt**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**ally0212**

**PAN TRUNKS LOVER**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**S dot Serenity**

**IAMSOAP**

**Phenitial**

**jade2nightwing**

**KatanaPrincess**

**perfect beauty**

**Sailor Saiyan007**

**TheMoonPrincess110**

**(the one who left no name)**

**rainbabie**

**Jenbunny**

A million, kajillion thank yous to you guys. You rock. Over 600 reviews and still counting! Now I just hope that there are enough people still reading this story after my absence. ***bows head*** I'm sorry everyone. I hope you're still out there. Enough out of me!

**_ENJOY!_**

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 27

Hope is a Fading Rainbow

* * *

Kunzite sat up slowly, shaking his head as he tried to make sense out of what had happened in the last few seconds. Things had gone so fast that he was having a hard time wrapping his brain around the events.

He had been standing over Venus, gloating in his triumph of succeeding in bringing the proud former Venusian princess and leader of Serenity's scouts to her knees before him. He had just been about to summon a portal and carry his personal prize back to the Dark Kingdom base when a piercing scream had almost shattered his eardrums.

"Mina!" the voice had screamed hysterically.

He'd looked up just in time to notice that Mars and Mercury had returned, and that they were no longer alone. Sailor Moon and Jupiter now accompanied them and all four of the teenaged girls wore expressions of shock and hatred on their faces as they glared at him. But none looked more ferocious than the reincarnated moon princess.

Kunzite was not one much for feeling fear, but as he saw the golden crescent moon that flared to life on Sailor Moon's brow and the silver energy that began to swirl like a tempest around the petite girl he couldn't suppress a shudder as a spike of icy fear skittered down his spine. He felt Venus collapse completely to the ground at his feet as his mind raced to come up with a plan. The best thing he could do was grab Venus and get away while he had the chance. He knew he couldn't take on Serenity, much less Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter all at the same time.

He had just begun to reach down to pull Venus into his arms when he heard a shriek that sounded like it should have come from a banshee and saw a flash of white light from the corner of his eye. As much as he wanted the golden haired Venusian princess for himself, his will to continue existing was stronger, so he jumped back in time to avoid being hit by the blast of energy that had been directed toward him. But he had been caught by the shockwave of power as the attack had slammed into the Earth and had been sent harshly to the ground.

He heard running footsteps now as he sat up slowly, biting back moans at all of the aches and pains that his human vessel was feeling. He glanced over, several yards away now, to where Sailor Venus still lay unconscious on the ground. Orange light pulsed around her as her clothing kept flickering back and forth between her fuku and a pair of black sweatpants and bright yellow t-shirt that she must have worn to bed that night. Sailor Moon and Mercury were knelt on either side of her.

Mercury, visor in place, was typing rapidly on her computer. "None of her organs were hit and none of her ribs are cracked or broken, but that cut is deep and she's losing a lot of blood. She needs to stay in her scout form so that her accelerated healing can kick in faster."

Sailor Moon nodded as she ripped the bow off the back of her fuku and folded it into a pad to press against Venus's injured side. If they couldn't get the bleeding to stop they would have to take Mina to the hospital, and that could be disastrous. Amy had assured all of the scouts that there was nothing unusual about their blood that would tip doctors off to the fact that they were different from other humans if any lab work was done. But even in their civilian forms the scouts healed at a much faster rate than normal people, so they had avoided hospitals and treated their own wounds since their scout powers had been awakened to avoid the scrutiny. Not to mention the fact that the police would surely have a lot of questions about why a sixteen-year-old girl had been out wandering in the middle of the night and how she had sustained such a serious wound.

A strangled cry broke from Sailor Moon's lips as Venus's transformation completely disappeared, leaving Mina in her civilian form. Despite the pressure she was applying to her side, Sailor Moon stared in horror at the red stain that was spreading across Mina's yellow t-shirt.

She moved her hands to her fellow blonde's shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "Mina! Mina, wake up! You have to wake up and transform so that you can heal before you bleed to death!"

The anguish in the moon princess's voice had Kunzite staggering to his feet. A painful sensation that he couldn't identify burned hotly in his chest. How had everything gone so wrong? He hadn't been trying to kill Venus. He had only hoped to incapacitate her enough so that he would be able to take her back to the Dark Kingdom with him. That was all. But her unexpected attack had thrown his trajectory off…and now she was wounded far worse than he had ever intended.

For the first time since this war had started, he found himself wishing that Endymion were in his right mind and in possession of the Golden Crystal. Serenity, with her Silver Crystal, was only capable of spiritual healing. But back during the Silver Millennium, Endymion had possessed the ability to heal physical injuries.

Beryl, thanks to Metallia's magic, also had the power to heal people, but the thought of taking Mina to the witch chilled him. He had planned on taking Mina back to the base and keeping her locked in his chamber and as far away from Beryl as possible. Despite the dark queen's uncharacteristic generosity in allowing him to claim the princess of Venus for his own, he was under no disillusion that there were certain…conditions…that would revoke her gift. The animosity between Beryl and the sailor scouts wasn't something to be taken lightly, and he knew that Mina would attack Beryl if she found herself in her hated enemy's presence. And he knew that Beryl possessed little to no tolerance about anything or anyone, except Endymion, and wouldn't think twice about killing Mina if she felt threatened.

Of course, that would be if he could even persuade the witch to heal Mina in the first place. Compassion was definitely not to be found on Beryl's list of _"admirable attributes"_, even where Endymion was concerned. She professed undying love for the earth prince, but Kunzite had heard her maniacal laughter three nights before when she had been blasting Endymion for assisting Serenity in escaping. The witch got sadistic pleasure from inflicting pain on others. There was no doubt about that. She would be more liable to laugh as Mina bled out onto her floor than she would be to help her enemy.

But as he watched Mina lying pale, unresponsive, and bleeding while Sailor Moon and Mercury worked frantically over her, he knew that Beryl's wrath was chance that he would have to take. That red haired bitch owed him for all that he'd done for her, and he was going to make her pay up. She was going to heal Mina for him. He would make sure of that. And Serenity and the other scouts better stay out of his way.

He had only stumbled forward a few steps when he found his path blocked by two seething figures, one in red and one in green. He snarled at them, "Get the hell out of my way!"

"I don't think so, pretty boy!" Jupiter sneered back as she cracked her knuckles. "Do you honestly think we'd let you anywhere near Mina or Serena after what you've done tonight?"

Smoke was curling up from Mars's clenched fists. "If you do think that, then youmas are even less intelligent than I gave them credit for. Now you better back off before I char you where you stand!"

Kunzite rolled his eyes at them. "You two don't frighten me in the least. Now step aside. Mina is dying and I have a way to save her."

Mars snorted as she tossed her raven black head. "What, by taking her to Beryl and letting that bitch screw with her head the way she has Darien's? Not on your life, asshole! We take care of our own, and Mina is going to be fine."

"Hey, Serena," Jupiter tossed over her shoulder. "What do you want us to do with the trash?"

Sailor Moon glanced up, wide eyed, for just a moment. "Give me a sec. I'll be right there." Then she looked down at the girl that had been her cousin in her past life and one of her best friends in both lives and shook her again. "Come on, Mina! You have to wake up!"

When Mina's head only lolled to the side lifelessly, Sailor Moon muttered a curse under her breath. Mina's skin was growing paler by the minute and a clammy sweat had broken out across her brow as more and more of her lifeblood seeped out of her.

Then the reincarnated princess did something that was completely out of character for her. She slapped the unconscious girl sharply across the face and screeched, "Damn it, Venus! Wake up right now! That's an order!"

"Serena!" Mercury gasped in shock at her friend's outburst. "I really don't think that will work."

But the blue haired genius was proven wrong a few seconds later when Mina let out a low moan. Then her eyelids flickered open to reveal disoriented, pain clouded, blue eyes. After a moment she grimaced and mumbled, "Who hit me?"

Sailor Moon almost choked on a sob. "I did, you goose! And I'll do it again if you don't transform right this minute so you can heal faster. Because I'll never forgive you if you up and die on me."

Despite the obvious pain she was in, Mina managed to roll her eyes at her. "Right away, your highness. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Sailor Moon fought back a grin and glared at her. "You don't have to be such a smartass!" she snapped. But inside she felt relieved. If Mina was cracking jokes then she must not be as bad off as they had feared.

Mina's hand crept toward the pocket of her sweatpants and her nose wrinkled up when she felt the stickiness of blood on her t-shirt. "Darn! I guess this shirt is ruined. And it was one of my favorites. Oh well!" She pulled her henshin wand from her pocket and murmured, "Venus Power!"

Sailor Moon backed away as the avalanche of golden stars surrounded Mina. When they faded, Sailor Venus was laying on the ground once again in her orange fuku. Her eyelids had closed once more, but her transformation seemed to be holding steady.

"Stay with her, Amy," Sailor Moon said quietly to Mercury as she climbed to her feet. "I've got a little problem to go take care of."

Mercury nodded her head. "Sure thing," she replied, and then watched cautiously as Sailor Moon went to join Jupiter and Mars.

The two scouts were locked in a silent standoff with Kunzite, and the three of them all wore black, murderous glares on their faces. The tension flowing around them was so thick that Sailor Moon doubted that a chainsaw would be able to cut through it. She couldn't blame Mars or Jupiter for being in foul moods though. She had lost her temper herself when she had seen Venus, broken and bleeding before him, and had unconsciously lashed out with the power of the Silver Crystal. The dark general had better be counting his lucky stars that he had jumped out of the way when he did. That may have only been a tiny, involuntary burst from the crystal, but it still packed enough of a punch that it would have obliterated him into nothing if he had been hit with it.

And in the deep, dark corner of her mind where she kept the few cruel and vindictive thoughts she had ever had in her life locked away, a part of her wished that she had succeeded in destroying this creature that made a mockery out of the once proud and courageous general. It would mean one less obstacle standing between her and Beryl and she was sure that Mina would find some comfort in knowing that Kunzite's body was finally free from the evil witch's control.

She pushed her way between Jupiter and Mars and pulled herself up to her full, unimpressive height. But even though she was more than a foot shorter than the hulking general and looked like a toddler compared to him, an aura of authority seemed to pulse around her.

"So…" she hissed out fearlessly between clenched teeth. "It wasn't enough for you to murder Mina in one life. You just had to pop up like a nasty little fungus and try to make history repeat itself. You know, killing a member of one of the planetary royal families was a hanging offense back in the old days, and taking someone else's life is still the worst crime imaginable in this time. You disgust me!"

Though he felt slightly intimidated by the tiny girl's angry gaze, Kunzite refused to be cowed. He returned her glare with one of his own as he sneered coldly, "Climb down off of your high horse, Serenity. You're not a princess anymore who can order people around like she has the right to. All you are is a washed up relic that belongs to _once upon a time_ and doesn't even have a kingdom to call her own."

Sailor Moon sucked in a harsh breath. "No thanks to you and your queen! You made sure that there was nothing left of the moon kingdom when you decided to attack us. I may no longer be a princess, and my kingdom may be ancient history, but the Earth is my home now and I will do everything in my power to make sure that it is protected from the likes of you!"

His lips twisted up in a cynical smirk. "Those are big words for such a little girl. But how far are you willing to go to carry them out?" He waved his hand and a portal appeared behind him. "There you go, Serenity. If you are so passionate about protecting this planet then step through and face Beryl yourself. Believe me, she's as ready to end all of this as you are. So what do you say, princess?"

Sailor Moon took a step back in shock at this unexpected turn of events. She had never in a million years thought that Kunzite would just open the door an issue an invitation for her to just waltz right into the Dark Kingdom. She did long to put an end to this millennia long war, but she wasn't stupid enough to go charging into her enemy's base unprepared. Besides, she and the other girls had agreed that when the time came that they would all go together as a team. And with Venus down for the moment they were one member short. Not to mention the fact that she had no idea where Darien was and what had been done to him. If he was alive, and she refused to let herself think that there was a possibility that he wasn't, then getting to him and getting him out of there was a top priority as well.

Kunzite snickered at her hesitation. "You're not as sure of yourself as you thought. Are you, princess? You talk a big game. But when it all boils down you are nothing more than a spineless coward. It's amazing that Endymion ever found anything worth admiring about you."

Snarls erupted from both Mars and Jupiter in outrage at his daring slander of their close friend and princess, but they held their positions when Sailor Moon reached out to grab both of them by the hand and give it a squeeze. Her reassuring smile and slight headshake helped calm them further. She wasn't going to let Kunzite's hurtful words upset her. What did she care about what a suped up youma had to say about her anyway?

Her cool, disinterested blue eyes barely flicked over the general, who was so wrapped up in gloating over what he perceived as being cowardice on her part that he never noticed that Sailor Mercury, who was still kneeling next to Venus, had taken up her small computer once more and was typing rapidly on it. Her visor was again over her eyes and a series of soft beeps were bubbling from the handheld device.

Sailor Moon heard it, though, and smiled grimly on the inside. She hoped this worked. It was probably the best chance they were ever going to get. She tossed one of her long streamers of hair over her shoulder and raised her chin imperiously.

"Perhaps, general," she began in a biting tone, "Endymion simply has better vision than you do. Unlike you, he possesses a pure and loving human heart that allows him to look past a person's superficial surface and see who they really are on the inside. You may have your doubts as to what my level of intelligence may be, but I can assure you that he does not. I think you may be surprised as well to learn that my mental capacity doesn't rank quite as low on the totem pole as you believe. In your eyes I may appear to be nothing more than a silly little girl, but I promise you that I am nowhere near incompetent enough to jump through that portal where I know Beryl is just sharpening her claws and waiting to ambush me. She and I will have our time, you can stake your life on that, but it will be when I am ready for her. Now you can just slither yourself back to your _precious queen _and tell her I said so."

Kunzite's face had grown redder with each one of her words, and by the time she finished he looked as if he were about to explode. How dare that insignificant little moon brat speak to him like he was nothing more than a worm? He was the general of the entire Dark Kingdom army while she was nothing but an obsolete princess turned sailor scout.

He debated for a moment about his chances for success of just grabbing her and taking her back to Beryl himself so that the dark queen could finally silence that annoying, wagging tongue permanently. But with Jupiter and Mars flanking her tightly on each side, he had to admit that his chance was slim. But still, it might be worth the chance if it could shut her up for good.

'_Easy, my pet,' _Beryl's voice whispered in his head. _'Don't let that horrid little brat work you into such a temper. Come home for now. We'll let Endymion handle her.'_

He faltered for a moment. _'But Venus…'_

'_Patience, my dear,' _she purred. _'I promise you, once my darling prince has taken care of Serenity, I will make sure that you get your Aphrodite. You have my solemn vow on that.'_

Kunzite felt like spitting on the ground. He knew that Beryl's empty promises weren't worth the breath it took for her to utter the words. But with Venus safely closed away behind a line of protectors, he knew that there was no way that he would be able to get to her. Even if he teleported to her side he had no doubt that the scouts would be able to interfere before he made his getaway. What a shame Zoicite was no longer with him. If he were, he would be able to teleport Venus the way he had removed Endymion from Serenity's arms that night on the tower. But there was no sense in wishing for things that couldn't be.

With a sigh, he reconciled himself to the fact that he would have to accept defeat…for this moment anyway. At least he could comfort himself with the knowledge that he hadn't killed Venus. From where he stood he could see the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and her bleeding seemed to have slowed, if not stopped completely. She would heal soon and be ready when he came back for her.

Without a word, he turned and strode through the portal, letting the swirling blackness swallow him up and carry him back to the base.

Sailor Moon felt her shaky knees almost give out as the portal closed up behind him. She leaned against Jupiter for support as she muttered, "Boy, am I glad that's over. He scares the crap out of me."

Jupiter chuckled. "You gave it to him good, though. Talk about letting Serenity off her leash. I haven't heard you burn somebody's ears like that since the time that cocky, stuck up Lord What's-his-name from the Europa moon kept pestering you to marry him back during the Silver Millennium and you finally had to tell him off when he wouldn't get the hint."

"Hmm…" Mars mused. "That's not entirely true. Remember that time at the arcade when she went off on Hijiro for badmouthing us. She laid into Zoicite too that afternoon at the artist's house because he said some mean things about Amy. And don't even get me started on the times that she and Dar…well, you get the picture."

"Nah," Jupiter drawled. "Those were temper tantrums. This time she delivered that scathing little speech in the most princess-y tone I've ever heard. I swear I felt like I had been sucked back in time about a thousand years."

Mars tapped a gloved finger against her chin. "Yeah, I see what you mean. That tirade was filled with a lot of big words that Serena would never use. Maybe she did channel Serenity's spirit or something."

"Uh, excuse me. I'm right here and I can hear you, ya know!" Sailor Moon's muffled voice came from somewhere around Jupiter's ribcage. She straightened up and looked ruefully at both of her friends. "I may have drawn on some of Serenity's poise and mannerisms while delivering that speech, but the words were all me. Most of them were on a vocabulary test that I had a few weeks ago, and Dar…Darien," she stumbled over his name, "helped me study for it. I just thought it was a good time to put them to use."

She shook her head to try to rid it of the memories of that particular study session. The last thing she wanted to think about right now was the way Darien had looked as he sat across the table from her at the arcade. He'd had tiny lines of concentration creasing his forehead as he studied the notes for one of his complicated classes spread before him, but his deep blue eyes had twinkled merrily at her over the rims of his reading glasses when she had slammed her book shut in frustration.

"_Need some help, Meatball Head?" he chuckled._

_She glared at him darkly. "No I don't! Who cares what all those big words mean anyway? It's not like I'll ever use them."_

"_Oh, come on," he drawled as he got up from his seat to slide into the booth beside her. "It's good to expand your vocabulary."_

_She rolled her eyes at him. "Not everybody can be as nerdy as you, Darien. I always feel like I need to carry a dictionary around with me so that I can decode half the words you use. You're such a showoff!"_

_He gave her a patronizing smile. "Well, maybe if you learn what the words mean you'll be able to interpret what I'm saying."_

_She sat back with a huff and crossed her arms. "Talking with you is sometimes almost as bad as talking with Amy. You two are so smart. I feel stupid compared to you guys."_

_He pulled one of her pigtails. "You're not stupid! You're just a little under-educated. But we're going to take care of some of that right now." He pulled her Literature book toward him and flipped it to the page that was marked with her paper. "Now which ones are you having trouble with?"_

_Seeing that he was determined to help her, she sighed and sat forward. "Almost all of them. But you really don't have to help me with it. I'm sure I'll figure it out. I just got frustrated for a moment."_

"_I really don't mind, Serena," he said, looking up at her._

_Her breath froze in lungs as she found their faces only a mere six inches apart and her heart began pounding. It was the closest they had been to each other, outside of their training sessions, in a while. They were both usually very careful, Serena especially, to keep some distance between them. Not that they both weren't intensely aware of how attracted they were to each other, but they had agreed that now was not the time to start a relationship._

_Still, Serena couldn't help feeling sucked in by his eyes, as usual. A lot of girls said that they didn't like glasses on a guy, but she didn't mind. In fact, now she could see what Molly had meant when she'd confessed that she found Melvin's glasses to be a bit of a turn on. There was something about Darien in his reading glasses that intrigued her. He didn't look dorky or nerdy in them. If anything, they made him seem even hotter…if that were even possible._

_Darien cleared his throat, and she quickly pulled away from him, turning her head so that he wouldn't see the blush she felt blooming on her face._

"_So, shall we get started?" he asked in a slightly rougher voice than usual._

_She waited a few moments until she felt the heat beginning to retreat from her skin. Then she turned back with a bright smile and nodded. "Teach away, oh mighty Mr. Genius!"_

"Serena! Are you okay?" Jupiter's voice demanded abruptly as her hands closed around Sailor Moon's upper arms. "You look completely spaced out."

"So what else is new?" Mars said in a tone that may have seemed insulting to some, but that her friends knew was just her way of teasing.

Sailor Moon stuck her tongue out at her and managed a weak smile. "I'm fine. I was just…thinking about something. It's no big deal."

Mars and Jupiter shared a _Look_. It was obvious from Sailor Moon's tone of voice that whatever she had been thinking of had been a much bigger deal than what she was making it out to be. And it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that whatever it was had to do with Darien. So both girls kept silent, respecting her privacy when it came to her memories of Darien. If it was something that she wanted to share with them, then she would.

"How's Mina doing, Amy?" Sailor Moon asked as she turned back toward her other two friends.

"Better," Mercury reassured her immediately. "The bleeding has stopped and her vitals are good. Hopefully the wound will begin to pull itself back together soon. It will take her a couple of days to recover completely though, maybe even a little longer. It just depends on how much time she can spend transformed."

Sailor Moon nodded. "Well, at least that's some good news. Now how about that portal? Were you able to get a reading on it? I tried to keep Kunzite talking as long as I could without it looking suspicious, hoping that you would get a chance to scan it completely."

A smug, satisfied looking smile appeared on the Mercurian scout's face. "Oh, I got a reading all right. The magnetic fields on the other side scrambled the results a little, but I was able to pinpoint the Dark Kingdom's general location. We may not be able to teleport right to their doorstep, but we should be able to get very close."

Jupiter smacked a fist into her palm. "That's the best news we've had in a week. So what's our next move, boss lady? Are we going to go after them?"

Sailor Moon shook her head. "Let's give it a few days. Rushing into this could be dangerous. Beryl is a sneaky witch, and I'm sure she'll have some dirty tricks hidden up her sleeve. Besides, I want to wait until Mina is back on her feet. If we go in, we go in together, as a team."

"Don't hold up things on my account," Venus's groggy voice spoke up from the ground.

"Mina!" Sailor Moon squealed when she saw her friend's bright blue eyes looking up at her. She dropped to her knees beside her before frowning. "Were you out of your mind?"

Venus waved a hand lazily. "I know. I know. I'm in trouble."

Tears stung Sailor Moon's eyes, but she tried to glare through them. "Trouble doesn't even begin to describe it. How could you have stood up _alone _to Kunzite like that? He could have killed you!"

"Okay, so it was a stupid thing to do," Venus muttered moodily. "I really don't know what I was thinking. It's just been a really crappy night. My little monthly friend decided to drop in for a visit, so I feel all crampy and bloated. Then I accidentally stepped on Artemis's tail and he pouted for an hour before he took off to meet Luna. I broke my favorite cocoa mug that my parents got me from Paris. And after all of that I had a nightmare after tossing and turning for two hours. So I was in a really bad mood when the call came in, and I guess when I saw Kunzite I just snapped. I felt like beating something up, and he was there."

Mars snickered. "I guess I was right when I accused you of PMS when you got here. You were definitely in a rare mood."

Venus shrugged as she pushed herself into a semi-sitting position, hissing softly as her side pulled painfully. "We all have our bad times, some more so than others. Right, Raye?" She arched her eyebrows at the fire priestess, and then huffed a quiet laugh when the dark haired scout flipped her off.

Then she turned somber eyes on her princess. "So, did you kill him?"

Sailor Moon gasped, "No! I mean, I wanted to. And I almost did when I saw what he'd done to you. But he dodged my attack. After that he just stood there and flapped his mouth."

"Well, damn!" Venus grumbled. "I thought we'd taught you better than that, Serena. But I guess I'm not really surprised. You're just too sweet of a person to inflict harm on someone without a confrontation."

Sailor Moon's eyes darkened as she thought about some of the darker thoughts she'd had recently. "If he had tried to make a move I would have blasted him all the way back to the Silver Millennium! I decided to use him instead, and it paid off. He opened a portal and I kept him distracted long enough that Amy was able to get a reading on it. So we're one step closer to being able to go after Beryl. Kunzite was acting really weird though. He seemed like he was concerned about you and about what he had done."

"Ha!" Venus barked. "I guess he did. That sick freak! I don't want or need his concern!"

Jupiter chuckled. "Uh oh! Why do I get the feeling that General Fake stepped over the line?"

Venus rolled her eyes. "He has just developed a little crush on me. That's all. It's no big deal. He tried to get a little touchy-feely, but I put him in his place. As if he could take the place of the real thing!" Her voice sounded a little stuffy at the end.

"Yeah, there's no substitution for the one you love," Sailor Moon whispered softly, turning her head away from the others as she blinked away tears. She knew the girls wouldn't agree with her thoughts, but she wished Darien would show up, just for a minute. She could only imagine what horrible things Beryl had done to him after her escape from the Dark Kingdom. If she could just have some assurance that he was alive it would help give her the strength she needed to go to the Arctic and face Beryl.

A slight movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she quickly looked up. She squinted as she peered into the distant blackness to find out what it was. She didn't sense any youma nearby, and Mercury's computer was quiet, but she didn't lightly dismiss anything where the Dark Kingdom was concerned. It would be just like Kunzite to send a youma after them at this moment.

She was about to alert the other scouts when she saw the flicker of movement again. Her voice died in her throat as the darker figure in the shadows whirled away. In the dim glow of one of the security lights she saw a quick gleam of silver and a flash of red.

That was all she needed to tell her the person's identity. She was on her feet and running before her brain even had a chance to catch up with her body's movements. She heard the exclamations of her friends behind her, but she paid them no attention. All that mattered now was the person that she had seen.

"Darien!" she screamed as she poured every bit of speed she could into her legs. The footsteps pounding behind her grew fainter as she pulled away from them. She may be the smallest scout, but she was the fastest. Nobody could catch her if she didn't want to be caught…and right now she was on a mission.

She ran and ran, darting between game booths and vaulting over concession stands. She weaved between rides, all the while searching with all of her senses to try to find the one she was looking for. But she didn't see him anywhere, and she couldn't sense his aura. Had he gone back to Beryl?

She came to a stop at the base of the Ferris Wheel and bent over to place her hands on her knees as she panted, trying to catch her breath. Air sobbed in her chest as she gulped it in by the lungfuls.

"Was I imagining things?" she muttered to herself. Then she shook her head. "No! That was no hallucination. I saw him. I know I did. He was here. But where did he go?"

A breeze blew though then, lifting her sweaty bangs off her forehead and rustling the leaves on a nearby bush. But over the sounds of nature she heard another sound. It was faint, but one she had come to know well. It was the snap of a cape whipping in the wind…and it was right above her.

She looked up…way up…until her eager eyes found the dark, shadowy figure crouched on a metal strut about halfway up the giant Ferris Wheel. Relief flowed through her as her knees began to feel even wobblier than they had when she stood up to Kunzite. She couldn't make out his features clearly, but she knew without a doubt who it was. And she didn't need some cosmic, psychic bond to tell her that.

"Darien!" she cried in a quiet, shaky voice, but one that carried easily to him on the night air that had suddenly fallen still. "I've been so worried about you! Are you okay?"

There was no answer from him, but she could tell that he was looking at her. She could feel the weight of his gaze, even through the dreary gloom that surrounded them, and she felt rooted to the spot. She couldn't see his eyes, but it was if they were keeping her pinned in place.

After several long seconds of tense silence, she spoke again. "Darien, talk to me, please. I know Beryl was probably horrible to you after you helped me escape. But I need to know if you're all right. So please, just say something…anything."

He still said nothing, but he rose out of his crouched position and jumped down, a black blur streaking toward the ground, to land with the grace of a jungle cat a half dozen yards away from her with his back toward her.

Sailor Moon shuffled her feet as the first shivers of uneasiness began to wrap around her. Okay, maybe she had been too hasty in running off after him like this, but she had been afraid that he would disappear on her. Still, she had no idea who was in control of his body at the moment. Was it her Darien, the Endymion of her past, or was it the dark, twisted prince of Beryl's creation?

It didn't matter to her. Even if the dark Endymion was in command, she knew that she would be able to pull Darien, or at least the real Endymion, to the surface. She'd done it before, and she could do it again. But just to be safe, she pulled out the moon wand with the Silver Crystal still in its place and clenched it tightly in her hand. It never hurt to be too cautious after all.

Then, she carefully stepped toward him.

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"Yesss…" Beryl hissed as she gazed into the glowing orb before her, watching the scene taking place between her prince and the moon princess. "Look, Kunzite! The silly little twit has it right there in her hand!"

The platinum haired general glanced over her shoulder disinterestedly. "Hmm…not very bright of her to have it out in the open like that. But then again, I have to say that she's showing a few brains for once by staying on her guard. She usually goes to pieces and throws caution to the wind whenever she sees Endymion. I guess she's finally learning."

Beryl smirked. "Just wait, my pet. This little party is just getting started. She hasn't realized yet that the man before her is neither Endymion nor her precious little Darien. And I can't wait to see the look on her face when she does. It will be simply _priceless_!"

Kunzite snorted. "Hmph! I would think that you would be more interested in the outcome of this little confrontation rather than Serenity's reaction to what you've done to the prince."

The self-proclaimed queen waved a hand at him. "You're just in a foul mood because your Aphrodite slipped through your fingers. I've already told you, the outcome doesn't matter. Either Endymion kills Serenity and takes the crystal from her and brings it to me, or the moon brat heals him and I take him back and turn him into the prince he ought to be. Either way, I win."

Behind her back, Kunzite rolled his eyes. "You sound so sure of yourself."

"Of course I'm sure!" she snapped. "This is one plan that has a built in fail-safe. Endymion will be instrumental in bringing around Serenity's death, one way or another. But whether it is to be now or later remains to be seen. Now let's watch and see what happens."

Her crimson talons clinked against the orb as she cupped her long, boney fingers around it and a manic gleam burned brightly in her reddish-brown eyes. She ran her tongue across her fangs as she whispered, "Soon it will all be mine, Endymion, the Earth, and the Silver Crystal. And Serenity will only be a memory."

* * *

Sailor Moon came to a stop a step behind the dark haired young man before her and reached tentatively for his shoulder with trembling fingers. "Darien?" she whispered.

He whirled suddenly, and she gasped. But it wasn't his surprise movement that wrung the sound from her throat. It was his eyes. They were anything _but _what she had been anticipating. She had expected to see Darien's sparkling sapphire orbs that always seemed to be laughing at some hidden joke, or Endymion's slightly haughty ocean gaze. She would have even accepted Dark Endymion's jet-black glare. Any of those would have been familiar to her.

But what weren't familiar to her were the eyes that were staring at her now. Those flat, pupil-less pools of deep, murky blue were foreign to her…and she felt her already fractured heart crack just a little bit more.

Her already spaghetti-like legs folded under her as she slipped to her knees on the ground. The hem of his cape whispered against her fingers, and she caught a handful of it as she stared up at him through the tears that had sprung to her eyes.

Her teeth were about to bite through her bottom lip to help hold back the sobs that were fighting to be set free, but she forced them to release the tender skin so that she could choke out, "Oh, Darien! What did that witch do to you?"

To her astonishment, he bent down and put his hands under her elbows to lift her gently to her feet, still without speaking a word. Then he held her arm's length away while he studied her with a blank expression.

She stayed completely still and silent in his grip, but her eyes begged him, pleaded with him, to say something, do something, to let her know that he recognized who she was. It was obvious that Beryl had messed with his head again, but she didn't know to what extent.

Her recently regained breath was pushed out of her lungs a few seconds later when he unexpectedly pulled her against him. The cold metal of the armor he wore dug painfully into her chest as she found herself caught up into an almost crushing embrace. Her first instinct was to fight her way free, but she froze when she felt his head next to hers and heard the sound of him inhaling deeply in her ear. Was he smelling her hair?

"Princess Serenity…" he whispered reverently after several long, agonizing moments.

Her heart leapt with both joy and fear. "That's right. Well, kind of. I'm Serenity's reincarnation anyway. It's me, Darien, Serena. Come on, I know you remember me. You just have to."

She began to squirm as his grip on her began to tighten even more. She was about to give voice to her discomfort when he spoke again in a flat, emotionless tone. "Princess Serenity, you have something that my queen wants, and I am here to take it from you."

Belatedly, she realized that one of his arms had released her and that his hand was reaching toward hers that held the wand and the crystal. She squeaked painfully as his fingers locked around her wrist in a bruising, iron hold.

She jerked her head back to look at his familiar, yet unfamiliar face. "Darien! What are you doing?"

No emotion showed on his face, but his voice turned colder as he replied, "I am the prince of the Dark Kingdom, and I exist only to serve my queen. Her majesty wants the Silver Crystal, and I am here to take it for her. Time for you to die, moon princess."

Shock flooded her system, immobilizing her, but it was quickly chased away by a spurt of adrenaline. She yanked herself away from him, but he refused to let go of her wrist. She twisted her arm; feeling the delicate skin under her glove scream in protest at the bruising pressure as she hissed, "Let go of me!"

"You heard her, asshole! Let her go!" Jupiter demanded harshly as she and Mars arrived on the scene.

Heat waves were already shimmering around Mars as she glared at the dark prince. "If you don't let go of my friend right now I'm going to barbeque you where you stand!"

The relief that Sailor Moon felt at the sight of her friends was almost enough to send her back to the ground in tears. But fear for everyone's safety kept her upright and coherent. If a fight broke out between Darien, Jupiter, and Mars, somebody could get hurt, or even killed. And she couldn't allow that.

She felt bad for what she was about to do, but it couldn't be helped. She took advantage of the fact that Darien, or whoever he was now, had been distracted by the two newcomers and balled up her fist. The irony that Darien had been the one to teach her how to throw a proper punch wasn't lost on her as she sent that fist slamming into his stomach, picking the small area that was left unprotected by his armor.

He wheezed and doubled over at the impact and his fingers let go of her wrist. She felt absolutely wretched for causing him pain, but she wasted no time in whirling and sprinting toward Mars and Jupiter.

"Are you okay?" the two scouts demanded together as she reached them.

She nodded. "I'm fine. He didn't hurt me." Okay, not entirely true. Her wrist was throbbing pretty painfully, but she didn't point out that little fact. Tempers were already running high enough as it was.

"You stupid idiot!" Mars grumbled. "What were you thinking, taking off on us like that?"

"No doubt!" Jupiter seconded. "You could have been killed. First Mina, and now you. You blondes are driving me crazy tonight!"

"Sorry," Sailor Moon mumbled, feeling thoroughly chastised.

"Not as sorry as you're going to be in just a few minutes," the dark prince snarled as he straightened up and glared at Sailor Moon. His hand reached for the sword hanging at his side. "Queen Beryl wants that crystal, _princess_. And I'm going to take it to her."

Sailor Mars grabbed Sailor Moon and shoved her behind her. "I don't think so, you Dark Kingdom wacko! You're not going to lay a hand on her!"

Tiny sparks were erupting around Jupiter as she sneered. "That's right! Let's see how big you're talking once I get done sizzling your ass!"

"Lita! Raye! No!" Sailor Moon cried shrilly. "Don't hurt him! This is all Beryl's fault! He doesn't know what he's doing!"

"Get real, Serena!" Mars snapped. "What are we supposed to do, just let him go? If we do that he'll only come after you again."

Jupiter nodded emphatically. "She's got a good point, girl. Look, I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, I mean, I know you love the guy and all. But I don't think he returns your feelings at the moment."

Sailor Moon gritted her teeth. "Because that evil witch messed with his head. But I'm not going to let her get away with this!"

"Uh oh!" Mars groaned. "You've got that crazy look in your eyes. What kind of stupid blonde scheme do you have ticking away in that meatball head of yours now?"

Jupiter gave her a wary glance. "Well, whatever you're going to do, you better do it quick, cause here he comes."

Sure enough, the dark prince was walking toward them. He was moving slowly, still clutching his stomach with one hand. But in the other hand he held his sword that glinted dully in the dim moonlight. Emotion had finally appeared on his face, and it was an expression of cold fury, filled with murderous, black rage.

A cold shiver of fear raced down Sailor Moon's spine. But she straightened her spine and stood proud as she ground out, "I'm putting an end to this right now! I'm going to save Darien from that redheaded bitch's claws. I won't let him go back to her!"

The Silver Crystal began glowing softly from its place in the wand.

Jupiter backed up a step. "Uh, Serena, do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Don't do it!" Mars told her in a voice that was much softer than her usual tone. "You're just now learning the secrets to using the crystal, and it takes a toll on you every time you use it. We can find another way."

"There is no other way," Sailor Moon stated firmly. "The only way to turn Darien back into himself is to cleanse the dark energy from him with the crystal, and that's what I'm going to do. Don't worry. I can handle it. I just need you two to keep him still for a minute and off of me until I can do it."

"Don't worry, she says," Mars muttered, but she began drifting away to circle around to cover the advancing prince's left flank.

Jupiter shook her head but grinned. "You're insane! You do know that, don't you?" Then she headed to the right.

"Maybe I am crazy," Sailor Moon muttered to herself as she looked hopefully at the person she loved, who was only about ten yards away now. "But I owe it to him to try everything within my power to save him." Then she called out, "Okay! Now!"

The prince, who had been entirely focused on her and had paid no attention to the other two scouts, let out a startled yell as he found himself suddenly surrounded an all sides by a crackling cage of electricity and a wall of flames. He was completely blocked, unable to move in any direction. A fierce growl ripped from his throat as dark energy began to radiate around him.

Mars clenched her jaw tightly. "Whatever you're going to do, you better do it! I don't think we can hold him long!"

"Shit!" Jupiter hissed. "He definitely packs a bigger punch than I gave him credit for."

Sailor Moon raised the wand with the glittering crystal in front of her and looked deep into those flat, unknown eyes and whispered, "Come back to me, Darien."

Then she channeled her energy into the Silver Crystal. "Moon Healing Activation!"

The crystal burst to life with a bright flash of white light, and it shot out in a beam, blasting through Mars and Jupiter's powers to encompass the prince in its healing glow. He immediately froze in place.

Mars and Jupiter dropped their attacks and watched as the battle raged before them.

Light and dark energy swirled all around him, each fighting for dominance over the other. Sailor Moon was shocked at the amount of negative energy she sensed inside of him. It was no wonder that he had been acting the way he had since Beryl had taken him. His pure green, blue, and gold aura was buried so far beneath all the oppressive darkness that she found it amazing that he had been able to hold onto as much of himself as he had.

The pull the crystal was having on her energy was already beginning to affect her, and it continued to tug on her reserves like an eager puppy pulling on a leash. She had never released this much of the crystal's power before, and she knew that she wading into dangerous waters. But if she gave up now the evil energy would continue to control him…and she couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't give up on him that easily.

So she pushed away the fatigue that was beginning to creep up on her and gathered up her flailing strength to send even more energy through the crystal. She was rewarded when she felt the negative energy begin to fracture and crack.

"Serena! Stop! You're overdoing yourself!" she heard Mars scream at her. But she didn't let up.

"I've got this," she managed to choke out. She could feel the darkness around Darien unraveling like a pulled stitch. She shoved just a bit more energy into the crystal and sent it at him with everything she had. The crystal flared white hot for a moment and the light around him exploded in a burst of silver sparkles.

Sailor Moon stopped the flow of energy and clenched her eyes shut, lest she be blinded by the light. When the glare behind her eyelids began to fade, she carefully opened her eyes and looked toward the spot he had been last standing. A glad cry burst past her lips.

"Holy crap! You really did it!" Jupiter was cheering from somewhere close by.

Sailor Moon felt like cheering too. She wanted to jump up and down and scream her delight at the top of her lungs. But she was so exhausted that all she could manage was to stand there on her rubbery legs and stare into those eyes, those wonderfully sparkling sapphire eyes, which were staring back at her in disbelief.

Darien, her Darien, was standing before her. Endymion's armor and sword were gone, leaving him looking like any other, normal high school student. Except for the fact that the school uniform he wore was torn, wrinkled, and covered in days old dried bloodstains.

He blinked his eyes hard, like he was just coming awake, and forced out in a raspy voice, "Serena? Am I dreaming?"

She shook her head as hot tears flooded her eyes. "No," she was barely able to get out. "This is real."

She took two slow steps toward him as he did the same toward her, before they both fell to their knees. Her own exhaustion had been hard enough to bear, but now she could sense his as well though the bond that had suddenly sprung back to life between them. And the double whammy sent her head spinning.

Darien seemed to be in just as bad of shape as she was. But considering everything he had gone through in the last nine days, it wasn't that surprising. He gripped his head between his hands and moaned, "I feel so dizzy." And then he fell forward as he passed out.

Mars and Jupiter had rushed to Sailor Moon's side the moment that she had fallen, and they each grabbed her by a shoulder as she also began to wilt toward the pavement.

"Damn it, you silly Meatball Head," Mars fumed. "I told you that you were overdoing it!"

"Please don't fuss at me, Raye," Sailor Moon pleaded in a voice that was barely more than a whisper as she fought against the urge to join Darien in unconsciousness. "I had to do it, and you know it. Now do me a favor and go check on Darien for me. I think he's okay, but I want to make sure. I wish Amy were here so she could scan him. Where is she, anyway?"

"We left her with Mina," Jupiter told her. "Mina wasn't in any shape to go running after you. So we told Amy to stay with her in case Kunzite decided to show his ugly mug again."

"I kind of wish he would," Mars growled as she stood and brushed off her fuku skirt. "This has been a hell of a night, and I feel like roasting somebody." Then she smirked. "Maybe I'll get lucky and find out that Darien wasn't healed and is still walking on the dark side. Then I'll just take it out on him."

"Raye!" Sailor Moon gasped outrage.

"I'm kidding!" Mars laughed with a wave of her hand as she walked over and knelt down next to Darien. She placed two fingers against his neck, and then grinned. "He's fine. His pulse is nice and steady. But he better wake up soon, because I sure as hell am not going to carry him home."

"Well don't look at me," Jupiter chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, carrying a skinny book nerd like him would be no problem. But I have my pride and so does he. He'd probably be insulted that a girl carried him home and get his boxers all in a knot over it. Then he'd end up saying something rude, I'm sure, which would piss me off. So if he wants to go home to his own bed, he can do it himself."

"He's not that bad," Sailor Moon muttered. Then she wrinkled her nose up. "And he's not a skinny nerd either."

Jupiter cocked a grin at her. "Pardon me, your highness. I forgot that you think he's all buff-n-stuff."

"Lita!" Sailor Moon wailed.

"The point is that we need to get going," Mars interrupted her. "So Mr. Princey here needs to get his butt in gear. If he's still feeling woozy I'm sure he won't mind if you help him home and into bed, Serena. You could tuck him in all nice and cozy."

Jupiter burst into laughter. "Hell! She's so wiped out she'd probably crawl in beside him. That's okay, Serena. I'll leave a note at your house telling your mom that you got up early and left if you want to spend the rest of your night with Romeo over there."

"Stop it! You guys are embarrassing me!" Sailor Moon screeched as she slapped her hands over her now red cheeks.

"Well, let's get this show on the road. Hey, Darien, wake up!" Mars said as she reached for his shoulder to shake him. Her fingers had barely brushed the fabric of his blazer when all hell broke loose.

A portal suddenly flashed into existence next to Darien, and a blast of dark energy flew out of it to hit Mars and send her flying.

Jupiter jumped up with lightning speed and ran to catch her before she hit the ground.

Sailor Moon stared in horror as a skeletal, red taloned hand came out of the portal to grab Darien by the ankle and begin dragging him inside.

"No, Darien! No!" she screamed as she scrabbled across the ground on her hands and knees toward him.

With a quick jerk, his entire body was swallowed up by the swirling darkness. And then Beryl's shrill, nasally voice spoke. "Thank you so much for your help, Serenity. Now Endymion will truly be mine. You lose, moon princess."

And then the portal disappeared.

"No! Give him back!" Sailor Moon cried in a cracking voice. "I just got him back. You can't take him again." She buried her face in her hands as the tears began to flow thickly.

"What happened?" Venus demanded as she came hobbling into view, leaning heavily on Mercury.

"Serena healed Darien with the Silver Crystal…" Mars began explaining the situation.

But Sailor Moon blocked out the voices as they discussed what had just taken place. She stared at the spot where Darien had laid just a few minutes before. She could still see him there.

Then she thought mournfully that she must have been born under an unlucky star. Everything always seemed to go wrong for her. For one tiny moment she'd thought that something was going to work out right for once. He'd been right there, healed, whole, and almost close enough to touch. And then in the blink of an eye he was gone and in Beryl's clutches once again. It wasn't fair! But then again, life seldom was. Anger, sadness, and exhaustion battled within her as she pushed herself shakily to her feet.

Venus, who was standing nearby with one arm thrown over Mercury's shoulders, reached out with her free hand to grip her elbow and steady her. "Are you okay, Serena?"

Sailor Moon shook her head. "Honestly? No, I'm not. I thought things might be starting to turn around, but now they are more screwed up than ever. I'm angry, upset, and tired, and I just want to go home and go to bed for now."

Venus nodded in sympathy. "I understand."

"Well, come on then, girl," Jupiter chirped, trying to sound upbeat. "We can be back at your house in just a few minutes. Do you want to piggyback?"

Golden pigtails whipped back and forth in a negative reply. "No offense, I love you guys a lot, but I just want to be alone right now. Okay?"

"Oh! But…" Mercury began to protest.

"Please," Sailor Moon stopped her. "Everything in my head is mixed up right now and I need some time on my own to think. I'm sure Beryl has done her worst for now, and I doubt she'll be pulling anything else tonight. So we should all go home and rest. We're going to need it before this is all said and done. And I don't want any of you following me home. I'm begging you, Mina, don't overrule me on this." Then she turned and left before any of them could say anything.

It was quiet for several moments before Jupiter broke the silence. "What do you want me to do, Mina? Just give me the word and I'll be on her like cheese on nachos."

Venus shook her head sadly. "Let her be for now. She's grieving over this latest loss pretty heavily. So if she wants some alone time we'll give it to her. Like she said, I don't think we have anything else to worry about out of the Dark Kingdom tonight. Let her have her space for now. The poor girl is all messed up and needs some space. She'll come around when she's ready."

"I sure hope she does," Mercury muttered. "The amount of stress and emotional turmoil that Serena has been under lately could have a major impact on her logical thought process. And…" her voice faded away as she saw the way her fellow scouts were looking at her. "Never mind. You guys don't want to hear all of my medical mumbo jumbo."

Mars patted her on the arm. "It's not that we don't appreciate your knowledge, Amy. But you lose us when you go off on one of your rants. We can't all be super geniuses."

Venus groaned. "I'm with Serena on this. I just want to get home and go to bed. It'll be hard to sleep with this fuku on though. I have a hard enough time with wedgies as it is when I'm wearing this thing. I bet it will crawl all up in my business while I'm trying to sleep."

Jupiter snorted. "That's what you get for trying to play _Kung Fu Mina _all on your own. You wouldn't have gotten hurt if you hadn't decided to take on General Creep-o by yourself."

Venus sniffed disdainfully. "I didn't hear you giving Raye such a hard time after she fought that walking blowtorch, Jadeite. And she didn't exactly come out of that little experience unscratched."

"Hey! Don't pull me into this!" Mars fumed.

"Ladies!" Mercury raised her voice slightly to be heard. "Do you think we can continue this somewhere else? Holding Mina up is a little tiring and we need to clear out of here so I can call this attack in to emergency services and get some help for the people."

Venus shivered. "I almost don't want to go home now. Artemis is going to give me hell for this when he finds out."

"Aw, it'll be okay," Jupiter drawled as she took the blonde's other arm and draped it over her shoulders. "We'll come with you and help you smooth over things with Captain Kitty."

"Aren't you going to offer me a piggyback ride?" Venus pouted. "You offered one to Serena."

"Yeah right!" Jupiter scoffed. "Serena is the size of a ten year old and doesn't weigh any more than a feather."

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Venus shrieked.

Jupiter grinned. "Nope. But I don't want to carry you anymore than I would want to carry Shields. I'm no weakling, but I do value my spine. I'm not going to end up like some hunched over old lady before my time."

Venus's pout grew. "You're so mean!"

* * *

While the scouts were bickering and teasing each other all the way back to Mina's house, Sailor Moon was slipping back through her bedroom window. She let her transformation fade and stood in the middle of her room in a daze, thinking about everything that had happened tonight.

"Serena," Luna spoke softly from where she was curled up at the foot of the bed. "Is everything okay?"

Serena turned to look at her advisor through blurry eyes that had begun to tear once more. She shook her head, "No, Luna. Everything is horrible! Nothing ever goes right for me, does it?"

Then she threw herself onto the bed and buried her head under the pillow, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, and burst into deep, gut wrenching sobs.

Alarmed at her mistress's outburst, Luna crawled up the bed to nudge Serena's arm with her head. "There now, Serena. I know everything seems bad right now, but things will look up soon. We just have to keep up hope. There's always a silver lining to every cloud."

"Oh! Just leave me alone right now, Luna!" came Serena's muffled cry. "I don't feel very hopeful at the moment. I'm tired of always trying to stay strong. For once, I just want to cry and cry until I'm all cried out. And then I want to cry some more! I am sick down to my very soul! So maybe, if I cry out all the tears in my body, I won't feel this way anymore!"

Luna reeled back in shock. Sure, Serena had her down moments from time to time, especially in the last week or so since Darien had been taken by Beryl. But never had she ever heard the normally bubbly and cheerful girl sound so defeated, and it alarmed the feline immensely. This feeling couldn't be healthy for the reincarnated princess.

"Serena, I hate seeing you like this. What happened tonight?" she insisted gently.

A fresh round of muffled wails came from the depths of the pillow. "I don't want to talk about it! I just want to be left alone!"

Luna drew up what dignity she could and flounced back to the foot of the bed where she curled up into a tight ball. Briefly, she considered scurrying out the window and dashing to Mina's house to see if Artemis had any insight as to why Serena was acting like this. But no matter how much Serena claimed she wanted to be left alone, she couldn't abandon her princess at a time like this. So she remained in that spot through the rest of the dark hours, unsleeping as she listened to Serena cry until the sun came up.

Once her tears were finally spent, Serena rolled over to stare blindly at the ceiling with dry, swollen, and burning eyes. She laid there for hours, not moving or speaking, except to tell her mother that she was sick when Ilene came in to check on her late that morning and that she didn't want any visitors.

She finally moved from the bed when she heard Raye and Lita's voices through the cracked window as they came up the front walk, but it was only to close and lock the window and pull the curtains closed. Then she stumbled into the bathroom like a zombie.

Luna watched her in concerned silence, hoping that maybe Ilene would go against Serena's wishes and let Raye and Lita come up. The old saying that curiosity killed the cat did have some merit after all, and she was dying to know what was going on. But the minutes passed and no one showed up.

If it was nighttime, she knew the girls would transform and come to the window to check on Serena after being told that she was sick. But it was a bright, sunny Sunday. And although it was still a little brisk outside, it was unseasonably warm for mid-February, and people in the neighborhood were out puttering in their yards while the children rode bikes and played games. Someone would notice if two sailor scouts were hanging outside a window.

Serena's cell phone began ringing on her bedside table, and Luna ran over to check the caller id. Raye's name flashed on the screen, and the feline cursed under her breath that she lacked opposable thumbs that would allow her to open the phone and answer it. It stopped ringing after a few moments, and then a muted beeping noise filled the air.

Luna dove into the tangle of tousled blankets, searching for the source. Serena must have lost her communicator in the bed sometime during the night. She may not be able to answer the phone, but she could work the communicator. All she had to do was press a button.

The beeping grew louder, so she knew she was getting close. She had just spied the flashing, pink, calculator sized object when she felt herself being lifted from the bed.

Serena had come back into the room without her noticing, and now held her in her arms. She reached for the communicator…and then pitched both it and her cell phone into a drawer in the nightstand and closed it tightly.

"Serena!" Luna admonished her brusquely. "I know you are going through a rough patch here, but you can't ignore the other scouts. What if there is an attack?"

"There is no attack," Serena croaked. "They're just checking up on me. I know they're worried, but I just don't want to talk to anyone right now."

Luna shook her head. "It's not good for you to shut yourself up like this."

Serena sighed and set the cat back on the bed. "Everybody needs some time alone every now and then to think, Luna. I'll talk to the girls later after I've straightened things out in my head."

She sank wearily onto the mattress and curled up on her side as she pulled the covers over her. She was way past the point of exhaustion after her sleepless and emotionally draining night, and she drifted off to sleep after only a few minutes.

But her rest was anything but peaceful, and she tossed and turned fitfully in her sleep, twisting her sheets around her as she sweated feverishly. Luna attempted to wake her when she began whimpering Darien's name, but she was too deeply asleep. Nor did she wake when Ilene came into the room and placed a cool rag on her warm brow.

Luna, however, took advantage of the open door and scurried out. She hated to leave Serena, but she needed to find the others and find out what had happened to send Serena spiraling into such a depression. She ran into the kitchen and scratched at the back door.

Ken Tsukino looked up from the newspaper he had spread out on the counter. "Oh! Do you need to go out, kitty?"

"Meow!" she mewed urgently.

He chuckled as he rounded the counter. "I guess you got tired of playing nursemaid to Serena, huh? I don't blame you. I hate the thought of her being sick too." He opened the door. "Well, there you go."

Luna shot through the door and then scrambled over the gate like a pack of stray dogs was on her tail.

Ken shook his head and laughed. "What a funny animal! You'd think she actually had somewhere important to go."

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Beryl staggered drunkenly to her feet and looked down at the now peacefully sleeping prince. It had taken hours and hours of nonstop work and a massive amount of energy, but she had finally succeeded in completely brainwashing him. She had been careful this time, making sure that she locked away every memory and thought that he'd ever had in either one of his lives. He wouldn't know who Serenity was if she walked right up to him. And she seriously doubted that cleansing from the Silver Crystal would heal him this time…unless Serenity was willing to trade her life for his. Beryl had doubled, and then tripled the memory blocks in Endymion's mind, and it would take the full power of the Silver Crystal to heal him now, which would mean death for the moon princess.

Endymion was hers now, to mold and fashion however she wanted. He would be a strong king, worthy to stand by her side as she ruled, but not too powerful. She had taken the time to examine the powers her prince already possessed this go around, and had been shocked to find that he was already much more stronger than she had given him credit for. If she didn't know better, she would almost think that he had possession of the Golden Crystal after all. But the Golden Crystal of the royal family of Earth had been lost when the palace had been conquered and the then reigning king, Endymion's father, had been killed.

In spite of that, Endymion's reincarnation seemed to have a large amount of the Earth's golden energy inside of him, which would explain why he had become so powerfully out of control the first time she had tried to convert him. So she made sure to not infuse him with too much negative energy this time. She only gave him enough to augment his existing abilities to her own needs.

Metallia's inky black mass swirled through the orange solution in the pulsating gourd behind her. "Are you happy now, Beryl?" her voice hissed.

Beryl pushed long strands of her flame colored hair away from her sweaty face. "Yes. I left no room for error this time. His mind still fought against my control, but unlike before I was ready for him. I was able to keep his mind from fracturing once more, so there will be no multiple personalities warring within him. He is one person, and he is mine. He will know allegiance to no other but me."

"And now that you have your coveted prize, perhaps you will be willing to turn your mind back to our chief objective," Metallia sneered. "It is only a matter of time before the moon princess and the sailor scouts come for us. Those little nuisances must be dealt with and the Silver Crystal captured if we have any hope of conquering this planet."

"They will be taken care of," Beryl snapped. "They are disorganized at the moment. Serenity is emotionally unbalanced and Venus is injured. I was thinking that I might send Kunzite out with a few youma to rattle the remaining scouts. They will be lost without their pitiful princess or their foolish captain. But for now I must rest and regain my strength. Endymion will sleep for hours after this conversion, and I want to be ready to greet him when he wakes."

Metallia's voice boomed like thunder. "I don't care what you do with the prince! Just don't lose sight of your mission!"

Beryl bowed her head submissively. "Of course, oh great one. Soon this unpleasantness with those brats from the moon kingdom will be over and I will be where I was born to be, sitting on my throne as the queen of Earth. It should be a simple matter now that I have Endymion completely on my side. I believe he will be of great help to us. And I still have Kunzite as well."

"We shall see," Metallia replied in an unconvinced tone. "So far I haven't seen that you have accomplished anything except throwing temper tantrums and getting our army decimated by those girls. I expect more out of you in the future. Now leave me."

"As you wish, great leader." Beryl straightened up. She waved a hand and Endymion's body disappeared as she teleported him to his quarters to sleep off the effects of her magic. She had been tempted to send him straight to her bed, but the thought of him waking up before her and seeing her rumpled from sleep horrified her. First impressions were very important, and she refused to greet her prince in his new persona looking anything other than fabulous.

She wearily climbed the stairs up from Metallia's chamber to her throne room. She pulled up short and glared at the man draped across her throne like he belonged there. "Still pouting, Kunzite?"

Platinum eyebrows arched above narrowed gray eyes. "I have better things to do with my time than pout. I am a man of action."

Beryl snorted. "Yes. I can see that. What are you doing lounging across my throne like that? This is not a common room where you can just lay yourself around wherever you wish."

Kunzite smirked at her, but made no move to rise. "Well somebody is in fine form. What's wrong? Did your time with your prince not go as smoothly as you would have liked?"

"You forget your place, Kunzite!" she snarled. "Remember that I am the one that calls the shots around here. But for your information, Endymion's conversion was a success. Soon he will be able to assist us in our mission."

"We don't need his help!" he growled. "I am perfectly capable of getting the crystal from Serenity. And I don't want him getting in my way."

It was Beryl's turn to smirk. "Is that jealousy I hear in your voice, Kunzite?"

His eyes hardened like flint. "No. I just don't want him interfering. If your latest brainwashing of him is as effective as you are hoping, then he will be going after all of the scouts equally. And Venus is mine! I will take care of her personally."

"Such passion!" Beryl drawled sarcastically. "You didn't seem quite so cavalier when you first returned after your little showdown with her earlier. If memory serves me right, you were covered in cuts and bruises and had a gaping hole in your shoulder. So it appears to me that you came out of the fight with your precious Aphrodite in almost as bad of shape as she was."

His expression turned humorous. "There's nothing wrong with her having a little fight in her. It makes things more exciting. I'm sure you're not expecting Endymion to just lay down and accept all of your commands like a trained dog, are you?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. That would make him dull and boring. He will, however, be completely devoted to me and our cause, but he will retain the mental capacity to form his own opinions. I prefer a little spice in my relationships as well. But he will be working with us, Kunzite, so you better start getting over your aversion to him. He is your future king."

"Whatever!" he muttered as he rolled his eyes. "So what is our next move?"

Beryl strode toward the door. "Well I, for one, am going to retire for a while. Converting Endymion has exhausted me, and I need to rest."

Kunzite growled low in his throat. "So what am I supposed to do while you're off catching up on your beauty sleep, sit around and twiddle my thumbs?"

She turned to look at him archly over her shoulder. "Well, if you feel such an overwhelming need to do something, I suppose you can take some youma and have some fun with Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury. I was going to wait until later to do this, but I wouldn't want you expiring from boredom. They may not prove to be much of a challenge to you though, since Venus is out of commission and Serenity is only inches away from having a nervous breakdown. I'll leave the choice up to you."

He swung his feet to the floor. "Anything is better than sitting here and doing nothing." He walked toward her and paused to chuck her under the chin. "Who knows, maybe our luck will change and I'll get to kill all three of those annoying brats."

Beryl jerked her head away. "Do not be condescending to me, Kunzite! If you want to go pick a fight with the sailor scouts, then go! But do not forget that I am the one that holds your very life in my hands. Your assistance is wanted, but not needed. And if you continue with this disrespectful attitude toward me I will send you to join Jadeite, Nephrite, and Zoicite with just a snap of my fingers! Remember that!"

Kunzite bit back a scathing retort and bowed deeply, though it rankled him to do so. "My most humble apologies for angering you, my most benevolent queen."

This seemed to smooth Beryl's ruffled feathers. "Very well, my dear general. I'll leave everything to you."

He waited until she had swept from the room before muttering, "Disgusting whore! I hope Endymion slits her throat while she sleeps."

* * *

Raye closed her cell phone with a sigh. "She's still not answering. I'm really worried, you guys. It's not like Serena to close herself off like this."

"I'm sure she's okay," Mina replied as she came out of her bathroom, wrapped in a towel. She clutched her side painfully as she reached for the henshin wand on her vanity table. She murmured, "Venus Power!" and golden stars erupted around her as she transformed.

She hobbled to the bed, holding herself stiffly as she sank down onto to edge of it. She sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "Anyway, I know Serena's acting way off right now, but can you blame the girl? Every time she gets close to getting Darien back Queen Psycho-Bitch drags him back into her claws. I'm surprised that it's taken her this long to have a meltdown." She hissed sharply as she tried to bend over to unbuckle the ankle straps on her orange pumps.

"Sit back before you hurt yourself even more!" Lita scolded her as she stooped down to remove the shoes for her.

"I hate this!" Venus grumbled as she leaned back against the pillows stacked up behind her. "I can't believe I'm still in this much pain after staying transformed all day."

Amy sniffed disdainfully. "Well it was a deep cut. You were just fortunate that nothing vital was damaged. And you've healed a lot today since you kept your transformation up."

Venus's lower lip stuck out. "Yeah, maybe I've healed some. But staying transformed for so long is making me tired!"

"Oh, stop your complaining already!" Raye snapped. "Aren't any of the rest of you concerned about Serena? Okay, so she hasn't exactly been her normal, annoyingly cheerful self lately, but now she's turned into a recluse. It's totally wigging me out."

"Quit bugging so much," Lita scoffed. "I know we're used to Serena being all sunshine and rainbows, but if you remember, even Serenity had her depressed moments in the past."

Amy looked up from the book she was reading. "That is true. I don't recall all of the incidents, but I do remember that one time she locked herself in her chambers and refused to come out after Endymion was unexpectedly summoned home during one of his visits to the moon."

Venus giggled. "Oh yeah! I remember that. Aunt Serenity had to use a key to get in there and then almost dragged Serenity out by her hair when she said she wasn't going to the diplomatic dinner we had that night. That girl was always a little overemotional where Endymion was concerned, and Serena is no different when it comes to Darien. She'll pull out of this funk in a day or two. By then I'll be back in shape and we can go kick Beryl's ass."

Raye nodded. "Speaking of which, have you nailed down a spot for us to teleport to yet, Amy?"

Amy pushed her reading glasses up from where they had slipped down her nose. "Yes. Granted, I wasn't able to pinpoint the precise location of Beryl's base of operations, but if we teleport into the middle of the magnetic field around it we should arrive within a two mile radius of it. I'll be able to pick up more definite readings when we get there."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Lita replied as she settled back on the floor, bracing her back against the side of Mina's bed.

Raye stood from her seat on the vanity table's chair. "I should probably go home and do a reading. I don't know if the fire will be able to tell me anything, but I'm hoping that it can show me any difficulties we might run into."

Venus rolled her eyes. "You know there will be difficulties. We seem to run into them every time we turn around."

The bedroom door squeaked quietly as it was pushed open and Artemis came in, being trailed by a dejected looking Luna.

"Still no luck?" Raye asked, her eyes beginning to snap in frustration.

Luna shook her head slowly. "No. I couldn't even get back into the house. Serena's mom is gone to a charity meeting and her father and Sammy are too wrapped up in their TV and video games to notice me at the door. I went to her window and scratched, but she never answered. I don't know if she's still asleep or if she's ignoring me. I never should have left her alone in the first place, but I needed to know what had happened."

"Don't sweat it, Luna," Lita drawled. "I'm just waiting for the sun to go down some more. As soon as it's dark I'm going to hop over there. I took advantage of Mina's massive kitchen earlier and whipped up a batch of my triple chocolate chunk cookies. Even Serena can't say no to those."

Raye smirked. "Just a few minutes ago you were saying that we should leave her alone to wallow in her misery."

Lita shrugged. "I'm just going to stop by like a good friend should. Besides, she may open up for me. I'm not like a _certain someone _who likes to pick on and make fun of her all the time."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Raye yelled, clenching her fists at her side. "I love Serena just as much as any of you do! She's just so gullible sometimes that it's easy to poke a little fun at her."

Venus sighed. "We all know that, Raye. When it all boils down, you are probably closer to Serena than any of us. For some twisted reason though, you show your affection for her by making fun of her. And for some reason she seems to eat it up, even when she gets angry about it. It almost kinda reminds me of what Serena and Darien's relationship used to be like. Do you guys remember how much she used to blush when Darien would call her Meatball Head?"

Raye flushed brick red. "I do care a lot for the ditz. But it's strictly in a sisterly way. Geez! I don't swing that way. I definitely like men!"

Amy smirked mischievously as she removed her glasses. "By the way, Raye, how is Chad doing?"

Smoke began rising from Raye's tight fists. "I don't like him like that!"

The others broke into giggles at her outburst, but they froze seconds later when a shrill beeping filled the air.

Amy quickly pulled the Mercury computer from her pocket and checked the flashing screen. "I don't believe it! According to these readings there is a youma attack down in the shopping district."

Venus bolted up with a hiss. "Oh snap! And I bet it's crowded with shoppers down there right now because tomorrow's Valentine's Day and people are picking up last minute gifts."

"Leave it to you to keep up with when Valentine's Day is. I've been trying to forget about that," Lita griped as she jumped to her feet. "I guess we better go put a hurting on whatever youma the Dark Kingdom decided to unleash this time." She pulled out her henshin rod and transformed in a rush of lightning.

"Wait up for us!" Raye and Amy both exclaimed as they transformed as well.

The three of them were about to jump out of Mina's window when Venus stopped them. "Hey! Wait! I'm coming with you!" She struggled to get up from the bed.

"Like hell you are!" Mars snapped and rushed over to push the blonde scout back onto the mattress with a hot hand. "You are in no shape to take on a youma right now. So you're going to stay here and let us handle it."

"Bu…but…" Venus sputtered.

"But nothing," Jupiter fired off. "The last thing we need is to be distracted by trying to keep an eye on you. So you're going to keep your prissy little ass parked right there or I'm going to whip out some duct tape and strap you down!"

"Ooo, Lita! I never knew you had such a kinky side," Venus muttered sarcastically, but lay back against her pillows once more. "Fine! I'll stay here. But if you guys need my help you better call me or I'll be pissed."

* * *

The tears kept flowing without pause, no matter how much she tried to hold them back. She dragged in deep shuddering breaths as she buried her head further into the pillow in an attempt to muffle her ragged sobs. She had thought that she had cried herself out hours ago, but then this latest deluge had crashed over her and the floodgates had opened once more.

'_Geez!" How long does it take to cry out all the misery in your soul? I should be as dry as a desert by now!' _Serena thought despairingly.

It had been a miserable day, staying in bed like this. But she had felt so tired and sick that she hadn't been able to muster up the energy to hardly roll over, much less get out of bed. She had slept fitfully. And in between the nightmares of having Darien ripped from her arms over and over and seeing him and the scouts die repeatedly in increasingly bloody and horrifying ways, she had been vaguely aware of the fact that life was continuing outside the four walls of her room.

Her mother had been in several times to check on her and had brought her juice, encouraging her to drink it so that she wouldn't become dehydrated. Serena, not wanting to worry her mother, had done as she asked. But when Ilene had begun fussing needlessly over her, she had put the concerned woman off by saying that she had just picked up a head cold and wanted to sleep it off. Her red, puffy eyes, stuffy nose, and scratchy voice must have convinced her, because Ilene had left her in peace. She had honored Serena's request of no visitors and had even threatened to take Sammy's Xbox away from him when he had started yelling at one of his games and had been causing an obnoxious amount of noise.

Being closeted up in her room hadn't stopped her friends from trying to reach her either. Amy had stopped by, even after Lita and Raye had been turned away before, and muted rings and beeps came from her bedside table drawer where her phone and communicator were in a fairly constant barrage.

She felt bad about avoiding the girls in this way; especially knowing that Mina was injured. She had started to answer the phone just once to make sure that her fellow blonde was okay and recovering from Kunzite's attack the night before. But by the time her hand had finally started obeying the commands of her fuzzy brain, the phone had stopped ringing.

Luna had come to her window and scratched just a little while ago, which had shocked her because she hadn't even realized that the feline had left the room. But she'd heard Artemis's voice outside as well and had been comforted by the thought that Luna was in good hands. It was probably better for her to be with the others anyway instead of hanging around here and being miserable with her.

The truth was, Serena didn't feel worthy to be around any of them. She was a failure at being a princess, a failure at being a sailor scout, and a failure at being a friend. She sucked at this super hero gig and her friends were in constant danger because she didn't have what it takes to defeat the Dark Kingdom. She hadn't even been able to save Darien from them, and he had been counting on her. At the rate she was going, Beryl would be in control of the Earth by the weekend.

"God! I really am pathetic!" she groaned as her sobs subsided and the tears finally slowed to a trickle. She unburied her head and turned it to the side, breathing in the fresher air and feeling the wetness cool on her flushed cheeks.

If a magic genie were to appear and grant her one wish, she knew what it would be. She would ask that time be rewound a few months, to the time before all of this Sailor Moon and Dark Kingdom crap had been started. And then she would want time to be frozen there forever. She could go back to being an innocently naïve teenager again, who worried about nothing but homework, curfews, and which manga she wanted to read next. She would slurp milkshakes by the dozens, blow her allowance on video games at the arcade, hang out with the girls, Drew, Numa, and Koby, argue with Darien…

Yes, she would happily go back to having her daily battles with Darien if it meant that their lives could stay simple, uncomplicated, and Beryl-free. In fact, when she closed her eyes, she could picture it clearly.

_She breezed through the arcade doors, happy as a clam that another eternally long day of school was finally done. She made a beeline for the counter, intending to indulge herself in the largest, most sinfully rich milkshake that Andrew could concoct. She was only a few yards away from her goal when she tripped over absolutely nothing and went sprawling out across the linoleum floor._

_A maddening chuckle filled her ears, and she looked up to glare at Darien, who was sitting in his favorite spot at the end of the counter. _

"_Have a nice trip, Meatball Head?" he asked in a humorously shaking voice._

"_Shut up, you jerk!" she screeched back at him as she scrabbled to grab up her book bag and then picked herself up off the floor with as much dignity as she could muster. She dusted off her blue uniform skirt and then scrambled onto a stool two places away from Darien, who was still grinning at her as he took a sip of his soda. _

"_I'll have a triple chocolate milkshake with extra whipped cream and sprinkles, Drew," she chirped cheerfully to the blonde boy behind the counter._

_Andrew laughed as he picked up a shake glass and began scooping ice cream into it. "What's the matter, Bunny? Has it been that bad of a day?"_

"_She probably flunked another test. That's what she seems to excel at," Darien chortled as he opened his Chemistry book on the counter in front of him._

"_Stuck up, Mr. Know-It-All jerkface!" she muttered under her breath. Then she sighed and leaned her cheek against a hand as she turned her attention back to Andrew. "It's just been a very long day. I didn't think it was ever going to end. And just when I thought I was going to get off easily with the homework tonight, Dragon-lady Haruna decided to assign us two pages of conjugating verbs in English. I swear that woman has it out for me."_

"_She probably thinks you need the extra practice, since you fail every assignment she gives you," Darien replied flippantly, not looking up from his book._

_She spun on her stool and raked him with a livid look. "I wasn't talking to you, Super Nerd! In fact, I don't even remember inviting you into this conversation. Now butt out!"_

_He pulled his reading glasses out of the breast pocket of his school blazer and calmly put them on before returning her glare with an unruffled expression. "I'm just saying if perhaps you paid a bit more attention in class instead of reading manga and daydreaming, you just might learn something."_

"_Well excuse me for not being a stick in the mud like you!" she snapped, sticking her nose up in the air. "Your idea of a good time may be sitting around trying to figure out what x and y equal, but I prefer to have a life. Even Amy takes time off every now and then to have a little fun, and her GPA is just as perfect as yours. So maybe you ought to pull your stupid nose out of your stupid books and try to enjoy your life for once. You only get one life to live, and you'll only be a teenager once. Do you want to look back on your life twenty or thirty years from now when you're going through a mid-life crisis and regret not living life to the fullest?"_

_He rolled his eyes at her and fixed his concentration back on his schoolbook as he grumbled, "Whatever you say, Meatball Head."_

"_Ooo!" she fumed. "I've asked you over and over again to quit calling me that!"_

"_Okay! That's enough out of you two!" Andrew declared as he set a glass of beautiful, chocolately, frozen dairy confection in front of her. "Darien, read your book. Serena, enjoy your shake. Now I'm going to wait on my other customers. And if I hear one more angry or sarcastic peep out of either one of you, I'm going to ban you from here for a month. Is that clear? I am not your maid, and I refuse to have to play clean up after you guys today because you have to crawl up under each other's skin!" _

"_Wow! What crawled up his butt and died?" she mumbled around the straw she had already begun slurping on. She savored the delight of the cold, rich chocolate on her tongue._

_Two seats away, Darien chuckled. "I've often wondered that myself. And I've come to the conclusion that Drew has too much estrogen and not enough testosterone in his system."_

_She turned wide eyes on him. "Are you calling your best friend a woman?"_

_He grinned. "Not exactly. But he does have a bit of a fruity side to him."_

_She grinned back at him. "Well what does that say about you then? You're with him like all the time."_

"_Why, Miss Meatballs! Are you insinuating that something dirty and perverted is going on between me and the guy you claim to love like an older brother?" Darien tried to sound shocked, but his eyes sparkled with laughter._

"_If the shoe fits," she teased. Then she abruptly clamped her mouth shut and turned away from him._

_Darien slid over one stool closer. "Uh oh! What did I do now?"_

"_Nothing," she replied shortly. "I just forgot for a moment that I am supposed to be mad at you."_

_She waited for the inevitable rude comment about how that was normal for her and how the only things she never had trouble remembering were food, video games, and mangas. But after several seconds passed in silence, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and found him watching her intently._

"_What?" she asked a little huffily._

_He crossed his arms and arched a brow in that superior look of his. "So do you want to tell me what you are so depressed about?"_

_She gave her head a shake at this unexpected change of subject. "Depressed? I'm not depressed. Do I look depressed to you?"_

_She picked up her shake to take a big slurp, but his hand shot out to cover hers as he said sternly, "You can't lie to me, or to yourself, Sere. Not even in a fantasy world. You're unraveling at the seams and you know it."_

_She jerked her hand out of his. "Well do you expect me to go around acting like nothing is wrong? For god's sake, Darien! I can't do anything right! Beryl is winning and I feel powerless to stop it. Everyone I love is in danger and the scouts, Luna, and Artemis think that I am the one that can fix it, and I can't! I couldn't stop Mina from getting hurt and I failed to rescue you from Beryl. I'm almost to the point that I think I should just walk into the Dark Kingdom and tell them to take me! It would save everyone a lot of trouble if I did."_

"_That's the way a quitter talks," Darien growled, making her eyes snap up to meet his. "I'm truly surprised, Serena. I never took you for a quitter."_

_She flung her hands in the air. "Well what do you suggest I do then?"_

_He slid over onto the stool right next to her and took both of her hands in his. "Fight, Serena…and win. I know you, and you are not a quitter. I've never known you to give up on anything, and I don't think you're going to start now. Okay, so we've hit some bumps along the way, and you are entitled to feel discouraged. But are you really going to sit back and let Beryl get away with everything she's done? You've had your down moment and indulged in a good cry. Now it's time to get back into the game, Sailor Moon."_

_She shook her head. "I don't know if I can. I'm not sure what she has done to you this time. You may even be dead for all I know. But part of me is afraid that at some point I may have to fight you. And I can't do that!"_

_One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. "That does sound like something she would do. She's already done it before with the generals and scouts. But if it did come down to something like that, I trust you to do what has to be done. I'd rather be dead than be corrupted by that witch, especially if there was a chance of me hurting you. I'd deserve to roast in hell if I harmed one hair on your head."_

_She was horrified at his statement. "I could never kill you! Have you lost your mind?"_

_He pulled her into a tight hug and whispered into her hair. "I didn't mean it like that, Sere. I'm just saying that I hope that you would fight back if I ever did attempt to hurt you. It would kill my soul if something were to happen to you by my hand."_

_She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly, burying her face in his chest as she inhaled deeply. But instead of his unique scent of roses, chocolate, and coffee, she smelled…nothing. She pulled back with a frown._

"_What's wrong?" he asked her hastily._

_Her forehead wrinkled in consternation. "You don't smell like you. Usually you smell like a combination of Starbucks and Godiva in the middle of a rose garden."_

_He chuckled at her. "Well, Sere, that's because this is all taking place inside of your head. It would have to be a pretty lucid dream for all of your senses to be intact."_

"_A dream…?" she murmured._

"_Yep!" he quipped. "And it looks like it's coming to an end too."_

_Her head whipped around to see that he was right. The arcade setting around them had faded away to be replaced by a white mist. She clung to the sleeves of his blazer. "But I don't want this to be over yet! I'd rather stay here forever!"_

_He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. "Alas, princess. All good things must come to an end. And it's time for you to rejoin the land of the living. Do me a favor, okay, and kick Beryl's ass. It's about time she met her match."_

"_But I can't…" she started to protest._

_He placed two fingers over her lips to cut her off. "You can! I know you can. You are the strongest person I know. Do you really want to see this planet taken over by Beryl and everyone you know either killed or forced into slavery?"_

"_Of course not!" she murphled behind his fingers._

_He smiled down at her. "Then pull yourself out of this funk and go do your best. I love you, and I believe in you."_

_Those simple words were enough to shatter the cage of self-loathing that she had locked herself in. She nodded firmly. "You got it!"_

"_That's my girl!" he said approvingly. "Well, I guess I better go. See ya soon." Then he pulled his fingers away from her lips and kissed her gently._

_She smiled as he pulled back a few seconds later. "I'll see you really soon," she told him in a confident tone._

_Then everything faded away_

Serena blinked her eyes open and looked at her clock. An hour had passed since she last looked at it. "Oh man! I must have dozed off," she grumbled as she sat up.

She climbed out of bed and stretched, feeling well rested and more refreshed than she had in days. A tiny smile touched her lips as she thought about the daydream turned real dream she'd just had. Leave it to Darien, even an imaginary one that her mind had created, to be able to help her put things in perspective. Sure, the whole conversation had been a figment of her imagination, but she had no doubt that the real Darien would have told her the exact same thing if he were here for real.

"Okay, enough moping around!" she told herself sternly as she walked over to the window and flung it wide open. The cool, late winter breeze blew in, further refreshing and energizing her.

The sun had set only a few minutes before, and the sky had taken on the deep purple of twilight. The moon was already making its appearance as well, and it hung, almost full, like a creamy pearl on a bed of amethyst velvet. The streetlights had already come on too, and lights glowed in the windows of the nearby houses, giving the entire neighborhood a peaceful, serene atmosphere.

"He was right," she whispered as she leaned forward, bracing one knee atop her window seat. "I can't bear to see this wonderful world being swallowed up by Beryl. I was an idiot to lose sight of the overall picture. It's up to me to do everything in my power to try to get rid of that witch once and for all. The unhappiness I'm feeling now is nothing compared to what I would feel if everyone I loved was under Beryl's control. Mom, dad…Sammy would probably have his smart mouthed tongue cut out within five minutes, if he wasn't just right out killed…Drew, Molly, Melvin, Numa, Koby…I can't turn my backs on them."

Her mind made up, she whirled for her closet and snatched the first shirt and pair of jeans her hands landed on. Then she whipped open dresser drawers to get clean socks and underclothes before racing into the bathroom and banging the door behind her.

Moving at a speed that would definitely tip off someone that she wasn't exactly a normal human if they saw her, she whipped off her nightgown and did a quick wash up before shimmying into her clothes. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, but didn't bother with any make up. A quick peek in the mirror showed that she didn't need it anyway. A healthy pink tone had returned to her previously pale skin and her eyes sparkled like crystal blue lakes.

She ran back into her room and grabbed her brush to pull it through her golden strands. In record time, she had her hair finished and up in its usual style. She jammed her feet into a pair of tennis shoes and grabbed a jacket from the back of her desk chair. Then she snatched up her brooch, cell phone, and communicator and was ready to go, barely five minutes after she had decided to leave.

As she flew down the stairs, she thanked her lucky stars that her mother was out for the evening. Ilene would definitely have a problem with her leaving the house after she had been supposedly sick in bed all day, but Ken was a different story.

At least that was what she thought as she passed the living room door and called out, "Hey, dad, I've got to leave out for a little bit," and was brought up short by her father saying, "Hold it right there, young lady!"

She paused with her hand on the front door's knob and turned to look over her shoulder at her father as he walked into the entry hall. A frown turned his lips down.

"Just where do you think you're going?" he asked in a low tone.

Serena thought quickly. "To Mina's. I left my History book over there and I need to get it."

Ken sighed and shoved his fingers through his brown hair. "I don't know, Serena. You've been down for the count all day. Can't you wait and just it in the morning?"

Serena put on her best _'Please, Daddy!' _pout, the one that she knew he couldn't deny, and turned around to face him with her hands clasped pleadingly at her chest. She made her eyes wide and innocent looking as she cajoled him. "But Daddy, I have a test tomorrow, and I really want to go over the chapter again. It's a really big test and I want to do good on it."

For one long moment he stared at her sternly, and she was afraid that for once he hadn't fallen for her sweet and innocent act. Then he pushed away from the doorframe and walked to her to place a hand on her forehead.

"Hmm…" he muttered. "You don't feel like you have a fever." Then he studied her face closely. "And you do look much better than I've seen you in days." He smiled at her. "Okay, go get your book. I don't want to interfere with your schoolwork since you're actually showing an interest in it. But try not to stay out too long, all right."

"Thank you, daddy!" she squealed and threw her arms around his neck to give him a big hug. Then she placed a big, smacking kiss on his cheek.

Ken waved her off. "Okay, silly Bunny! Off you go! I just hope your mother doesn't string us both up for this."

"You're the best dad ever!" Serena giggled as she slipped out the front door and jogged down the walk. When she hit the sidewalk she turned in the direction of Mina's house.

"The first thing to do is to check on Mina," she told herself as she set off briskly. "If I'm lucky the other girls will be there too. I really need to apologize to all of them for acting like a spoiled rotten brat. Raye will probably read me the riot act, but I'll take it. I deserve it this time anyway."

As she reached the block before the arcade, she turned left to take the most direct route to Mina's. If she had time after talking to the girls she would pop in at the Crown and visit with Andrew. Her stomach was still feeling a little squirrelly; so she'd probably pass on the milkshake, but Andrew had been one of her closest friends her whole life. He had been so caring and supportive of her since Darien had been taken, despite the fact that he was also feeling the pang of loss over his close friend's abduction. So perhaps it would brighten his night if he saw her determined and focused on her mission once more.

She reached the corner of Mina's street and turned down it, still moving at a brisk pace. The thought of being with her fellow scouts, the girls that were as close as sisters to her, filled her with warmth and a sense of belonging. And she was ready to rejoin them.

She was still a half a block away from Mina's house when a foreboding feeling skittered down her spine like ice cubes. It was a feeling that she had become very much accustomed to in the past few months. There was youma activity nearby.

She began running toward Mina's house with purpose. She was almost there when she saw Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury rush out onto the small balcony outside Mina's room and jump away, traveling over rooftops toward the business district.

Her first instinct was to transform and follow them, and she did duck behind a tree to transform. But she decided to take the time to jump up onto Mina's balcony and looked inside.

Sailor Venus was sitting on the edge of the bed, struggling to put her shoes on while both a black and a white cat fussed at her.

"Mina, don't," Luna was saying in a brisk tone.

Artemis actually had one of her orange pumps in his teeth and was trying to pull it from her hand. "You're not going anywhere," he complained around the mouthful of leather.

"They may need my help," Venus insisted as she yanked the shoe from him. She gasped and grabbed her side for a moment, and then bent over to slide it onto her foot.

Artemis bristled. "You're being stubborn!"

"Maybe I am!" she snapped back. "But I'm not going to forsake my duty. It will probably take all of us to take out whatever the Dark Kingdom has sent out this time since Serena is out of commission at the moment."

Sailor Moon smirked and decided to announce her presence. "Who says I'm out of commission?"

Venus jerked around with a hiss. "Serena!"

Sailor Moon strolled in from the balcony. "The one and only. Who else were you expecting, Peter Pan?"

Venus huffed a breath. "You scared the life out of me!"

"Consider it payback for the scare you gave me last night," Sailor Moon replied with a smirk.

"Ha! Ha!" Venus intoned dryly. "Your sense of humor can be as dull as Raye's sometimes."

Sailor Moon just rolled her eyes. "Speaking of Raye, I better go after her, Lita, and Amy. They may need my help."

Venus eyed her sharply. "Are you sure you can handle it?"

"I'm sure," Sailor Moon reassured her with a nod. "I know I've been acting like a major kook today, and I apologize for that. I just needed some time to get some things out of my system and do a little soul searching. I'm fine now and I know what I have to do."

"Well I'm glad to hear it," Venus said as she stood slowly. "I guess we both went a little cuckoo last night. Hmph! Men! Who needs them? At least that's what Raye and Lita would say. Well, come on, girlfriend! Let's get moving so we can see what's going on now."

"Oh no you don't!" Sailor Moon told her firmly. "The only place you're going is right back into that bed. And I don't want to see you out of it until at least tomorrow morning. And even then I don't want you up unless you have healed enough so that you can move with flinching every five seconds."

"Quite right!" Luna murmured approvingly.

Artemis's head bobbed rapidly. "That's exactly what I said, but she never listens to me. She's too stubborn for her own good sometimes."

"That's only because you never say anything worth listening to!" Venus snapped back. Then she looked at her princess seriously. "If you're going, then I'm going. Some of you may think I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid. I know that I'm in no condition to fight physically, but that doesn't mean I can't pop of a Crescent Beam or two if we need them."

Sailor Moon shook her head. "Mina, I don't know about this."

Venus tossed her head defiantly. "I'll just follow you if you go without me."

"I could stop you!" Sailor Moon fired back. "I could order you to stay here."

Venus shrugged. "You could, but I could override the order. It's my right to do that if I feel that you are in a dangerous situation, and a youma fight definitely qualifies as that in my book. Besides, I don't think you'll do it anyway. You never did like issuing orders, even in the past. Also, I'm a part of this team. And we need to work together as a team if we want to have a hope of ending Beryl's crap."

Sailor Moon glared at her for several long moments before her expression melted into one of understanding. She huffed a quiet laugh as she replied, "Oh, okay! I just hope you can keep up, because I am not carrying you. And when the other girls get mad I'm going to tell them that it was all your idea."

"It was all my idea," Venus cackled evilly. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

As the two blonde scouts exited the glass doors and jumped away, Luna shook her head and sighed. "I give up on those two! They are just as mischievous and troublesome as they were in the Silver Millennium."

"Tell me about it!" Artemis groaned as he jumped up onto Mina's bed to curl up and anxiously await his mistress's return. "Now I see why some cats get addicted to catnip. It must be nice to have something to take the edge off every now and then. Maybe I should take up that habit."

"Artemis!" Luna shrieked reprovingly as she jumped up next to him.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" he placated her quickly. "I was just saying. I just hope Selene and Aphrodite can grant us with the strength to deal with those two featherbrained blondes."

"I agree with you on that," Luna said as she curled up next to him to join him in the vigil. "I completely agree with you."

* * *

**A/N **Whew! Done! I still can't believe I got this typed up as quickly as I did. I can barely feel my fingers anymore! Oh well, it's worth it to get this out to those of you that are still reading. I'm sure you can tell that this story will be wrapping up soon. I was actually hoping to have it completed by the end of the year, and obviously that won't be happening. But the completion of this story won't be a sad thing, because _What If _will then be getting its glamorous makeover, which will hopefully post fairly quickly since I'm keeping the majority of the story the same, just with some extra scenes and tweaking the storyline for continuity. Then it will be time for season 3, _Stolen Hearts_. And that's not counting about a dozen other stories that I have started and hope to someday post. Anyhoo, I'm sure you've heard enough rambling from me. Lots of love and hugs to all of you! And above all, be safe in all of this holiday madness! Later gators!

~Sere~


	29. Plushies Attack and an Epic Journey

**A/N **Yes! This story is alive! LOL! Sorry about the wait. I actually planned on trying to get this out over the weekend, but I've got this darn head cold that just won't leave me alone. Needless to say, I apologize in advance if I made any glaring editing mistakes or if parts of this chapter seem a little…out there. I fully admit that I am under the influence of antihistamines and decongestants, so therefore I am not completely in control of my actions. With that being said, let me get out my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**BostonBill**

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A thousand hugs to all of you for your wonderfully inspiring reviews. And to those of you that have hunted me down on Facebook (info is on my profile if anyone else wants to become my friend :) ), I know I've been out of pocket for a few days, but I have still enjoyed the messages that I've gotten and have tried to reply back to most. That page has been purely inspirational to me. I can't believe that I waited so long to do it. I feel like I'm really getting to know some of you readers better, and that helps me a lot when writing because I kind of get a feel for what you guys like to see. Okay, enough babbling from the blonde! It's reading time! (LOL! I told you guys that I wasn't in my right mind!)

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 28

Plushies Attack and an Epic Journey

* * *

"Oof! Do either one of you find this situation to be just the slightest bit abnormal?" Mars grouched as she ducked to take cover behind a sales counter.

Jupiter glowered at her as she swiped at a brown smear on her cheek. "Do we think it's _abnormal_? Nothing about our lives has been normal for the past two months. So no, I find this to be just another ordinary night in my book."

Mars rolled her eyes. "Nice sarcasm, Lita."

"Just keeping it real," Jupiter sneered with a grin. Then she grimaced at the brown stickiness that now coated her usually white glove. "Ugh! Did you have to melt the chocolate, Raye? Now this crap is all over me."

"Some thanks I get!" Mars snorted. "How was I supposed to know that it was candy those demented little things were throwing at us? I saw something flying through the air, and I reacted. Sorry!"

"Would you two pipe down for a minute! You're making more noise than Serena and Mina would if they were here," Mercury snapped, not looking up from her computer. "Now if I could just find a weak spot on the youma, we should be able to take it out. Hopefully that will get rid of our little _friends _as well."

The _friends _that Mercury spoke of actually happened to be an army of Valentine Day-themed stuffed animals that, although appeared cute at first, were actually vicious little fiends.

The three scouts hadn't been surprised when they had followed the signal on Mercury's computer to find the usual buxom, scantily clothed youma terrorizing the staff and customers at a card and gift shop as she sucked the energy from them. What had taken them by surprise, however, had come when they had burst into the shop to confront the youma and to help protect the people. Mercury had quickly herded the people who were still conscious out a back exit while Jupiter and Mars had kept the youma distracted.

She'd seemed like one of Beryl's typical flunkies, if there were such a thing as an ordinary youma, until she'd used a wave of negative energy to animate the pile of stuffed animals near her and sicced them on the scouts. The good news was that they couldn't use energy attacks. The bad news was that there were a lot of them, and they were fast.

"These little bastards are really starting to get on my nerves," Jupiter snarled as a chocolate covered strawberry bounced off the top of the counter and fell to hit her in the head. She batted it away. "I mean come on! Throwing candy? Is that the best the Dark Kingdom can come up with?"

Mars smirked. "Are you really that surprised? This is Beryl we're talking about. That dried up hag is not exactly the brightest light bulb in the bunch."

Even Mercury had to snicker at that. "So true. It would indeed take a dimwitted person to be stupid enough to not only play around with black magic, but to release an evil entity as well."

"And all over a man!" Jupiter snorted. "Don't get me wrong, Darien is one of the better members of the male species, just like he was when he was Endymion. And I know that Serena is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs about him. But still!"

"I agree," Mars seconded. Then she popped her head up over the counter for a second, only to duck back down quickly as a rectangular piece of cardboard whizzed by just inches from her face. "Holy crap! Now they're flinging greeting cards at us! That could have given me a massive paper cut. C'mon Amy, please tell me that you've got a clue about how to get us out of this. Can't I just light the squishy little things up?"

Mercury gave her a droll look. "Oh, sure you could…if you want to bring the entire building crashing and burning down around us. I can just see it now, flaming little fuzz balls running everywhere. This place is so full of paper I bet it would go up faster than a New Year's firework."

"Ha ha!" Mars deadpanned. "So what do you suggest we do then, Miss Super Genius?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Mercury mumbled as she gnawed on her bottom lip. "I must admit that I haven't been able to pinpoint any specific weak spots on the youma. But that could just mean that she is vulnerable to any attacks. Then there's the tiny little problem of trying to get near her with all of her plushy protectors running around. And as I pointed out before, we are in a highly flammable location, so I wouldn't advise either you or Jupiter to use your attacks until you're right up on her. I can try to freeze some of the stuffed animals with my bubbles, but my attack is not the quickest, and those little guys are fast."

Jupiter growled as she snuck a quick peek around the counter to glare at the youma near the back of the store. She wondered briefly if Beryl had created this youma to be a clone of herself. The demon woman, who was wearing what could barely pass as a skintight, black leather slip, was definitely a red head, although her hair was a much deeper and prettier shade of red than the dark queen's garishly bright locks. The youma's hair also fell around her in smooth, rippling waves, while Beryl's was always snarled and looked like it needed a good brushing.

Yep, the youma was definitely better looking than Beryl, in spite of her pale blue, dead looking complexion and glowing red eyes. Currently, she was seated on a glass display case that held a few pieces of jewelry and other small trinkets where she alternated between studying her long, black painted fingernails and watching fondly as her little demon spawns ran around the shop, smashing and breaking everything they touched.

Jupiter yelped and jerked her head back as one of the demented plushies, a stuffed bunny, of all things, that unsurprisingly reminded her of Serena, caught her peeping and sent a porcelain knick-knack of some kind zooming at her head. It shattered against the wood of the counter and shards sprayed out in all directions. The bunny's stitched-on smile remained bright and innocent as it hopped onto a shelf to find its next victim.

"I'm starting to think that we should have let Mina come with us after all," the green suited scout muttered petulantly as she flicked a piece of the broken porcelain off of her skirt and saw that it was pink and had the words _'Be Mine' _painted on it in curly letters. "Isn't all this mushy, lovey-dovey crap supposed to be right up her alley?"

Mercury looked horrified. "We couldn't have asked her to come! That wouldn't have been decent at all! Granted, she has healed quite a bit, but she still has a pretty nasty gash in her side."

Mars rolled her eyes. "I know she wouldn't be much help in a physical fight, but Lita's got a point. Her Crescent Beam would be useful right about now. Better than that, we should have gone to Serena's house and dragged her out by her pigtails. I don't care if she is sulking! I bet she could end all of this in a second with her Twilight Flash or the wand."

"Well bitching about it isn't going to help us! And I don't feel like getting stuck here all night!" Jupiter snapped. "I say we just rush out and meet them head on. They may be annoying as hell, but they're only toys. Amy, you try to freeze as many of them as you can and try to keep them off of us. Raye, you and I will concentrate on the youma."

"Sounds good to me," Mars replied, cracking her knuckles. "Anything's better than just sitting here."

Mercury tucked her computer away, and then flicked her earring to retract her visor. "That is probably the best solution, I suppose. I would prefer to have things a bit more organized though."

Jupiter flapped a hand at her. "Organized, schmorganized! Who cares as long as we kick some ass and get it over with. If we get this knocked out quick enough, I just might have time to get home in time to try out that new cake recipe I've been dying to make."

Mars smirked at the still hesitant looking ice scout. "And besides, Amy, weren't you just saying earlier that you wanted to go over your notes for like the billionth time for the Biology test we have tomorrow?"

The blue clad scout's eyes widened in anxiety. "Oh my god! I almost completely forgot about the test! You're right! We need to get this wrapped up as quickly as possible!"

Jupiter exchanged a knowing grin with Mars as she silently congratulated her fellow scout for finding the correct motivation for their study-holic friend. They both knew that Amy was in no danger of making anything less than a perfect score on their upcoming test, even if she never cracked open a book or glanced at her notes. But if there was one thing that Amy took just as seriously as her scout duties, it was test taking.

"Let's do it to it!" Jupiter announced as she stood up abruptly and launched herself over the countertop into the throng. Mars and Mercury were right on her tail. "Take that…and that!" she growled as she punted two of the stuffed animals across the store as they rushed her. The first one was what was supposed to be a cuddly panda bear, while the other was a rather cute looking frog with a red heart stitched on it's chest. Then something landed on her shoulders, and she caught a glimpse of the demented bunny from earlier just before its ears suddenly quadrupled in length and wrapped around her head.

"What the hell!" she exclaimed as she found her vision suddenly cut off. She grabbed the fuzzy appendages and began yanking roughly, but they didn't budge. These sure didn't feel like stuffed bunny ears to her.

"Jupiter!" Mars cried as she saw the predicament her friend was in and rushed to help her. But she'd only taken two steps before she tripped and fell to the floor. Looking down, she saw the little red devil that had wrapped itself around her leg.

"Why you…" she snarled as she reached down to pluck the behorned toy up in her hand. She didn't care how dangerous it was to use fire inside the building, she was going to roast its stuffing! At least that was what she thought until the devil brought its little pitchfork down and stabbed her in the arm.

She let out a cry and dropped him as she felt an unexpected sting. That pitchfork was just a stuffed part of the toy. She shouldn't have felt anything from it. But as she stared at her gloved arm in shock, three tiny pinpricks of red appeared on the white material. What in the world was going on? The devil cackled as he dashed into the chaos around them and disappeared. Wait just a minute! He cackled?

"Mercury! What's going on? These things feel real! And I swear I just got laughed at by a twelve inch tall replica of Satan!" she yelled to the blue haired scout who was about a dozen feet away.

"Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!" Mercury squealed as she froze her sixth or seventh toy inside an icy bubble. It appeared to be just an ordinary brown teddy bear, until it opened its mouth just a second before it froze solid to reveal a mouthful of gleaming teeth…real teeth. And the claws on its paws looked far too sharp and lethal to be made out of felt.

"Uh oh!" she muttered. This was not good at all. "Um, guys, I think these toys are starting to become real."

"Oh, that's just great!" Jupiter growled as she finally managed to wrestle the strangling bunny from her head so she could see and breathe. She held the struggling toy out in front of her as electricity crackled up and down her arms. The fuzzy bunny shrieked as it began smoking, and then it burst into flames. She dropped it to the floor and stomped out the smoldering remains so it wouldn't send the rest of the place up in a fiery whoosh.

A throaty laugh came from the youma as she looked up from examining her manicure. When she spoke, her voice came out just as smooth as honey. "Oh! I see you little girls have figured out the secret to my darlings. Yes, they will continue to evolve and become even more life-like the longer they are animated. True, they may be small. But as you have seen, they are quite effective despite their size."

Mars, always the hot tempered one, was quick to snap, "Just who the hell do you think you're calling _little girls_, you dark kingdom bitch? At least we stand up and fight our own battles instead of hiding behind a bunch of toys!"

A snarl rumbled from Jupiter as she nodded in agreement. "That's right! So why don't you come and face us yourself? Unless you're afraid."

The youma merely looked bored as she sighed, "Oh, never fear. I will take care of you three all in good time. But it would be rude of me to deny my precious ones of the opportunity to have some fun. They do enjoy wreaking havoc so."

"Um, guys…" Mercury murmured from behind the two taller scouts. "I think we may have a bit of a problem here."

Jupiter and Mars quickly whirled around to see that why they were distracted by the youma the possessed plushies had managed to surround them.

Smoke curled up from Mars's hands. "We're going to have to let loose on them if we want to have a chance of getting to _her_." She jerked her head in the direction of the simpering youma.

Mercury glanced around at the few people lying on the floor that the youma had managed to drain before they had gotten there. "Oh, but…"

"We'll get them out of here if the building catches fire," Jupiter reassured her. Then she smirked at Mars. "What do you say we turn up the heat?"

"Let's roast them," Mars agreed as tiny flames began dancing at her fingertips.

Just then, the shop lit up in a flash of gold.

"Crescent Beam!"

"Moon Tiara Magic!"

Mars and Jupiter both stopped in mid-attack and watched in amazement as a beam of pure energy plowed its way through half of the stuffed animals, turning them into dust. It was followed only a millisecond later by a spinning golden disc that rocketed through the remaining miniature army, reducing them to nothing as well.

The youma jumped to her feet, glaring at the two blonde scouts that were standing back to back in the shop's entrance. "You two were not supposed to be here!" she shrieked. "Lord Kunzite said that I would only have to deal with these three!"

Sailor Moon grinned as her hand shot out to catch her tiara as it returned to her. "Well maybe you shouldn't trust in what _Lord Kunzite _has to say so much. The sailor scouts are a team, and we always work together." She pushed her tiara back into place on her forehead.

"No…" the youma moaned as she sank to her knees and ran her fingers through a pile of dust that, until a moment before, had been a little stuffed monkey. "My poor little babies. What did those horrible girls do to you?"

Then her head jerked up and her eyes blazed bright red as she glared at Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus. "You vicious little witches! I'll kill you for this!" A ball of dark energy formed in her hands.

The air between the youma and her two targets shimmered as Kunzite appeared. "No!" he demanded harshly. "Kill the others if you can, but Venus is mine!"

Sailor Moon felt a shudder run through Venus at the dark general's appearance, and she lost her temper. "I don't think so, Kunzite! You'll only get your hands on Venus over my dead and rotting corpse!" She raised a hand to place two fingers against her suddenly silver glowing tiara.

The scouts all knew what was coming, and they slammed their eyes shut immediately.

"Moon Twilight Flash!" Sailor Moon cried as silver light erupted from the tiara.

The blinding energy filled the room, vaporizing the shrieking youma and the half dozen or so stuffed animals that were frozen inside of Mercury's bubbles. When the light faded a few seconds later, the scouts blinked their eyes open to find that all of the enemies had been destroyed…except for Kunzite of course.

Sailor Moon wasn't surprised to see the dark general still standing. She knew from past experiences that it took something much stronger than her Twilight Flash to get rid of the youma possessed generals. But she still smirked inwardly when saw his cape smoking slightly as he lowered it from where he had used it to shield his face.

His sharp gray eyes pierced her with his glare. "I suppose you're proud of yourself, hmm, princess? Why do you always insist on being a thorn in my backside?"

She watched in satisfaction as the glittery clouds of energy that the youma had stolen floated through the shop to be reabsorbed by the victims. Then she arched a brow at Kunzite. "I thought you would have learned by now. It is my duty to protect the people of this planet from anything you Dark Kingdom bozos cook up. And as long as I have breath in my body, there is nothing that will stop me from doing that. Your queen is going down, Kunzite. And you can feel free to run back and tell her that for me."

One side of his mouth hitched up in a sinister, almost grin. "I'll be sure to do that. Should I pass on your greetings to Prince Endymion as well? Not that it will make any difference. I doubt that he would know who you are, even if you flung yourself at his feet, after his latest round with Queen Beryl. She can be very _persuasive_, if you know what I mean. In fact, I haven't seen either of them since they went to bed earlier."

Of course he didn't mention the fact that they had retired to separate chambers, or that Endymion had been practically comatose from his latest bout of brainwashing while Beryl had been close to collapsing from exhaustion. This was the perfect opportunity to get a jab in on Serenity, and he wasn't about to pass it up. He may have lost a youma and the energy she'd collected tonight, but it they still had plenty of youma in their forces and they had already collected enough energy to revive Metallia anyway. So it would all be worth it to see the despair that would twist the moon princess's face at the thought of her beloved Endymion getting cozy between the sheets with another woman.

But to his surprise, her face didn't crumple and tears didn't appear in her eyes. If anything, her expression seemed to become…well…amused.

And when she spoke, her voice was light and held a tiny bit of laughter. "Oh, I think you just might be mistaken about what you _think _is going on between the two of them. You see, I happen to know Darien quite well, and I know that he can't stand Beryl, no matter what that witch manages to do with his mind and his memories. She might be able to force him into her service, but he will never be hers. His heart belongs to me."

"Smug Lunarian bitch!" he snarled under his breath as he took a threatening step forward. What he wouldn't give to wipe that cocky look off her face.

There was a swirl of gold and orange in his vision as Sailor Venus moved protectively in front of her princess. She lifted her hand, fingertip already glowing with the beginnings of a Crescent Beam, and pointed it at him. "I'll do it! And you know I will!"

Then there were red, green, and blue blurs as Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury joined them. They took defensive stances in front of the blondes.

Kunzite faltered at being met by the force of all five sailor scouts at once. But he kept his face smoothly impassive. "You girls think that you are so powerful, but I have news for you. You will never be able to defeat Beryl…ever. She has the power of Queen Metallia behind her. I doubt that you will ever get close to her, even if you do have the Silver Crystal. The Dark Kingdom crushed you once before, and your past selves were ten times stronger than what you are now. You will all die."

Then his eyes settled on Sailor Venus. "Except for you, my dear Princess Venus. I have special plans for our future. Of course, if you want to save yourself the headache you can just come with me now." He held his hand out to her.

Jupiter and Mars both growled while Mercury gasped in outrage. But Venus merely sniffed and raised her chin regally, looking very much the proud princess she had once been. "Thank you very much, General Fake, but I'm afraid I have no plans to accompany you anywhere. In fact, I would rather lick a rhinoceros's butt than be forced to endure your presence!"

"Ah, still challenging me I see," he sighed, but he looked amused at her words. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this story plays out then, hmm?" Then he blew her a kiss as he stepped through a portal that sprang open behind him and disappeared.

Venus slumped against Sailor Moon as the portal closed. Her side was aching like crazy, but she had refused to show any weakness in front of the youma-possessed general. "Boy am I glad he's gone. He just better be lucky that I wasn't in the best of shape, or I would have blasted him."

"Yeah, because that worked out so well for you the last time you tried it," Jupiter couldn't help but snicker.

Mercury arched a reproachful brow at her captain. "Really, Mina! A rhinoceros's butt? Couldn't you have come up with something a bit more tasteful than that? You had the whole hoity-toity image going on until that came spilling out of your mouth."

Venus glared at her harsh critics. "Just be glad I didn't say the words that were really going through my mind. You all would be nursing scalded eardrums by now if I had. Believe me, I was thinking a lot worse things than I actually said."

"I thought she was great!" Sailor Moon cheered as she wrapped her arms around her almost twin in an impulsive hug.

"You weren't too bad yourself," Venus complimented her in return.

"Yeah, yeah! You two managed to show up at the last moment and take care of things," Mars grumbled. Then her expression softened. "But I do have to say that I don't think I've ever been so glad to see you blondes before."

"Aww, Pyro! That actually sounded like a compliment to me," Sailor Moon cooed.

"Well don't get used to it, Meatball Head!" Mars snapped back. "You happened to do something right this time, but I doubt it will happen again any time soon."

"Mars! You are out of line!" Venus's voice cracked like a whip in defense of her princess as she saw a shattered expression flicker across Sailor Moon's face.

But rather than cower behind her captain, the petite blonde shook her head. "No, Mina. Raye's right. I haven't been doing my best lately. I've been letting my personal feelings get in the way of our true mission, and I shouldn't have. Getting rid of the Dark Kingdom once and for all is our top priority. I lost sight of that for a while. I've been acting like a spoiled rotten, bratty princess and dumping my emotional baggage on all of you instead of being the sailor scout that you need me to be. And I'm sorry for that."

Mar looked at the bowed golden head for a moment before reaching out to tug gently on one of the pigtails. "Hey! I was joking! Lighten up a little, will ya! So you had a down day. It happens to everyone. And if anyone has the right to have an emotional moment, you do; especially after everything that has gone on in the past couple of weeks."

Sailor Moon looked up with a wry grin. "Thanks, Raye, and the rest of you too. You girls are the best friends anybody could ask for."

"And don't you forget it!" Jupiter drawled as she slung a companionable arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. "We sailor scouts have to stick together."

Mercury nodded vigorously. "That's right! And now that we have a fairly accurate idea about where the Dark Kingdom base is located, we'll be able to formulate a plan of attack."

"We'll get Darien back too. Just wait and see," Venus declared passionately. Then she giggled. "I don't know about the rest of you, but all of this sisterly love has got me craving a milkshake."

"You should be at home in bed!" Mercury muttered. "Your side is going to take forever to heal if you don't rest."

"Yeah!" Jupiter agreed, whirling on Venus. "What are you even doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay home?"

"Serena and I thought you girls might need some help, so we came," Venus replied with a casual wave of her hand. "So, Serena, how about that milkshake?"

Sailor Moon eyed a clock on the wall. "I don't know. I promised my dad that I wouldn't be gone long. Which reminds me, I need to borrow someone's History book for the night. I told him that I left mine at Mina's to have an excuse to get out of the house."

Venus laughed. "That is so funny, because you really _did _leave your History book at my house! I was going to bring it to you in the morning. But you've got time to join us for one shake, right? We haven't seen you all day."

"I don't know if we can," Sailor Moon mused. "The arcade closes early on Sunday nights. I bet Drew has already shut things down by now."

"Well give him a call and see," Jupiter prompted her. "I could use a snack before heading home."

Mercury looked undecided for a moment, then she sighed. "Okay, one milkshake. Then I have to get home to do some studying."

"Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it. The people are starting to wake up," Mars muttered as she jerked her head toward the youma victims that were beginning to moan and move around on the floor.

By unspoken agreement, the sailor scouts all ran from the shop and leapt up to the rooftops. And not a moment too soon either, because they could hear police sirens wailing a few blocks away and drawing closer.

Sailor Moon pulled out her cell phone when they came to a stop a few buildings away and called Andrew's number.

He answered on the third ring. "Hey, sis! How's it going? I heard that there was some action going on."

She laughed lightly in response. "Hey yourself, bro! Yeah there was a little action, but we took care of it. Are you still at the arcade?"

There was a rustling sound on the other end. Then he said, "Yeah. I was just mopping up and stuff. Why? Did you want to come by?"

"If you don't mind," she answered hesitantly. "The girls and I just wanted a pick me up and a place to sit down and talk for a minute."

"Sure! I don't mind," he reassured her quickly. "You girls come on. I'll leave the back door unlocked for you." Then his voice sobered. "Any news on Dare?"

She swallowed hard, realizing that Andrew didn't know about what happened between her and Darien the night before and how close she had come to getting him back. She really didn't want to relive the story again, but Andrew was Darien's best friend, and he had a right to know. He had been such a huge help during all of this, even teaming up with Amy to forge Darien's missing assignments so that he could turn them in, keeping up the façade that Darien was sick at home. At least when Darien came back he would find that he wasn't behind in his schoolwork and that his perfect GPA was still intact.

She sighed into the phone. "I'll tell you about it when I get there, Drew."

* * *

_He spun as he heard her melodic voice call his name. "Kunzite!" And she was in his arms before he even had time to turn around all the way._

_He swept back pieces of her golden hair from her face so that he could look down into her blue, blue eyes. "What are you doing here?"_

_She giggled as she wound her fingers into his long platinum hair. "Serenity came down to meet with Endymion's mother so that they can finalize some plans. The engagement ball is only a few days away, after all. The princess needed an escort, so I volunteered. Jupiter came with me too, and she, Nephrite, and Endymion are keeping an eye on Serenity. I figured that she was safe enough for me to take a few minutes to come and see you. You look like you've been working hard."_

_He looked down to where his thin shirt clung damply to his sweaty skin and grinned. "A good soldier always tries to stay in top form."_

_Her eyes clouded with worry. "You're expecting trouble, aren't you?"_

"_Minako," he sighed, burying the tip of the sword he had been training with in the ground where it would stand. Then he wrapped both arms around her. "I know you're not naïve enough to think that there won't be some sort of opposition once the prince and princess have made the official announcement of their engagement. Beryl has been on a rampage ever since the court released the news that negotiations for the union had been opened. She and her band of rebels have been sweeping through the countryside, gathering followers by the hundred. This could turn into a war."_

_She nodded sadly. "I know, but I'll be right by your side. Once Serenity is formally engaged to Endymion, the other scouts and I will be free to come here and assist you in fighting her without the disapproval of the other planets. Together, we will find a way to defeat her."_

_He shook his head. "It's more than that, Minako. There is a dark, evil magic around the witch. Nephrite and Jadeite have both sensed it."_

"_Rei has as well," she confessed. "And Ami has been researching it. She thinks that Beryl may have invoked the spirit of a sealed away demon."_

"_Which makes her ten times more dangerous than she is on her own!" he spat. "I think Beryl is biding her time, just waiting for the perfect time to strike. And when she does, I think she'll attack the moon. This ball could provide her with the perfect opportunity."_

"_She'll have to get through us first!" she growled. Then her expression lightened with a smile. "Maybe she will be stupid enough to try to attack the moon, but we'll face her together if she does. You are still coming to the ball, aren't you?"_

_He smirked down at her. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. It's not everyday that my prince becomes engaged; at least officially. It's just a formality since Endymion asked Serenity to marry him a year ago and she accepted."_

"_I don't think anyone ever thought that the negotiations would drag out as long as they did," she replied softly. "Venus and the other inner planets gave their approval quite quickly once the other scouts and I explained things to our families. But the outer planets were a bit more stubborn. Thank goodness they finally agreed. Now everyone can stop all of this sneaking around."_

_He grinned slyly at her. "You know what else this also means? Once the Earth and Moon are allies, we'll be able to go public with our relationship as well."_

_Her eyes sparkled up at him. "I like the way you think." Then she pulled his head down so that her lips could meet his in a scorching kiss._

_Their lips and tongues battled furiously for a few minutes before she reluctantly parted from him. "I suppose I better get back. I am on duty. But I'll see you at the ball in a few nights, right?"_

"_You can count on it," he promised her._

Kunzite's eyes snapped open. He glanced around in disorientation for a moment before he realized that he had dozed off while lounging across Beryl's throne. It was a good thing that he had woken up before the queen had come in and caught him. He had gotten into the habit lately of lounging on her throne, just as his little way of rubbing it in her face that he was the only one that she had left to help her. But now that she was convinced that she had successfully converted Endymion to her cause, he knew that he had become as expendable as the others. His ears still echoed with the threat she had given him earlier.

He gasped as he felt a stinging in his palm, and he opened his clenched fist to see a dark orange stone in his hand, a stone that was beginning to glow and pulsate as he held it.

He remembered now. After he had returned to base to find Beryl still unavailable, he had wandered around bored for a time. But when he'd found his thoughts constantly returning to Sailor Venus, he'd decided to have a little fun and had come to the throne room, where he'd picked up the stone that held the real General Kunzite's soul. He'd caught Beryl talking to the four stones that she kept in a small, velvet lined box beside her throne on many occasions, and he'd asked her once why she spoke to them.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

Kunzite pulled up short as he entered Beryl's throne room. His queen was seated on her throne and she was talking in quiet voice. A quick glance around reassured him that there was no one else in the room. That could only mean one thing; she was speaking to _them _again.

He strode forward, being sure to let his footsteps make enough noise to announce his presence. If there was one thing Beryl despised, it was being surprised.

Her head rose as he approached her and her reddish-brown eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he went down on his knees before her. "Ah, Kunzite!"

"You sent for me, your majesty?" he intoned smoothly.

She clicked her red talons together. "Yes. I was wondering how fares the search for the moon princess. Has there been any sign of her or the Silver Crystal?"

"Not yet, my queen," he answered. "But I have deployed a team to London to investigate an unusual energy source detected there. That could be where we find her."

"Hmm, we'll see," the dark queen mused. "Keep me informed, Kunzite. I want to know immediately if anything unusual happens."

"Of course, your majesty," he replied cordially as he bowed his head. But he couldn't stop his eyes from straying to the small, ornately carved wooden box that sat beside the throne.

Beryl noticed, of course, and she purred, "Well, my dear, are you interested in these?" Her fingers stroked the box.

He shook his head. "I'm not interested in those weakling generals! I'm just merely curious. I've heard you speaking to them before like they were actually here. And I was wondering why that was."

"Because, my pet," she crooned as she licked her fangs. "While the souls of Endymion's generals may be trapped in these stones, they are neither a part of this world or the next. They exist only in a never-ending limbo of darkness. But I am not foolish enough to believe that they are truly gone. I think they can hear the things that we say. In fact, I'm certain that they can. They give me clues from time to time to let me know that they don't like what I'm doing. Like right now, for instance. I was just sharing my thoughts with them about my plans for when I finally locate the Silver Crystal. They seemed to be nothing more than lifeless rocks until I mentioned their prince and those silly sailor scouts. When I did that I got a reaction from them."

She picked the box up and held it where he could see the four glowing, vibrating stones inside. "The once proud generals of Earth," she cackled.

Her hand passed over the bright red stone, but kept its distance. "Jadeite, the master of fire."

"Nephrite, the sorcerer of the skies." Her fingers almost brushed the deep green one and the hair on her arm stood on end.

Chill bumps rose on her skin as she reached the pale blue stone. "Zoicite, manipulator of water in both its liquid and solid forms."

Then her hand hovered over the last stone, which was a dark burnt orange. "And the leader of them all, Kunzite, with his ability to bend pure energy to his will."

She set the box back in its place with a quiet laugh. "I must say that their souls are indeed strong for them to be able to react in such a way. But there is nothing that they can do. I have stripped them of their bodies and of their powers. They may be able to muster up enough energy to give me a mild zap once in a while, but they are helpless. I do admit to being petty enough to rub their faces in that fact from time to time though."

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

The dark general sneered at the orange stone in his hand. It seemed that Beryl had been correct about there being a tiny speck of life left in them after all. "So, General Kunzite. I guess you didn't like what I had to say earlier about the fair Venus. I was beginning to wonder since you remained so unresponsive before when I was outlining my plans for her to you. I suppose it was also you that gave me that dream I had a few minutes ago. Did you honestly think that showing me your final memory of being with her would change my mind? If anything it has only made me more insistent on claiming her for myself. It may take some time to win her over, but since I have your body I'm sure she will eventually come around. Soon I will be the one that she clings to and kisses. Don't worry. I'll be sure to be gentle with her."

The stone flared brighter and the stinging sensation on his skin intensified enough to be painful, causing him to throw the stone back into the box where the others were shimmering as well.

"You can get angry all you want to, but there is nothing you can do about it," he growled at the stones. "Beryl has put her plan in motion, and there is no stopping it now. She already has your precious prince under her power, and soon she will kill the moon princess and take the Silver Crystal. Venus will be spared because I asked for her, but the other scouts will have to go."

He huffed a quiet life as the four stones flashed brightly for a moment and the entire box trembled violently for a few seconds. Then, the glows dulled and they fell still. "What idiots! I don't know why they bother getting so worked up over a bunch of girls and a boy who is barely old enough to be called a man. What kind of dead men hold on to sympathy?"

Filled with disgust, he got up from the throne and strode across the room. He was bored and filled with restless energy, so he figured that he would go find some pathetic, worthless youma to practice his fighting tactics on. He had nothing else better to do.

* * *

Ilene Tsukino looked up from the toast she was buttering to glance at the ceiling as she heard a loud thump from overhead. It was followed barely a second later by a piercing wail. "Oh no! I'm going to be laaattteee!"

At the table, Sammy snickered into his bowl of oatmeal. "Sounds like Meatball Head is starting the week off right."

"Sammy!" Ilene chastised gently as she spread strawberry jam on the toast and then took it, along with a lunch that she had prepared, to stand in the kitchen doorway. This was a routine that she had become familiar with the past couple of months, so she knew what to expect.

Sure enough, barely two minutes later, there was the bang of a door slamming open, followed by the pounding of footsteps. Then a red, white, blue, and gold blur was flying down the stairs.

"Mom! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Serena screeched. Then she squealed as she tripped on the next to the last step, just like she always did, and she went sprawling out on the entry hall floor.

Ilene sighed as she went to pick up the pink backpack with the white bunny on it that had gone flying. "I did, dear, four times. Each time you told me that you were getting up."

"And you believed me?" Serena snorted as she grabbed her jacket and stuffed her arms into the sleeves. "Oh well, I'm actually kinda glad to be late today with it being Valentine's Day and all. That way I don't have to watch all the mushy little couples exchanging gifts and goo-goo eyes before class."

"Ah," Ilene said simply. Then she asked slyly, "And how has Darien been doing? I heard from a reliable source that he has been sick for the past week or so."

Serena froze for a moment while buttoning her jacket. Then she forced out a snort. "And I guess that your _reliable source _would be Andrew's mom. I don't know how Darien's doing. I haven't seen him." _'Liar!' _her brain screamed at her.

"Well I worry about him," Ilene continued. "I know he's practically grown and he's old enough to take care of himself, but he lives all alone in that apartment of his and…"

"I've gotta go!" Serena interrupted her, taking her backpack, lunch, and toast from her mother. "Miss H. is already going to slap me with detention as it is. But if I'm too late she might assign me extra work or something." Then she flew out the door.

Ilene shook her head in bemusement. "That girl! What am I going to do with her?"

Serena ran, keeping up her pretense of being in a hurry, in case her mother was watching her out the window, until she rounded the corner and was out of sight. Then her pace slowed to a shuffling walk and her shoulders drooped. She was already late anyway, so there was no sense in hurrying. She eyed the jam-smeared toast in her hand, but she didn't feel even remotely hungry. In fact, she felt like the milkshake that Andrew and the girls had forced on her the night before was still sitting like a lead weight in her stomach.

She saw a trash can nearby and went to drop the toast into it. But as her hand hovered over it a voice whispered in her head, _'Uh uh, Meatball Head! You promised me that you were going to stay strong. That means that you have to eat and keep your strength up.'_

"Ugh!" she groaned. The imaginary Darien that her brain had created was turning out to be bossier than the real one, like last night, or early this morning actually, when he had fussed at her that she needed to go to bed and get some sleep. She had tried to argue that she had slept on and off most of the day. And he had rebuked back that a few anxiety-induced catnaps were not proper rest. She had finally crawled into bed, muttering to herself that a figment of her imagination shouldn't be such a know it all.

Okay, so it wasn't really a figment of her imagination, and she knew that. It was that the voice of her conscience had changed. When she had been younger she had always heard her mother's, and sometimes her father's voice, telling her what was right and what was wrong. In the past year or so, the voice had changed to sound more like Raye's bellowing. Now it seemed that it had changed again.

The Darien voice had a point though. She should probably eat the toast. Normally when she was stressed her appetite exploded into even larger proportions than usual. But the events of the last ten days had affected her on a much different level, making her instinctive love for food dwindle down to almost non-existence. She ate whenever people set it in front of her and demanded that she eat, but even then she only forced down enough to keep them happy. Food just couldn't seem to fill the void that had opened up inside of her.

But she had renewed her vow to defeat the Dark Kingdom once and for all, and that meant that her conscience was right. She had to eat in order to keep her strength up. She would have no chance against Beryl if she came stumbling into battle half faint from hunger. So she lifted the toast to her lips and began nibbling on it as she continued on her way. After a moment she was surprised to find how good it tasted to her, and she began gnawing on it ravenously.

By the time she passed the arcade she was licking the sticky remnants of jam off her fingers and wishing that her mother had made her two pieces instead of one. She briefly considered stopping into the arcade to pick a piece of Mrs. Furuhata's scrumptious apple crumb coffee cake, but she figured that it wouldn't be worth the lecture that she would receive for running so far behind. She adored Andrew's mother, and looked upon her as a favorite aunt, but that woman could blister ears when she got into her preaching mother mode. Lunch was only a few hours away. She could hold out until then…she hoped. That toast had teased her appetite, and now her stomach was rumbling hungrily.

Resigning herself to the fact that she was going to have to wait, she rounded the corner of the arcade in the direction of school, and received a surprise when she saw the boy who was obviously waiting for her.

He pushed away from the wall he had been leaning against and grinned at her. "Hey, Sere!"

"Drew!" she gasped. "What are you doing here? You're late for school!"

"So are you," he pointed out with a laugh. "I overslept this morning. Luckily it wasn't my morning to open the arcade. Mom still gave me an earful though."

A genuine smile unfurled on Serena's face. "I bet she did! So what are you doing lurking around here?"

"Waiting for you, of course! Here. I brought you something." He handed her a napkin wrapped slice of the coffee cake that she had been craving and a styrofoam cup of chocolate milk.

"Wow! Thanks! How did you know?" she asked as she tore into the delicious pastry.

"I have my ways," he answered mysteriously. "Actually, the other girls were outside the arcade when I showed up. I knew that I was going to be late because there was no way that I was going to school without getting some food and caffeine into me first, even if I had to brave my mom's temper, so I told them to go on ahead and that I would wait for you. I know that when you're running behind you usually only end up with a piece of toast, so I grabbed that for you."

She was already shoving the last bite into her mouth, and she washed it down with a gulp of chocolate milk before saying, "Thanks again, Drew. I can't believe the girls left without a fight though."

He laughed. "There were a few mumbles and grumbles, mostly from Raye. But I convinced them that I was a trustworthy guy and that I would get you to school safe and sound. I may not have superpowers, but I'm not completely helpless in a fight."

"You're the best!" she quipped lightly as she reached down and squeezed his hand gently.

He gave her a wry grin. "Well, I'm second best anyway."

She shook her head. "Nah! You're tied for first. I rank you right up there with Darien when I think of amazing guys I know."

"I'll take that as a compliment then," he chuckled. Then his expression sobered. "So you're going after him soon, huh?"

She nodded. "Sometime in the next few days. I may run into him before then, but the girls made me promise to not try to heal him with the crystal again. I'm still lagging a little from the last time I did it, and I have to be at full power when we go into the Dark Kingdom. I'm hoping that I can take out Beryl and rescue Darien at the same time. We're also waiting for Amy to work out the details and for Mina to fully recover from her injury before we go. But no matter what, we're going to try to end this once and for all."

Andrew squeezed her hand, which was still in his. "I believe in you. And I think you'll win. You'll kick the wicked witch's ass and bring Darien home. I know you will."

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Thank you, Drew. I hope I don't let you down."

He gave her a playful nudge. "You won't. It's not in you to give up. I just wish that there was some way that I could help you."

Tears stung her eyes as she looked up at her oldest friend. "You already have helped me, brother, more than you'll ever know."

He ruffled her hair fondly and then looked up at the school building that they had reached. "You ready to do this?"

She sighed. "I suppose so. It's going to be a long day though with having detention too."

Andrew laughed. "Look on the bright side. I'll have detention with you. It'll be just like old times when we were in middle school and had detention together."

His words did brighten her spirits. And her good mood lasted her all the way through her morning classes. She was even able to take her friend's chastising for oversleeping without getting upset, which surprised them all when she didn't wail in retaliation.

In fact, it was a great day overall. The only glaring blemish, besides the obvious fact that Darien wasn't there and slogging her way through a dreaded Biology test, was when Miss Haruna handed back the English test that the class had taken on Friday and she saw the giant red F at the top of the paper. She grimaced for a moment before shoving the paper into her bag to join several others just like it.

She made another vow to herself right then and there that once she had put all of this Dark Kingdom business behind her that she would start making an effort to do better in her school work. She would never be at the genius level that Amy and Darien were, but she used to be an average student before she'd become Sailor Moon. And who knew, with the right tutor to help her, she might even manage to do a little better than average.

She just needed to get her favorite tutor out of Beryl's clutches first.

* * *

Artemis was lingering in that hazy world that existed somewhere between being awake and being asleep. He could tell by the bright light that shown behind his closed eyelids that it was still some time in the early to middle afternoon. And it was way too early for a nocturnal kitty such as himself to be awake.

He curled into a tighter ball in the patch of sunlight that fell across Mina's bed and willed himself to go back to sleep as he savored the sun's warmth. It reminded him of times a millennium ago, when he had enjoyed the hot climate of Venus. He had to admit, he was a creature of comfort, and he didn't care much for the cold. And even though he'd had to spent much of his time on the moon, whose climate was much cooler than that of Venus, he'd always looked forward to the times when he could escape to his princess's rooms, where she always kept several heat lamps burning to replicate the feeling of her home planet.

That was one thing that he liked about Earth, he thought drowsily, it was in the perfect position to benefit from the sun's rays. Even in the winter months, the sun offered its light and warmth, at least on days when it wasn't cloudy.

Now if he could just get back to sleep. He always tried to do the majority of his sleeping while Mina was at school because he detested being disturbed once he was asleep. And with that girl around it was certain that he would get no rest. She was incapable of being quiet and her jaws were always flapping about something. So it just worked out better this way. He did his research work at night with Luna. He slept during schools hours. And the afternoons and evenings were usually spent meeting with the scouts, sharing information and plotting their next moves. And with the girls planning on confronting Beryl before the week was out, he knew that he needed all the rest that he could get so that he would have his head on straight.

Then he felt what must have woken him up. There was a slight nudge to his shoulder, and then a voice hissed, "Artemis!"

His blue eyes snapped open to meet a pair of large, round, cinnamon colored ones. "Luna! What are you doing here?"

The black feline sighed as she sat down on the orange comforter next to him. "I'm sorry for waking you up like this. I know you have to be tired after spending all night in the control room with me. But I have something that I really need to talk to you about."

Artemis pushed himself into a sitting position, yawning and stretching. "Okay. I'm listening. It must be something pretty serious to bring you over here so early."

She nodded. "It is. I'm just not sure exactly what it means. I was asleep on Serena's bed a little while ago, and I had this strange dream."

"Well! Let's hear it," he said seriously. Most people probably wouldn't put much stock in dreams, but he had seen enough magical and mystical things in his time to know that dreams could be much more than just a brain's way of letting off excess energy. If someone possessed enough spiritual power, they could use dreams to pass on messages and warnings.

Luna tilted her head back to look at the ceiling. "Queen Serenity contacted me."

Artemis's eyes grew wide. "It wasn't a memory?"

She shook her head. "No. This wasn't a memory of the past. She had a message for me."

He believed her. After all, Luna had served as an advisor to the queen for many years before the fall of the moon kingdom, and they had been much more than just a queen and her subject. Long hours spent working together had made them close friends as well. And while Queen Serenity was no longer a part of the physical world, she definitely held enough spiritual power to reach out from the afterlife.

He nodded firmly. "So what did she have to say?"

It only took her a minute to sum up her dream, but by the end of it Artemis was pacing back and forth from nerves. He muttered a curse under his breath before sighing in resignation. "She's right. I don't like it, but she has a valid point. The girls do probably need to know everything about what happened that day before they go into this fight. They have some memories of it, but they are sporadic. They deserve to know exactly what they are going to be going up against before they get there."

"I agree," Luna replied softly. "I just wanted to run it by you before I said anything to them."

Artemis glanced at the clock on Mina's bedside table. "They'll be getting out of school in a few minutes. We should probably go and talk to them."

They scrambled down the tree next to Mina's small balcony and made a mad dash to Azabu High School, arriving there just as the final bell for the day rang. They climbed up onto the top of the fence as students began pouring out the doors of the school.

"Ah! There they are!" Artemis murmured as a flash of gold caught his eye and he saw a blonde head bobbing along next to one with a curly auburn ponytail. A raven black head and a dark blue one followed close behind them.

"Mina!" he hissed softly and jumped down onto his mistress's shoulder as she walked by.

Mina started for a moment, and then giggled. "Artemis! What are you doing here?"

Artemis eyed the number of packages she was carrying in her hands with disgust. "What are those?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just cards and candy from my admirers. It is Valentine's Day, you know. But don't worry. None of them mean anything to me."

Beside her, Lita snickered. "You wouldn't be saying that if there was a token of affection from Andrew in there."

"Oh hush!" Mina scowled. "The day is not over yet. He may still give me a little something before all is said and done. I just have to wait for him and Serena to get out of detention."

"I was wondering where Serena was," Luna muttered as she jumped down into Amy's waiting arms.

Raye snorted. "That Meatball Head got stuck in detention for being late this morning. We were about to head to the arcade to wait for her."

"Let's go somewhere a little more private," Luna stated in a low tone. "There's something that I want to talk to you girls about."

"Is everything okay, Luna?" Amy asked in concern.

The feline nodded. "Everything is fine. But I do have something serious to discuss with you."

"Let's go to my place," Lita offered. "Nobody will bother us there, and I made up a batch of cookies last night."

Mina nodded. "Sounds good. I can hit the arcade later. Let me just shoot Serena a text so she'll know where to hook up with us." She pulled out her cell phone.

* * *

Beryl stood before the full-length mirror in her room, preening as she took in her appearance. After indulging in a long and much needed rest, she was finally ready to greet her future king.

She smoothed her hands over her tight, form fitting purple dress, admiring the way it clung to her body and molded to the curves of her hips and breasts. Her flame red hair fell around her in a disarray of waves that went past her waist and her eyes glowed from inside their kohl-lined outlines.

There was no way that Endymion would be able to resist her. Once upon a time, she had been one of the most sought after women on Earth. She had been the daughter of an extremely high ranking lord, who had been a close associate of the king, and men had thrown themselves at her feet, begging her to marry them. But she'd only had eyes for one person. She had been determined to wed the crown prince and become the next queen of Earth. Court gossip had linked hers and Endymion's names together many times, and she had seemed to be the prime candidate for becoming the prince's wife. At least until a certain milksop of a moon princess had come along and had bewitched him.

She had seen them together, and knowing that it was against the laws that had been set by the king for the people of the Earth and the Moon to be together for anything other than business, she had reported the indiscretion to the king and queen personally. They had promised to look into the matter, but as time had gone on she had come across Endymion and Serenity together many more times. Once she had even witnessed them making love in a gazebo in the prince's private rose garden before she had been chased away the ever-observant generals.

Not long after that, the announcement that negotiations had been opened for the possible marriage between Endymion and his little moon tramp had been made, sending Beryl into a fury unlike any other. She had been determined that she wouldn't let her prince go so easily, and that was when she had decided to fully embrace her heritage.

While her father had been born into an important and noble family, her mother had come from a completely different background. Her mother's people were called gypsies by some, and witches by others, but the bottom line was that the maternal side of her family possessed certain powers, which her mother had taught her of. And she had always been an eager student on that subject.

Following the advice of an old woman that lived in the remote village that her mother had grown up in, Beryl had found herself deep in the wastelands of the Arctic Circle, searching for the one that had been sealed away by the current moon queen's mother several years before.

When she had discovered Metallia in a cavern beneath a dormant volcano there, the ancient entity had agreed to help her in her quest to claim Endymion in return for her setting her free. So Beryl had used her powers inherited from her mother to release Metallia, and together they had begun their rebellion.

Finally, they had gotten to the point where victory was in their hands. They had recruited followers to their cause by ransacking villages and converting the men to fight for them through the use of negative energy. The royal army tried to thwart them, but in the end they were victorious. She managed to steal away the four highest generals of the Terran army and put their bodies to good use.

Then, she had struck a devastating blow to the palace, which had unfortunately taken the lives of the king and queen. But after the smoke had cleared it had been obvious that Endymion wasn't there. Knowing where he was, she had turned her sights on the moon, which had been her primary target all along. The Silver Crystal that the Lunarian royal family held was one of the strongest sources of power in existence, and she'd wanted it for herself.

She'd envisioned herself becoming a powerful queen of Earth, and she'd been determined to have Endymion at her side as her king. All that had been standing in her way was the moon. And she'd done her best to rectify that. Her plan had been simple; conquer the moon, take the Silver Crystal, get rid of that stupid little princess that had ensnared Endymion, and then return home with her king.

But not everything had gone as she'd planned. Most of it had been predictable in the beginning. She and her forces, with Metallia's energy backing them, had launched their attack on the moon during a ball, which had caught them off guard. But the Lunarian forces had quickly scrambled together and gone on the defensive. Of course, the sailor scouts had come out with the first wave of troops, and she had taken particular pleasure in setting her generals against them, knowing that the scouts would be confused and heartbroken at having what appeared to be their lovers attacking them.

The rest of her renegade army had marched forward to meet the regular soldiers while she had focused her sights on the queen with the Silver Crystal, who had come out to the front entrance of her palace and was using the crystal to shield the building and protect the civilians who were running to take refuge inside the palace.

Seeing that the queen was distracted by taking care of her people, Beryl took advantage of the situation by shooting a powerful blast of negative energy at her. It had taken Queen Serenity by surprise, and she had been dealt a critical hit. Beryl had seen the blood that had blossomed brightly on the silver dress before the Lunarian monarch had been blown back inside the palace.

A blur of red, black, and silver had caught Beryl's eye, and she'd turned to see that Endymion had joined the battle and was fighting his way through her troops. She'd started to go to him then, but then decided to stick with her original plan. She would get the Silver Crystal and take care of the princess first. Then she would claim her king.

But that was when things had begun to unravel at the seams. She'd stepped into the palace, expecting to find Queen Serenity either dead or dying. But while she did find a significant amount of blood on the floor, there was no sign of the queen. Figuring that her victim had managed to make her way further into the palace, probably to find someplace to curl up and die, she'd continued on. Hundreds of voices and cries had come from the ballroom, and a few people ran the halls, but she'd paid them no mind. Her mind had been focused on bigger things.

She'd strode up the grand staircase, as if she were the queen of the palace, to investigate the rooms on the upper floors. Her irritation had mounted as she had flung open the doors to room after room to find them empty. But she had known that Queen Serenity and her daughter were both too much of goody two-shoes to abandon their kingdom. They had to be around somewhere, and she was going to find them.

Her search had finally paid off when she'd flung open the door to a magnificently posh bedchamber to find the pale, frail little princess hovering near a window as she watched the carnage going on outside. Those round blue eyes had widened in fear at the sight of her, and the princess had screamed before darting through a set of glass doors to a balcony, effectively trapping herself.

Beryl had cornered her prey there, and after spending a few minutes taunting the girl about what she was going to do with Endymion once she had him she'd manifested a sword in her hand. Sure, she could have just hit the frightened princess with an energy blast and killed her that way, but she'd wanted to feel the resistance of the blade as it cut through that lily white skin; to feel the warmth of the blood on her hands as the life spilled from the pathetic little slut who'd thought she could steal Endymion away.

She'd dove in for the kill, and then the unthinkable had happened. Black had swirled in front of the moon princess, blocking the sight of her white gown and golden hair. Beryl had realized what it was, but it was too late to stop. The blade had sunk deep into the blackness and she'd heard a grunt of pain. Then, after she'd jerked the sword free, the black clad body had fallen to the ground to reveal the prince that she coveted.

Everything had gone hazy after that. She'd heard Serenity screaming and crying as Endymion bled to death in her arms, but she'd paid no heed to it. All that she could think was that she had just killed the only man that she could ever love.

Then her rage had bubbled over, but she wasn't angry with herself for killing Endymion. All of her anger had been centered on the blood covered moon princess cradling Endymion's lifeless body to her. It had been all that brat's fault that he had died. If she had just left him alone, he wouldn't have been killed.

She had moved in slowly, determined to slay the girl that had messed everything up for her. But before she'd had the chance to murder the sniveling slut, Serenity had turned Endymion's sword on herself and had taken her own life.

She'd heard a soft scream only moments later, and had turned to see a profusely bleeding Queen Serenity leaning against the doorframe as she'd stared in horror at her dead daughter draped over Endymion's motionless chest. The queen had murmured something and there had been a flash of white light. Then everything had dissolved into blackness.

Beryl had floated in that blackness for what had felt like forever. She'd had no concept of time and had no idea how many years had gone by. Then one day the darkness around her had begun o lighten and she'd heard her mistress Metallia's voice calling to her, telling her that she could once again summon her powers and break free of the seal that had been placed on her.

So she had, and she'd found herself once more in the lair where she'd found Metallia so long ago. She'd freed Metallia as well, but found the entity to be in a very weakened state. Knowing that her mistress needed energy, Beryl had used her powers to resurrect her generals and to create a youma army to help her in her task. She'd still wanted to take over the Earth, and she knew that she would need Metallia's help for that.

Then once, despite her weakened condition, Metallia had been able to speak a few words, just enough to let Beryl know what had happened. Yes, the moon kingdom had been destroyed, but Queen Serenity had used her powers to send it and all of the people that had been killed on the moon that day to be reincarnated here on Earth.

That had changed her mission drastically. Now, instead of just gathering energy, she had ordered those that served her to search for the Silver Crystal as well. And when the sailor scouts had begun popping up, one after the other, she'd known that it was only a matter of time before Endymion appeared again as well, and he had.

It had been a long and tedious cycle, and Princess Serenity's reincarnation now held the Silver Crystal, but she had Endymion now. Soon she would have the crystal as well, and then she would finally get to realize her dream of ruling the planet with her chosen king. She had been given a second chance, and she'd be damned if she let Serenity mess things up for her again.

She finally finished her appraisal of herself, and she closed her eyes as she flashed herself from her bedchamber to Endymion's quarters. When she opened her eyes again, she took a long moment to drink in the sight of the prince before her. He lay on the bed in the black tunic and trousers that she had magically dressed him in earlier that were just like what she always remembered seeing him wear when he had been at home in the palace. His tall black boots stood next to the bed and his armor sat in a pile in the corner next to his sword and scabbard while his cape was draped across a chair.

She glided to the side of the bed and looked down upon his sleeping form hungrily. Even though he was fully clothed, she could plainly make out the leanly muscled form of his body through the material. Endymion wasn't a largely built man, but he was impressive nonetheless. He was tall, with broad shoulders, narrow hips, and long legs. Beryl felt herself growing breathless just looking at him.

Giving into a whim, she brushed a lock of shiny black hair away from his eyes, and then bent down to press her red painted lips to his. When she pulled back a few seconds later she was surprised to find a pair of startling deep sapphire eyes staring back at her.

"Oh! You're awake!" she exclaimed.

His lips twisted up in a smirk. "It's kind of hard to sleep when you have a woman touching and kissing on you, my queen."

"Is that a complaint I hear, my dearest prince?" she purred.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "It's not a complaint exactly, but I was under the impression that you have a problem that needs to be taken care of."

She pouted at him. "I do have a _pest _problem that needs to be rectified. But we can handle that later. We can take a little time for just us."

He sat up and tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. "Business first, pleasure later. There will be plenty of time for us after we our hands on that crystal you seem to want so badly."

"But…but…" she stammered.

He looked up from where he was pulling on his boots to arch a brow at her. "What? You do still want me to help you, don't you?"

"Of course," she replied instantly. "But…"

"No buts," he told her as he stood and moved toward his armor. "My duties are clear in my mind. You need my help to get rid of the moon princess and to get the Silver Crystal from her. Am I correct?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He began shrugging into his armor and buckling it in place. "And after that you want us to be wed and become the king and queen of Earth. So the way I look at it, we'll have plenty of time to consummate our relationship once we have gotten rid of your problems. Right now we need to concentrate on formulating a plan."

Beryl wasn't happy with his words, but she knew that he was right. At least he wasn't rejecting her advances the way he had the first time that she'd brainwashed him. She sighed, and then went over to help him fasten his cape into place. "You're right, my love. We do have plans to make. But as soon as we are done taking care of that silly princess and her sailor scouts, you and I are going to start our honeymoon."

* * *

"Are you guys sure that this is such a good idea?" Sailor Moon chattered through clacking teeth as a cool wind rushed by her.

Mars snickered. "What's wrong, Meatball Head? Are you getting cold feet?"

The blonde scout glared furiously. "I don't have just cold feet! I have cold arms, legs, fingers…you name it! But that's beside the point. I'm talking about this whole situation. I know we said that we should practice teleporting before we go to the Arctic, but teleporting to the moon was the last thing I had in mind. We'll probably all die from lack of oxygen within two seconds since the moon doesn't have an atmosphere anymore like it used to."

Luna shook her head. "I told you before, you will be protected. Tonight is the night of the full moon, when moon magic is at its peak. And that is why we have to do this tonight. Queen Serenity was very adamant about wanting to speak to you before you go to face Beryl. So tonight is the only chance we have, unless you want to put off the confrontation for another month."

Sailor Moon shivered at that thought. Darien had already been gone from her for a week and a half. The thought of having to go through four more weeks of knowing that he was in that witch's claws was almost more than she could bear. "No! I don't want to wait. This needs to end."

She just wished that she could feel as sure as she sounded. She had rushed to Lita's apartment the day before after her detention to find her friends, Luna, and Artemis all in a dither over a seemingly prophetic dream that Luna had had. In it, it seemed that the spirit of Queen Serenity had come to her former advisor and had asked her to bring all of them to the moon so that she could explain exactly what they would be facing. And while Serena had agreed with the others that they should go, her knees almost knocked together at the thought of returning to the place that had been the home of her past self and meeting the woman that she hazily remembered as being Princess Serenity's mother. Overall, it was very intimidating.

But, despite her nerves, here they were. It was just before midnight, and the scouts, along with the two feline advisors, had gathered in the clearing at the park that they had been using for training. It offered them privacy for what they were about to do while giving them a clear view of the round full moon that hung heavy in the sky.

Tensions had been running high between the scouts all day and evening, as they kept anticipating an attack to occur at any time. But the Dark Kingdom had been quiet today, and they couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Past experience had taught them that whenever the enemy laid low, that usually meant that they were planning something. And with them being so close to being ready to make their move on Beryl's base of operations, none of them even wanted to think about what the dark queen might be cooking up.

Jupiter was the only one that voiced her concerns. "Are we sure it's okay for all of us to leave like this? I mean, what if a youma attacks while we're gone?"

Mercury looked up from her computer. "I think everything will be okay. My scans aren't picking up on any negative energy anywhere, so Beryl must be keeping her forces close to home tonight. Besides, Luna said that we wouldn't be gone long."

Venus scuffed her foot on the ground. "I don't like it! I feel like that bitch is just trying to reel us in. I'm sure she's expecting us to make a move soon, so she's probably building up her defenses. Getting inside her base won't be easy."

"I don't think any of us ever thought it was going to be easy," Mars drawled. "But whatever happens, we'll just have to deal with it. We'll find some way of getting inside there, and then we'll give that evil witch a taste of her own medicine. Right, Serena?"

The petite blonde nodded. "I'm going to try my best. I just want everyone to be safe." Then she turned to Luna and Artemis. "So what exactly should we do?" she asked trying to keep up a brave front.

"All of you, gather around us and join hands," Artemis said from where he was sitting beside Luna.

Sailor Moon nodded and stepped forward with the others to form a circle around the two felines. She took Sailor Venus's hand firmly in her right one while her left gripped Mars's securely. Jupiter and Mercury rounded out the group.

Luna cleared her throat. "Now all of you, focus on the moon and call upon your powers to activate the teleport."

Sailor Moon took a deep breath and then called on her energy. "Moon Prism Power!" The others quickly followed.

"Venus Power!"

"Mars Power!"

"Jupiter Power!"

"Mercury Power!"

Bright, multi-colored light swirled to life around them and then shot up into the sky. Twigs, leaves, and rocks rose from the ground like they were being sucked up into a vacuum, and then slammed back down hard as the light flared blindingly before disappearing.

And when it faded, the five girls and two cats were gone.

* * *

Beryl growled as she stared into her swirling orb. A few moments ago it had flared to life, snapping and crackling as if in response to an output of energy. She had immediately searched for the disturbance, but had seen nothing. She wasn't even able to locate any of the sailor scouts or the princess.

"Those little brats! What are they trying to pull now?" she sneered.

Kunzite stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Would you like me to go and check things out, my queen?"

She waved a dismissive hand. "That won't be necessary, Kunzite. Besides, it would probably end up in a spectacular failure, just like it does every other time I send you to do anything."

Kunzite ground his teeth together. It wasn't his fault that all of the youma that Beryl had created had been incompetent! He also wasn't to blame for the fact that she had decided to kill off the other generals. He couldn't face all of the scouts on his own, but he was sure that if he still had Zoicite, Nephrite, and Jadeite with him that they would be able to stand up to those girls.

He wanted to rant and rave as he pointed these facts out to Beryl, but he held his tongue. Opening his mouth now would do nothing but get himself killed. But he knew that the scouts were up to something. He could feel it. He could almost always feel Venus's aura, even if it were just faintly. But a couple of minutes ago it had flared strongly before disappearing completely. It was very disconcerting. Where had she gone?

Beryl sat her orb over to the side with a sigh. "No, Kunzite, you will remain here. Endymion and I have discussed this matter extensively, and we have agreed that it is best to fortify our defenses here and let the sailor scouts come to us. That way we will have the…What did you call it, darling, the _home field advantage_?"

The dark haired prince sitting on the throne next to her looked up with a devilish grin. "Yes, my queen. A confrontation with the moon princess and her scouts is inevitable, and they are not an enemy to be taken lightly, despite the fact that they are scarcely more than girls. That is why I think it is important to face them here, where you are familiar with your surroundings. Sure, we could march into Tokyo against them, but that is their turf, and they know the ins and outs there. They would be able to evade us much too easily and try to get the drop on us, making things drag out for much longer than they have to. Here we can make it short, sweet, and to the point. Together, they are a strong force. But if we could disrupt their union, maybe even pick them off one by one, they will crumble."

Beryl clapped her hands together in excitement. "Isn't he just amazing, Kunzite?"

Kunzite felt like gagging at her adoring tone. But at least having Endymion around had kept Beryl in a decent mood. The earth prince was so unreadable that he wasn't sure whether or not the queen had been ravished by her future king yet. But whatever was going on between them had Beryl acting as giddy as a schoolgirl. And he was fine with that. As long as she was distracted by her boy toy it kept her attention off of him, for which he was grateful. The only woman he was interested in was the golden haired, blue-eyed, Venus.

"It is an admirable plan, your highness," he finally forced himself to answer, being careful to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

Endymion passed a knowing smirk over the platinum haired general. He was under no disillusions where Kunzite was concerned. He knew that the general didn't like him, and he didn't care. He didn't much care for the large, youma-possessed man either. But as long as the general minded his own business and did what he was told, Endymion didn't consider him to be worth his time.

But as he stared at the wall, he felt an overwhelming urge to reach up and rub his chest. A few minutes ago a warm feeling had blossomed there, sending unusual sensations shooting through his body. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it abruptly vanished, making him feel cold and empty inside. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he found himself wishing that it would come back. It had been comforting.

"Endymion," Beryl's voice broke through his reverie.

He turned to face her, briefly noting that Kunzite had left while he had been musing. "Yes, my queen?"

She gave him a feline smile as she held a small wooden box out to him. "I wanted to give you these. I've been holding onto them for a while and was saving them as a wedding gift for you. But I don't want to wait that long, so I'm giving them to you now."

He took the box with a grin. "You don't have to do this. I am content to wait."

She was bouncing in her seat. "I can't help it! My excitement is too great! Besides, what difference is a day or two going to make? As soon as we finish our business with the moon princess, I will become your wife. So I don't see any harm in giving you your gift a little early."

He lifted the lid and his breath caught in his throat. "These are…"

"The soul stones of the original generals!" she gushed animatedly. "I figured that they should truly belong to you since you were their prince. It wasn't your fault that they were seduced by the sailor scouts into betraying the Earth and siding with the moon."

"Hmm…" he hummed noncommittally. His head told him that what she said was true. He could see them clearly in his mind; the domineering Kunzite with the radiant Sailor Venus, the athletic, yet introspective Nephrite with the brash, fierce Sailor Jupiter, the serious and studious Zoicite with the equally quiet and intelligent Sailor Mercury, and the joking, fun-loving Jadeite with the highly temperamental Sailor Mars.

Yes, he knew without a doubt that they had been together. But it was still hard to accept that people who had once been so loyal to him would have turned their backs on their crown and their planet just because of women that they had been forbidden to have relationships with in the first place. But that was exactly what had happened.

And in the vision he had of the men who had been his closest friends with their taboo lovers, he saw a fifth woman. She wore a long white gown and had hair the color of molten gold that hung in two streamers that were long enough to brush the ground. A golden crescent moon sat on her forehead right above her crystal blue eyes and she smiled at the couples.

A growl built in Endymion's throat. She was the cause of all of this, Serenity, the moon princess. She must have sent her scouts to seduce his generals away from him in order to weaken the Earth's defenses. Beryl hadn't come right out and said it, but that was the conclusion that he had come up with from his hazy and disjointed memories. If it hadn't been for Serenity, the war between the Earth and the moon would have never happened and he wouldn't have lost his friends.

He laid his hand over the stones a felt a slight warmth, almost a phantom feeling of the one he felt earlier, slowly creep into his chest. He smiled briefly at the thought of his generals before closing the box and slipping it into a pocket in his cape. Then he looked at Beryl sincerely as he said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied, pursing her lips slightly.

Knowing what she wanted, he leaned forward and gave her a perfunctory kiss. It was barely more than a brief meeting of their lips, and Beryl wished that it was more, but she satisfied herself with it for the time being.

But soon, very soon, he was going to be completely hers, mind, body, and soul.

* * *

Sailor Moon knew one thing with absolute certainty; teleporting was definitely not her favorite way to travel. One second she felt weightless as she spun blindly through a whirling vortex of colors, and in the next second her feet were slamming into the ground with enough force to rip her hands from Mars and Venus's and send her to her knees.

She opened her eyes to see that Mercury was in a position similar to hers while Mars was down on one knee. Venus and Jupiter were still on their feet, but they both looked a little shaken up. Luna and Artemis were two piles of fur in the center of the circle. Then she also noticed that they were most definitely not on Earth anymore. Pale, dusty, rocky landscape stretched out around them as far as they could see.

"Whoa!" she murmured as she twisted her head around to try to take everything in.

"Oopsy-daisy!" Venus sang as she helped her up with a hand under her arm.

"I can't believe it actually worked. We're really here," Jupiter wondered in awe.

Mars nudged at a rock with her red high heel. "Home sweet home, at least it used to be."

Mercury had finished dusting off her skirt and now had her visor in place as she scanned their surroundings. "So far, so good. There is an energy around this area that is providing oxygen and gravity. So we don't appear to be in any danger."

Luna gave herself a shake. "Of course not! I told you that you would all be safe here."

"So what do we do now, wait?" Artemis grumbled as he rubbed a paw over a bump on his head. "We landed in the right spot, didn't we?"

Luna nodded. "Yes. We are in the right place, right between the twin seas. But we couldn't expect everything to appear as it did so long ago."

Sailor Moon looked slowly to her left, and then to her right. On either side of their group there were large, deep craters that sank into the moon's surface. "The Sea of Serenity and the Sea of Tranquility," she mumbled to herself. Then she looked toward the spot where the moon palace had once stood, nestled between the two seas.

But there was nothing there.

Her heart began pounding in her throat. How could there be no sign that there had once been a large civilization here? Sure, it had been a thousand years and the atmosphere had been destroyed, but surely there should be something…ruins…anything.

She took a few steps across the natural bridge between the seas, and then tilted her head to the side as something odd caught her eye. Was that a shimmer of energy?

"Hey guys," she said softly. "I think we're supposed to go this way."

The others exchanged looks, but they followed her without a word. It took them a few minutes to walk the length between the twin seas, but the closer and closer they came to the spot where the ground began to widen, the more prominent the shimmer became.

"It's a barrier of some kind," Mercury announced as she studied her computer. "It's a shield of what appears to be Lunarian energy. And there's something behind it."

They all stopped at the edge of the barrier and looked at one another. And they were all asking the same silent question. Did they try to step through it, or remain outside?

Sailor Moon took the first step. She swallowed the lump in her throat and announced, "Well, we aren't going to learn anything by standing around out here. I'm going in." And she stepped through the shimmering wall.

There was a bright flash of light and the energy of the barrier wrapped around her in warm, comforting waves. When it faded, she found that her surroundings had drastically changed. Now, instead of the rocky, barren landscape, she was looking on the ruins of her former home.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she looked around. She was standing in what had once been the beautiful front garden of the palace. But now, instead of the benches, fountains, and statues that had lined the paths that had woven between the riotous displays of pale flowers, there were only chunks of stone and marble littering the ground. The wide main brick path that led to the palace was buckled and broken, even completely gone in some places.

And the palace itself, that was the worst. Only about half of what had once been a grand building remained standing. The white marble columns that had once stood proudly in the front of the palace now lay broken across the ground like corpses.

Sailor Moon sensed that the others had joined her, and she heard their shocked murmurs as they also took in the destruction around them.

Luna wound around her mistress's ankles, nudging her leg with her head. "I know this is upsetting for you, Serena, but try not to let it get to you. It belongs to a time long ago."

Sailor Moon sniffled and then stooped to pick up her advisor. "You're right, Luna. This isn't my home anymore. It's just kind of hard to see all of this when I can remember how beautiful it once was." Then she shook off her melancholy. "So what do we do now?"

Luna sighed. "We should probably try to find the queen. She promised that she would be here."

"Oh boy! That should be fun!" Venus said drolly. "This place is huge. It will be like trying to find a hay in a needle stack."

Artemis sputtered from his perch on her shoulder. "I think you mean a needle in a haystack, Mina!"

She flapped a hand at him. "Whatever! Same difference! So where do we start? Should we split up?"

Sailor Moon shook her head. She didn't know why, but she was pretty certain that she knew exactly where she would find her former mother. She would be in the same place she had been the one time that she had visited her in her dreams. "I know where she is. She'll be in the prayer room."

"Great!" Mars muttered. "Now let's just hope that it's still standing. Everything else around here is falling apart." She sidestepped the elbow that Jupiter sent to her ribs and ignored Mercury's quiet tongue clucking.

Sailor Moon rolled her eyes at her fiery friend, and then began picking her way carefully along the uneven path. All too soon, she found herself standing before the large double doors that led into the palace.

"Here goes nothing," she sighed as she pushed on the doors. Surprisingly, they swung open as easily and as silently as if they had been recently oiled.

Taking a deep breath, the five scouts stepped across the threshold together.

The inside of the palace was just as desolate looking as the outside had been. Windows were shattered and chunks of marble were strewn everywhere. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, giving it a spooky and surreal appearance.

To the left of the main hall was the large ballroom. But none of the girls gave it more than a cursory glance. There wasn't much of it to see anymore anyway. All of the stained glass windows had been destroyed and the ornate support pillars had fallen, causing the ceiling to collapse in. One outside wall had been completely obliterated, leaving it open to the outside.

Most of the grand staircase was gone as well. The only way to get to the upper floors, if there was anything left of them, would be to jump. But that wasn't where they were headed.

Sailor Moon turned down a hall that veered off to the right and the others followed. The hall twisted and turned several times, but she knew where she was going. She remembered the directions from the dreams that she'd had of running these halls. Sure enough, a few minutes later, they reached a set of silver double doors that were engraved with pictures of the moon.

Suddenly feeling more excited than nervous, she didn't hesitate as she flung the doors wide and almost ran inside. Then she froze in shock.

"Hello, dear heart. I have missed you," Queen Serenity greeted her gently from where she stood beside the remains of what had been the Lunarian Prayer Crystal. It was the place where generations of the moon's royal family had come to pay their respects to the moon goddess, Selene. Once the crystal had been a tall spire, reaching up toward the ceiling far above it, but now it was nothing more than a pile of crystal shards. Evidently it had been destroyed in Beryl's attack as well.

But none of this meant anything to Sailor Moon. All she could focus on was the woman who had been her mother in the past. As Serena, she loved her mother. In fact, she thought she was the luckiest girl alive to have Ilene Tsukino as her mother. She wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. But as she stared at Queen Serenity, feelings similar to those that she felt for her mom trickled through her.

"Mother!" she finally couldn't help but cry. And she flew across the room to fling herself into the queen's waiting arms. She burst into tears as she felt those soft, loving arms embrace her tightly.

"There, there, my darling," the queen shushed her gently. "Shh, my Serenity. There is no need to cry."

"I can't help it!" Sailor Moon wailed, true to form.

Queen Serenity smiled through tears of her own as she hugged her even closer. "Oh, my daughter. You haven't changed a bit, have you? You are still the same sympathetic and emotional girl that you always were. Now, dry your tears. We don't have a whole lot of time, and we have important things to discuss."

Sailor Moon sniffled hard one last time and then pulled away to swipe at her wet cheeks. "Yes ma'am."

The queen ruffled her hair fondly, and then turned to beam a smile at the rest of the scouts. "And the rest of my girls are here too! I'm so happy to see all of you looking so healthy and fit. It makes this old soul proud."

"Aunt Serenity!" Venus exclaimed as she lunged forward with the other girls for the chance to get a hug from the woman who had been an adopted mother to them in their past lives.

Once that was out of the way, the former monarch turned her attention to the two felines. "Artemis, you are looking well, as always. I hope my niece isn't driving you too insane."

He bowed to the queen, but he muttered darkly. "She has her moments."

Then her shimmering lavender eyes locked onto the smaller black cat. "Luna! My dear, dear Luna! Words cannot express my joy at seeing you again."

Luna's emotions were so great that she was actually trembling from them. But she managed a bow, though her voice shook slightly as she said, "Your Majesty."

Serenity's laugh tinkled like bells. "Now, Luna! You are one of my oldest and dearest friends. There is no reason for you to stand on ceremony with me just because you haven't seen me for a while. In fact, I think we should all get a little bit more comfortable."

She snapped her fingers, and suddenly all of the sailor scout's fukus vanished to be replaced by long flowing gowns in their planets' respective colors. They were all similar to Princess Serenity's dress as far as the length and flow of the skirt went, but each one had been altered to suit the individual princess's style.

Mina's was spaghetti strapped and started off as a dark, burnt orange at the bodice that gradually faded on the way down until it was a light tangerine at the hem of the skirt.

Raye's was strapless and a brilliant, almost violent shade of red. Shockingly purple threads ran down the length of the dress, creating contrast and shimmering lightly when she moved.

Lita, of course, was in dark green. Wide shoulder straps helped downplay the breadth of her shoulders and gave her an ultra feminine look while streamers of rosy pink ribbons were tied at her waist.

And Amy definitely looked icy in pale blue. Her gown also sported short capped sleeves and a pattern of snowflakes across the bodice that had been stitched in dark blue thread.

Serena felt the light layers of material that made up her white gown settle around her and also felt a warm spot on her forehead that told her that her crescent moon mark that was identical to the one on Queen Serenity's brow had appeared.

"There!" the queen announced in satisfaction. "Now you all look like I remember you. That will make it much easier to discuss our business."

She waved a hand and four loveseats appeared to form a square formation. "Let's all take a seat so that we can get down to business."

They all moved to do the queen's bidding, but as Mina turned around, intending to pick up Artemis so she could set him on her lap, she squealed and fell back in a heap of flailing arms, legs, and scattered golden hair on the floor.

"Holy caviar on a cracker!" she cried in shock.

The man standing above her and extending his hand to her chuckled. "Now that actually made sense! Come on, Mina. You can't tell me that you forgot about my human form, did you?"

She shook her head as she took his hand. "N-no. It just took me by surprise. That's all. I've been with you constantly for almost four years, and you've never changed out of your cat form in all that time."

She studied him as he helped her to her feet. She had known that Artemis had a human form, but in reality she hadn't thought much of it since they had been reunited in this life since he had always remained a cat. She had nearly forgotten about the silky white hair that fell to just below his shoulders and how soulful his blue eyes could look when placed inside an attractive human face. The white uniform he was wearing fit snugly to his slim, but wiry muscled body.

There was a husky laugh as Luna stepped up beside him. And she was a total knock out! Her hair was long, thick, wavy, and so deep a color black that it had a purple sheen to it. She wore it almost in the same way as the Lunarian royal style, but only part of her hair was twisted up into buns while the rest of it was left to flow free in shimmering waves. Her dress was a deep, sunshine yellow with a heavily pleated skirt that when to her knees and inch wide shoulder straps holding up a ruffled bodice. A black overskirt draped from the back of the dress and hung behind her in ruffles that went to the floor.

Serena clapped her hands together. "Oh, Luna! I haven't seen you like this in so long! I'd almost forgotten how pretty you are!"

Her advisor smirked at her before reaching over and pulling on one of her princess's streamers of hair. Then she laughed. "There! I have been dying to do that since the first day I met you, Serena! But it's kind of hard to do when you don't have opposable thumbs."

Artemis snickered. "Oh yeah! Well I've been dying to do this!" He jerked Luna into his arms, making her cinnamon colored eyes flare wide in surprise. She started to sputter, but he cut her off by dipping her back slightly and then kissing the living daylights out of her!

Mina squealed and clutched her hands to her chest as little hearts started pulsing in her eyes.

"Way to go, Art!" Lita hurrahed.

Raye merely rolled her eyes and looked away.

Serena and Amy both blushed violently and looked at the floor. Although Serena couldn't help sneaking a peek at them through her downcast lashes. Luna and Artemis, huh? Who'd have thought it? She knew that they were close and that they worked together well, but she never imagined that there was anything romantic between them.

And maybe there wasn't. Luna sure seemed angry enough when she pushed away from him and shrieked, "Why you low down, good for nothing tomcat! Do I look like a common domesticated feline to you?"

Artemis tried to look abashed, but a tiny grin curved his lips. "Sorry. I guess I just got caught up in the moment. It's been so long since I've been in this body that I could help but want to experience one of the perks of being human. You were right here, so I just went with it. I apologize if I offended you."

"Hmph!" Luna huffed as she stalked over to take a seat on one of the loveseats. But she didn't object when Artemis followed her and sat next to her.

Amy and Raye sat on the one to their right while Mina and Lita took the one to their left. Serenity and Serena settled in on the one across from the advisors.

The queen arched a reproachful brow at the still grinning man. "Be careful, Artemis. If you can't behave yourself then I'll have no choice but to turn you back into your true form."

Luna's eyes glittered maliciously. "Do it, Serenity. Change him back. Oh! The fun I could have with him now that I have fingers! Not to mention that I would be much larger than him. Oh, yes! The fun I could have indeed!"

Artemis shrank back into the cushions behind him. "Um…good kitty? You wouldn't really hurt little ole me, would you?"

Everyone else collapsed into giggles.

"Okay, everybody! Time to be serious," Queen Serenity announced through her laughter. "Don't worry, Artemis. I would never leave you at Luna's mercy like that. You may keep your human form as long as you are here."

Then she began to address the others. "You see girls, Luna and Artemis are Muans. And while cats are their primary form, they have special abilities of their own, which are closely linked with moon magic. While here on the moon, it is very easy for them to adopt a human form with just a little boost of energy. They could change forms while they are on Earth, but it would take a lot more energy for them to do so and they wouldn't be able to hold it for very long."

Amy raised her hand like she was in class. "Excuse me, your majesty. I mean no disrespect, but I was wondering. How are you here? And how have you pulled off the magic that you have tonight? The moon is uninhabitable at this time. Yet there is oxygen and gravity here now. And you changed our clothes and conjured furniture out of midair. I'm sorry, but I'm a little confused."

Queen Serenity smiled. "I would have been a little disappointed if you weren't. The Mercurians have always been known to want to analyze everything and find out the _hows_ and _whys_. The explanation is long and complicated, and it would take far too long to explain, so I'll just make it simple. When I left this plane of existence for the next, I didn't immediately move on to the afterlife the way normal mortals do, because I am not a normal mortal. I am descended from the goddess, Selene, and her blood flows through me. When I departed this world I appeared in front of my ancestor, who offered me an alternative to the afterlife. Succinctly put, I am a sort of guardian spirit of the moon. I watch over it and make sure that no one discovers that there was once a civilization here. Although I no longer hold the power of the Silver Crystal, I still have my own energy that allows me to keep the barrier around this place up and protect it from prying eyes. During the phase of the full moon, my energy is at its highest, and I am able to project myself into a physical form for a short time if I need to. Does that answer your questions, Ami?"

Amy looked a little taken aback at being addressed by her past name, but she nodded her head. "Yes, your majesty."

Then the queen turned to look seriously at Serena. "So Beryl managed to get her hands on Endymion this time, did she?"

Serena nodded miserably. "Yes. She's had him for about a week and half now, and she keeps messing with his head. Every time I think I might get him back, she comes along and takes him from me again. And it's all my fault! He would have never been taken in the first place if he hadn't been protecting me. But Zoicite attacked, and he would have killed me too. Then Darien jumped in front of me and took the attack meant for me."

Queen Serenity's eyes shown in sympathy for both her daughter's reincarnation and the young man that she had loved in two lives. "I can't say that I am surprised. Endymion was always a brave and courageous young man. I would have never agreed to allow you to marry him if he had been a spineless coward. But now you face a dilemma, Serenity. Beryl has him, and she will use him against you if she thinks that it will help her in the fight. Do you have the courage to stand strong and do what must be done?"

Serena thought over those words for a few seconds before answering, "Are you asking do I have what it takes to take out Beryl and Metallia for good? If it is, then the answer is, I honestly don't know. I am, however, willing to go into the Dark Kingdom and fight them with everything that I have in me. I only hope that it will be enough. But if you're asking me if I am willing to kill Darien to save the Earth, my answer is _no_. It's not his fault that Beryl has done what she has to him, and I refuse to be the one to end his life because of something that is beyond his control. The only thing that keeps me moving, keeps me functioning, is the hope that I will find some way to free him from her. And as long as I have breath in my body, my mission is to get rid of Beryl and to set Darien free again."

"I never expected any other answer from you," Queen Serenity said softly. "Not everyone can be so lucky to find their true soul mate in life. But you found yours and I've always been happy for that. If there is a way for you to both free your prince and banish the Dark Kingdom for good, I'm sure you'll find the way. And I hope that what I want to show you will help."

Serena's expression turned curious. "I was wondering about that. Luna said something about you wanting to show us our final day here from our past life."

"Yes," the queen said softly. "I know that none of you are taking this fight lightly and that you're doing your best to prepare for it. But I want you all to understand and know exactly what you will be going up against. Beryl will not fight fair. And with Metallia behind her there is no telling what sneaky, underhanded schemes she may come up with. I know that you girls have some of your memories of that day, but I believe that you could benefit from knowing the whole story instead of relying on hazy, pieced together images. I won't lie to you though. Visiting the memories of the past will not be pleasant. You will be seeing that final battle taking place once again. And some of it could be quite…emotional. I'll leave the decision up to you."

All five of the teenage girls looked at each other questioningly, each of them silently wondering what the others were thinking.

Mina finally tossed her head and said to Serena, "Well, boss lady, what do you think?"

Serena thought about it long and hard for several moments before she replied hesitantly. "I'm going to do it. I have been reliving that ball and the events of that night every night in my dreams for months now, but I always skip from the ballroom to the balcony, so I know that there must be some things that I'm missing. I don't really want to do it and see all of those horrible things, but I don't feel very confident about my chances of facing Beryl. I know she's going to see us coming before we get there, and she's going to throw something at us. So it would be nice to get a little feel about the way she works."

"This is completely insane!" Raye muttered, then she grinned. "I'm in."

Lita snorted. "Hell! Count me in too! I just wish that we were going back to the real thing and not just seeing a memory. There are a few people that I would like to bash about a bit. But I guess I'll just bide my time for now and learn what I can. I'll save the bashing for our fight."

"Well if you guys are doing it, then so am I!" Mina chirped. "I'm not going to miss out while everyone else is in the know. Besides, I want to make sure that we are as prepared as we can be before we face that witch. And the more we know, the better."

Amy's eyes were serious and her voice was firm as she simply said, "I'm in too."

Serena smiled at her friends and sat forward to hold out her hand, palm down. "Okay, scouts! Let's get to work!"

Mina quickly placed her hand on top of Serena's, which was quickly followed by Raye, Lita, and Amy's. Then each girl added a second hand to the pile as they burst into giggles.

Then Serena sat back, brushing hair from her flushed cheeks, and looked at Queen Serenity. "We're ready."

Her former mother nodded gravely and said, "Okay, then. If you're sure."

Then the room was flooded with bright white light.

* * *

**A/N **So that's it for now. As you can tell, we're drawing close to the end for this season, but we're not quite there yet. Hopefully my next update won't take nearly as long to get out since it's already partially written, but it may be slightly shorter than normal. I don't know yet. Right now I'm planning on the next chapter to be strictly devoted to my version, at least for this storyline, of the last day on the moon. As some of you may be able to tell, I adopted more of the manga storyline for this chapter rather than the anime. I wanted to show a little closeness and bonding between Serena and Queen Serenity, along with the scouts, and using the original manga plot of Luna having them teleport to the moon instead of them being sucked into a void during a fight with Kunzite and seeing the memories of the past just seemed to suit the overall feel of this story. I also know that those of you that have seen the S movie have seen Luna in human form, but in the manga Artemis had a human form as well that he turned into on a couple of occasions, as did Diana. So I didn't make that up. I just decided to incorporate it into this part of the story. Now I'm off to get to work on _GT_. Be the dolls that I know you are, and drop me those reviews so I know how I'm doing. Later! Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	30. An Engaging Day

A/N I know! I know! I deserve to be flogged for such a long wait. What can I say? Writer's block is a pain in the ass! I have literally felt like someone has gone inside my head and erected a giant brick wall there that has slammed the brakes on whatever creativity I ever thought I possessed. But I haven't given up! I spent some time doing some reading, trying to get the creative juices flowing again, and I even made a new AMV, my first in two years, and posted it on my Youtube page (CelticPrincess827 – If you like Christina Perri's song A Thousand Years check it out). That went a long way in helping me get my head back on straight. So here I am once again. Now let me get those hugs out so you can move on. BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**saveme57**

**sabina21**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**little princess of mercury**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**CaughtInAFantasy**

**JuliaGulia17**

**Chibi Kitt**

**GoldenDragon326**

**loveinthebattlefield**

**Moonprincess998**

**nickybluejess**

**Phenitial**

**SereneS**

**Tiny2008**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**Magic713**

**x-YingYing-x**

**TheMoonPrinces110**

**KoiGirlPGSM**

**KatanaPrincess**

**White Owl**

**rainbabie**

**Ariel Night**

**LadyRosalie29**

**Orion**

Thank you so much! You guys rock! Now, on with the story!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 29

An Engaging Day

* * *

'_Whoa! So this must be what those people on that show my mom was watching a while back meant when they were talking about out of body experiences,' _Serena thought as she opened the eyes that she had closed to block out the bright white light. At least she thought she'd opened her eyes. She wasn't even sure if she had eyes anymore. In fact, she couldn't tell if she had any kind of a body at all. All she could see was white mist everywhere.

She looked down…or was she looking up? She couldn't tell which direction was which at this point. All she knew was that she couldn't see, or even feel her body. It was like it didn't exist anymore. She was nothing but a consciousness floating through…well…nothingness.

Had she died without noticing it? Had something gone wrong with Queen Serenity's magic? She began to panic just a bit. She couldn't die! Not yet! She still had to try to save the Earth from Beryl and Metallia!

"Calm yourself, Serenity. You are not dead," Queen Serenity's voice suddenly spoke to her from nowhere. "You are inside your own mind, inside the memories of your past that were hidden from you when you were reborn into your new life. The mist you see is just a mental manifestation of the Silver Crystal's power. You must relax and open your mind so that it can work for you. Only then will you be able to sweep aside the veil of power and reclaim your memories from long ago."

The queen's softly spoken words had a calming effect on her, and a feeling of peaceful tranquility filled her. Of course! Now she recognized this mist! It was the same mist that had always appeared in her dreams when she had first begun dreaming about the past and had hidden Darien's true identity as Endymion from her for so long. This was all inside her head. And only she had the power to control what her mind saw.

'_Relax, Serena,' _she told herself. _'Remember all of those meditation exercises that Raye taught you. You thought that they were silly then, but now they can help. Clear and calm your mind. Find your happy place, that one spot of complete peace where nothing can bother you. You can do it.'_

At least she hoped that she could. She had been dismissed from dojo when she was younger not only because of her inability to fight because of her clumsiness, but also because she never could grasp the mental concept, or _inner balance _as her sensei had called it. Raye had told her the same thing once, just in much simpler terms.

"Inner balance is just another name for your happy place," Raye said with a grin as she looked up from where she was kneeling before the Great Fire. "Your happy place is a place inside your mind where only you can go. It can be a memory, or something that you make up. But simply put, it should be a place of happiness and contentment where all the cares in the world melt away."

Serena had tried meditation several times, but with little success. Each time that she had tried to envision her happy place, it usually ended up being an all you can eat buffet with every kind of food imaginable, which only got her hungry and excited. And that was the complete opposite of what meditation was supposed to accomplish.

But now, here, surrounded by the silent mist, she suddenly had a clear view of her happy place. It was so simple really that it almost shocked her. She lay on a familiar couch in a familiar apartment with her head pillowed on the firmly muscled thigh of the black haired boy sitting next to her and reading a book. The fingers of his free hand stroked gently through her hair as she sighed. Yes, this was her happy place, just her and Darien enjoying a quiet moment together with no worries or arguments. It was a perfect picture of peaceful bliss, and she sank into it.

As she did, the mist around her began to swirl, like it had been blown by a strong gust of wind. The clouds were in constant motion, and they started to move faster and faster. The opaqueness of the mist began to thin, and then suddenly it was gone completely.

The veil had been lifted.

* * *

Luna's black heels clicked sharply against the marble floor as she strode briskly down the wide corridor of the moon palace. She nodded and smiled at the maids she passed, who were scurrying about, dusting and arranging flowers in preparation for tonight's events. Important and influential people from all across the galaxy would be in attendance at tonight's ball, so everything in the palace must be perfect. Queen Serenity would have it no other way. After all, this was a once in a lifetime event.

She reached the wide double doors leading into a suite and knocked once before opening one of the doors and stepping inside a lavish sitting room.

A maid, who was in the process of opening the curtains over a large window, looked up, startled for a moment. And then she smiled. "Good morning, Lady Luna."

"Good morning, Olivia," Luna returned congenially. Then she nodded her head toward the closed door leading to the bedchamber. "So is she…?" She let her voice trail off on the often asked question.

Olivia shook her head. "Her highness has not yet risen for the day, despite the fact that she has assured me that she would each of the five times that I have been in to wake her. I was going to go and prepare her bath, but I'm afraid that the water will grow cold before she gets to it."

Luna let out a sigh. "Go ahead and prepare her bath. I will handle getting her out of bed."

Olivia bobbed a curtsey. "As you wish, my lady."

They entered the bedchamber together, and Olivia scurried off through the door to the bathroom.

But Luna's gaze was fixed on the sleeping figure on the bed. White satin sheets and yards of golden hair were tangled around the young woman, who was lying on her stomach with her arms thrown out to either side.

An impatient huff slid past the royal advisor's lips as she marched to the side of the bed and shook its occupant's shoulder. "Princess Serenity! Wake up! You have severely overslept this morning!"

Sleep clouded blue eyes blinked open to look at her in confusion. And then the young princess rolled over and moaned. "What does it matter if I sleep in this morning, Luna? It's not like I have to attend any of your classes today. This is my day. So I should be allowed to sleep late if I want to."

Luna clucked her tongue. "Yes, today is for you. But there are still several things that need to be attended to before tonight's festivities. Your mother is expecting you and the other princesses to join her for breakfast soon, so you better move it, young lady!"

"But, Luna!" Serenity complained as she sat up in the bed, pushing her long hair from her face. "The ball will go on for most of the night. I don't want to get tired and have to leave my own party early because I get sleepy. And what would Endymion think if I show up to the announcement of our engagement with horrid circles under my eyes? He would probably run as far and as fast as he could."

"Now you sound like your cousin," Luna snickered as she thought of the Venusian princess and leader of the sailor scouts who was under the guidance of her fellow Mauan, and on again-off again lover, Artemis. Princess Minako was a sweet girl, but she was known to have her silly moments. She also had a wide streak of Venusian vanity in her, despite the fact that she was half Lunarian. It was a blessing, or curse, passed down to the descendants of the goddess Aphrodite. Luna had heard Artemis complain on many occasions about how he had to constantly push Minako to hurry up so that she wouldn't miss appointments because she refused to leave her chambers until her hair and make up were perfect. Thankfully, she was on duty most days, which required her to wear her fuku. Artemis claimed that they would never get anywhere they were supposed to go if they had to wait for her to pick out what to wear as well.

Serenity sniffed daintily as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. "Well, maybe Minako has the right idea. She says that men are visual creatures and that is why we women spend so much time fixing ourselves up for them. Because once we've caught their attention we have to keep it on us so they won't go looking for someone prettier."

"I think Little Miss Love Goddess speaks too much!" Luna grumbled. "And if Prince Endymion of Earth is after you strictly for the way you look, then he doesn't deserve you! You are a sweet, intelligent…"

"I know, Luna!" Serenity laughingly interrupted her. "And Endy doesn't see me that way. When he looks at me, I feel like he sees the real me. Oh sure, he tells me all the time that I'm beautiful. But when I'm with him, I feel like I am so much more. Other men that have come seeking my hand just see me as the sought after moon princess, as some kind of prize to be awarded in their masculine competition. But Endy sees me as a woman. He talks to me like I am a normal person. And he listens to me when I speak. Sometimes I feel like he knows me even better than I know myself."

"Okayyy…" Luna drawled as she saw her princess's eyes slide out of focus and knew that she was about to lose her to daydreams. "Get your head down out of the stars and get your feet back on solid ground. There will be plenty of time to fantasize about your prince later. But right now we have business to attend to."

Olivia appeared in the bathroom doorway, where she bobbed a curtsey. "Your bath is drawn and waiting, your highness. And I have everything ready to shampoo your hair."

Serenity pushed yet another stubborn piece of hair out of her face. "Thank you, Olivia. I'm sure this mop is going to need all the help it can get today. I'll be there momentarily."

After the maid had retreated back into the bathroom, the princess reached under the neckline of her white silk nightgown and pulled out a long gold chain that had a stunning diamond solitaire ring dangling from it and unclasped the chain from around her neck. Then she smiled at Luna. "It's hard to believe that after almost a year of keeping my engagement hidden that I'll be able to wear my ring properly after the announcement tonight."

"It will be a happy time," Luna agreed. "I thought that you had lost your mind when you stood up to your mother and declared that Endymion was the only man that you would wed. I figured that perhaps it was a passing fancy that would fade in time. But you persevered, despite the opposition, and I couldn't be happier for you. Anyone that has seen you and the prince together can see the love and devotion that you share."

"Hopefully love and devotion will be enough," Serenity murmured as she gently laid the ring in the top drawer of her bedside table next to a deep crimson rose whose petals were just beginning to turn brown around the edges and become brittle. It had been a gift from Endymion when she had seen him briefly while she had been visiting with his mother a few days before. It had been the first time that she had seen her secret fiancé in almost a month, but their reunion had been brief. Endymion and his men were in the middle of trying to keep a civil war from breaking out between those who were loyal to the crown and a band of rebels that the former Lady Beryl had gathered together in a fit of jealousy after Endymion had rejected her advances and she had done some snooping around and discovered that he and Serenity had been seeing each other. And it bothered Serenity just a bit that the unrest on Earth was partially her fault.

But it wasn't like she had purposefully set out to fall in love with the Earth's prince. It just sort of…happened. She still wasn't exactly sure how it had happened. But it had. She hadn't even liked Endymion when she had first met him a few years before when he had come to the moon with his father to discuss business with Queen Serenity. Okay, so she had felt a little breathless when she had gotten her first look at the handsome, black haired prince. And she had thought that his dark blue eyes were the most captivating things that she had ever seen…at least until he had flicked those sapphire orbs over her with such indifference that she'd felt like she had been examined and then dismissed as not being worthy of his notice. Not wanting to cause an embarrassing scene for her mother, she had turned his little game right back on him and made sure to keep her eyes on anything except him.

The ploy worked and it helped her keep her temper in check, until her mother had volunteered her to be a guide and show Endymion around the gardens while she and the earth king had their meeting.

"_He's a monster!" _she had raged to her mother and closest friends later that evening. _"Prince Endymion has to be the meanest, coldest, and most stuck up individual I've ever had the misfortune to meet! Do you know what he actually had the nerve to call me? He said that I was nothing more than a pretty, pampered little doll of a princess that had nothing else better to do than to lie around all day and make everyone wait on me hand and foot. Can you believe that?"_

"_At least he called you pretty," _Minako had giggled while Rei, Makoto, and Ami snickered in the background.

Queen Serenity had held back a laugh as well as she had counseled her enraged daughter. _"Dearest, I know that you and Prince Endymion may not see eye to eye, but you need to put it aside and remember your upbringing. Earth may not be a member of the Alliance, but it is an important planet to us as far as trade goes. The young prince is studying at his father's side in preparation for the day that he will take the throne, and that includes him coming here to learn about us and the trade agreements between us. One day he will be king of the Earth and you will be queen of the moon, and that means that you two will have to deal with one another. So it's best if you try to work past this dislike that you have for him. You don't have to like him, I just ask that you be a good hostess whenever he comes to visit."_

So she had done as her mother asked, at least to the best of her abilities. Each time the insufferable earth prince had come to the moon she had met him with a welcoming smile. But those smiles always turned brittle and died very quickly underneath the intensity of his mocking expressions. And it was inevitable that as soon as they were out of hearing range of his father and the moon queen that he would have some scathing remark to make.

She always tried to hold her tongue for as long as possible, but eventually he would say something that would set her temper off, and then she would light into him. What infuriated her more than anything was the fact that he always seemed amused rather than angered by her tirades.

And then slowly, something began to change between them. She wasn't sure exactly when the change took place, but one day Endymion just stopped picking on her as much and actually began carrying on meaningful conversations with her. His dark blue eyes softened and no longer appeared cold and bored. She had been wary at first, thinking that this was just a new joke that he was playing on her, but eventually she had thrown away her concerns and had fallen under his spell.

And then, on the night of his sixteenth birthday, when she had gone to Earth for the first time with her mother to attend a grand ball in his honor, he had led her out onto a small balcony where the light of her home shined down on them. And then, in the glow of the moonlight, he had given her her first kiss and professed his love to her. She had shyly confessed her feelings to him as well, which had lit the fire to the fuse of their whirlwind romance and started off a chain of events that began with the two of them sneaking around to see each other under the cover of darkness and eventually led to Serenity standing up boldly before her mother on her sixteenth birthday the following summer and declaring that she would marry no one other than Endymion.

Serenity looked down at the ring she had just set in the drawer. Endymion had given it to her the night of her birthday, almost a year ago. He had gone down on one knee before her and had almost begged her to one day be his queen. Of course she had accepted immediately. Queen Serenity had tentatively approved the match and had started the process of convincing the other Alliance council members that it was a smart move. A lot of the other planets were not pleased with the thought of the heir to the Silver Millennium marrying outside of the Alliance, and it had taken many months to convince them otherwise, but they had finally given in. And now she was on the threshold of making her engagement, which she had hidden from everyone except those closest to her, public.

"Serenity, are you okay?" Luna's soft voice snapped her out of her reverie.

She closed the drawer and turned to the advisor with a smile. "Of course I'm fine, Luna. I'm about to make my dreams come true. I am the happiest person in the universe right now."

'_I sure hope that you're right,' _Luna thought as she watched her princess stride into her bathroom in preparation for beginning her day. She didn't know why, but a grim feeling settled over her.

The moon princess felt the same way as she shed her gown to sink into the warm depths of her bath.

* * *

Princess Ami of Mercury hesitated for a moment before she reached up a hand to knock on the chamber doors in front of her. She waited for several moments after knocking, but she heard no reply. Not that she had expected to. She had grown used to it after all of this time.

When close to a minute had passed, she reached for the doorknob and entered into the room that always made her feel like she had descended into the bowels of hell itself.

Princess Rei of Mars knelt in front of the roaring fire there, dressed in the heavy ceremonial red and white robes of her home planet. Sweat immediately popped out on Ami's brow, but Rei appeared as cool as a cucumber.

"Um…Rei," the blue haired scout of ice murmured uncertainly.

"I know," the raven-haired princess answered immediately. "Queen Serenity requires our presence for breakfast so that we can go over our plans for the day."

Ami nodded, although Rei's eyes were closed. "Yes. She wants to cover the security for the guests' arrival this afternoon and for the ball tonight."

Rei snorted. "I don't see what the big deal is. Everybody that is coming will be bringing their own entourage of guards with them. And since all four of the generals will be coming with Endymion there will be plenty of us to keep an eye on the happy couple."

"True," Ami agreed. "But there is still some cause for concern. The last time I spoke to Zoicite he told me things are getting quite hectic on Earth because of all of the trouble that Beryl has been stirring up. She has even threatened the moon directly. So we must stay on our guard in case she decides to attack us."

"She would have to be crazy to try," Raye retorted. "Besides, all she has is a group of disgruntled civilians and a few army deserters fighting with her. That might be enough to terrorize a small village, but it's not enough to get her past us. In any case, the guys will be here with us and there will be guards from the other planets as well. I think our defenses will be tight."

Ami sighed deeply. "You're probably right, Rei. Maybe I'm just putting too much thought into this and overreacting. I'm sure everything will go off beautifully tonight."

Rei snickered. "And I'm sure you're looking forward to dragging a certain blonde haired general off for a few private minutes alone together."

"Rei!" Ami squealed as she slapped her hands to her cheeks that had suddenly flamed red in embarrassment. But the blue haired girl still managed to fire back defiantly, "You're one to talk about blonde generals! I'll probably have to hose you and Jadeite down before the night is over. You two are absolutely horrible when you get together. We'll be lucky if every candle in the ballroom doesn't melt into a puddle from the heat coming off of you."

Rei shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? The guy makes me hot. I never thought I would say that about him when I first met him, especially since he acted like such a moron. But after a while he kind of grew on me."

Ami wrinkled her nose. "Nice imagery. Is he a man or a fungus?"

"In Jed's case he might be a little bit of both," Rei laughed. Then she glanced at the clock on her wall. "Now, we have a few minutes left before we have to attend breakfast. So why don't you run off and give Zoicite a call and let him give you the same reassurances I just did while I finish up here. I'll catch up with you soon."

Ami gave a slight shake of her head. "Okay. I'll see you in a few minutes." She left the overheated chamber and scurried across the hall to her own set of rooms, sighing in relief when an icy blast of air hit her skin and she felt the perspiration on her forehead begin to evaporate. She and Rei were as close as sisters, but they were polar opposites when it came to their preferences in temperature.

She wandered over to her vanity table where the surface of her mirror swirled as if it were made out of water. She sat down and reached out to touch the mirror lightly with her fingertips.

"Zoicite?" she said softly.

The mirror swirled faster for a moment, and then cleared to show her the inside of a large bedchamber. Shelves full of books lined the walls and even more books were stacked on a few tables around the room. There was also a lab table against the wall under the window that held baskets of herbs along with beakers and flasks full of colorful liquids.

Ami always smiled at the sight, knowing that if she were to turn and look over her shoulder that her own room would be an almost mirror image of the one she was seeing, only with a decidedly more feminine décor. There was no doubt that the room in her mirror belonged to a man. There were no gauzy lace curtains at the windows or silk coverlet on the bed. Instead there were sensible cotton drapes that hung open on each side of the windows and a thick comforter of pale blue suede upon the bed.

But Ami paid these details little mind. Her attention was focused solely on the room's lone occupant, a slightly above average height young man with bright green eyes and long, wheat colored hair that he wore pulled back at his nape. He was sitting in an armchair beside the cold, empty fireplace as he thumbed through a thick book.

A soft laugh puffed past Ami's lips. "Trying to find the solution to the world's problems one page at a time, general?"

Zoicite's head snapped up in surprise, and then a gentle smile appeared on his face as he set the book to the side and stood. "I'm always hoping to stumble across the answer to rectify all that plagues us, my love. But I came to the conclusion long ago that the wisdom I seek will not be found within the bound pages of a book."

He approached the mirror that hung in his room with a stride that many would consider to be elegant, but Ami saw past that to the true man hidden under the surface. To most, Zoicite appeared to be nothing more than a quiet, studious man with a natural talent for science, medicine in particular. But Ami knew, as many others had found out, that Zoicite had rightfully earned his place as one of the leading generals of Earth. He was a highly skilled fighter who could turn deadly in the blink of an eye. He didn't relish the thought of battle the way his fellow generals did though, but he could more than hold his own in a fight.

But it was a calm and peaceful Zoicite who stood before her now with his mouth quirked up in a happy grin. "I am surprised to hear from you this morning. I figured you would be busy running around trying to get everything ready for tonight."

Ami's soft smile answered his. "I had a few moments free before I start my day, so I thought I would drop in and say hi."

He chuckled quietly. "Well, hello then."

She rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Zoi."

He swallowed his mirth. "Sorry, my little ice sprite. I am happy to see you though. An unexpected visit from you always brings a smile to my face."

She arched a brow at him. "So does finding a cure for a disease."

"True," he conceded with a shrug. "But I will take you over concocting an antidote any day."

She couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled out of her. Zoicite was the only man she had ever met that had the ability to make her act as giddy as Minako usually did. "So what time do you think you'll be arriving?"

A shuttered look flitted across his face. "Well…it might be later than we originally planned. Beryl's rebels have been stirring up some trouble around a nearby village, so the guys and I thought that we would ride out and take a quick peek to make sure that there is nothing serious going on before we head up to the moon."

"O…oh," Ami stammered as her eyes fell.

"Now what's that look for?" Zoicite chided gently. "You don't think I'm capable of riding out a few miles, taking a look around, and then coming back?"

"No, no, it's not that!" she hastily reassured him. "It's just that I miss you, and I'd hoped to be able to spend a little time with you before things get crazy tonight."

He laughed softly. "Don't worry, my love. I'll be there before you know it. In fact I'm certain that this little side mission will take us no time at all to complete. Endymion has been crawling the walls ever since last night in his impatience to come to the moon and claim his betrothed, so the rest of us thought that it would be best to let him go ahead and come up to the moon while we go check things out. That way we won't be held up and distracted by his constant mooning over Serenity. We will follow later with the king and queen."

A sense of deep foreboding skittered down Ami's spine. "Please be careful, Zoi. I know that you and the other guys are more than capable of taking care of yourselves, but even then it doesn't hurt to exercise some caution. This whole deal with Beryl doesn't feel right. I've heard rumors…"

"I've heard them too," Zoicite interrupted her. "And I believe that is all that they are, rumors. I've heard whisperings about black magic and evil spirits, but I don't put much stock in it. Beryl is half gypsy, so I'm sure she has dabbled around some in the beliefs of her mother's people. But what it all boils down to is that she is nothing but a spoiled and selfish woman who just can't get over the fact that Endymion preferred someone else over her and now she's throwing a childish temper tantrum by trying to turn the people on each other. I will give her credit for being resourceful, but she will slip up sooner or later, and then we will put a stop to her madness."

"I sure hope so," Ami murmured. "I don't normally let things like this get to me, but something about that witch unnerves me."

"Don't stress about it so much," he fussed lightly. "Today is supposed to be a happy day. Now, you go and take care of your business while I go tend to mine and I'll see you soon."

She gave him a tremulous smile as she placed her hand against the glass. "Okay. I love you."

He pressed his hand on the mirror over hers. "I love you too."

Meanwhile, across the hall, Rei had gone into a meditative state, allowing her consciousness to leave her physical body and travel into the spiritual plane. The fire had been uncooperative this morning, refusing to show her any visions…and that greatly disturbed her. She had never before sat in front of the fire and not at least caught a glimpse of something, even if it were minor. It was almost like nothing existed in the future for the fire to show her.

But that couldn't be possible. Time was an infinite thing. Even if all life ceased to exist, time would go on. That was just the nature of the universe.

She strained her ears to listen for any spirits that might have some words to pass on, but everything was silent, almost ominously so. She shivered, metaphorically speaking, since she wasn't in her corporeal form. Something was wrong.

There was a flash of light to her right, and she spun around to see what it was. What she saw shocked her. She saw a place that was full of buildings that stood even taller than the highest tower of the moon palace. Strange metal contraptions that held people inside of them moved along smoothly paved roads like horseless carriages. Throngs of people walked down walkways that lay along either side of the road, hurrying along like they had someplace important to be.

But one girl in the crowd stood out among all the others. At first glance she looked identical to Princess Serenity, only her hair, which was still worn in the Lunarian royal style, was slightly shorter than usual and she appeared to be wearing a more sedate version of a sailor scout fuku.

As she watched, Rei saw the girl break into a run, weaving in and out between several people, before she tripped over absolutely nothing and went sprawling across the concrete.

A black haired young man, who bore a striking resemblance to Prince Endymion, straightened up for a moment from where he had been leaning against a wall before doubling over in laughter.

The blonde girl's cheeks turned beet red as she jumped up to fly angrily into the face of the laughing boy…

And then abruptly, the vision disappeared.

Rei felt lost. What had that vision meant? She had traveled to every planet in the solar system at least once, but she had never seen a place that looked like what she had just seen. Nor under any circumstances would her princess be allowed to be in such a public place around so many people without having at least two guards on her. It was quite unnerving.

Just then a warm burst of air blew past her ear, causing her to shudder. But it was a shudder of anticipation rather than apprehension. The beginnings of a smile twitched her lips as a husky chuckled circled around her. Then an amused voice said, "Good morning, Firefly. Out for a morning stroll among the spirits, are we?"

She rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, Jed. You're hysterical."

"I aim to please," he quipped back as his astral projection appeared next to hers.

Rei was sure that if she were in her physical body that her breath would have caught in her throat and her heart would be banging like a drum against her ribcage as she turned to take in the handsomeness of the man beside her.

True, astral projections took on the appearance of a person's physical body, but they were semi-transparent and their color faded. But even those limitations didn't detract from Jadeite's roguish good looks. Standing slightly over six feet tall, he had a mop of golden wavy hair that could rival sunlight and a pair of blueberry eyes that always twinkled when he was up to mischief, which was most of the time. He was a born practical joker who loved to laugh…unfortunately, he was also a huge pervert.

His nose wrinkled up as he flicked his eyes over Rei. "Dang, baby! If you're going to spirit walk, couldn't you at least do it naked?"

Rei hissed, "You better be glad I can't put my hands on you right now, because I would wrap them around your throat!"

"Ooo, physicality and violence. I sure got lucky today," he replied gleefully. Then he waggled his phantom eyebrows at her. "Or maybe I'll get lucky tonight."

Rei growled, although she felt more like laughing. Normally, rude and crass behavior appalled her. But there had always been something about Jadeite that had amused her, ever since the first day that she had met him. He had touched a side of her that she had never known existed. And no matter how much she had tried to push him away, he had pursued her relentlessly until she had given in.

She couldn't explain why they were drawn to one another. Minako always claimed that it was because they were soul mates, but she scoffed at the idea. Other than their mutual abilities to control and manipulate fire and being able to travel the spirit realm they had nothing in common. He was wild and carefree while she was quiet and serious. That wasn't to say that he wasn't an excellent warrior, he was. Because of the separation between the Earth and the moon, she had never had a chance to witness him in battle. But stories had reached her about legions of men scurrying from the battlefield the moment they caught sight of the fire general to keep from becoming barbeque.

He also possessed a wicked temper that could match her own on any day. It wasn't often that he lost it, but when he did people knew to stay out of his way until he cooled down. Even Kunzite, his commander, avoided him when he was mad. Which was saying something when you considered that very little intimidated the platinum haired head general.

All in all, he and Rei made an extremely odd couple. She didn't know why he had chosen her. He was attractive and funny, and he could have his pick from thousands of women. But he had set his sights on her and she was happy, at least when he wasn't irritating her to death with his twisted sense of humor. He was a giving and attentive lover, and she thanked Ares every day that he had come into her life, even if he could try the patience of a saint.

"Keep it up, Dragonboy, and I'll make you the main course at tonight's banquet!" she ground out at him. "Roasted pig isn't on the menu, but I'm sure we can make an exception in your case."

He placed a shadowy hand over his translucent chest in a motion like he was covering his heart. "Ouch! That one stung deep, Firefly!" But his grin faded away as he took in her pensive look. "Okay, spill! What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Don't give me that crap!" he snapped back at her defensively. "You may be able to fool others, but you can't pull the wool over my eyes. I know you too well. Now what's bothering you?"

She shrugged. "It's probably nothing. I'm sure I'm just overreacting. I tried to do a fire reading earlier and the fire showed me nothing. It disturbed me."

"Hey," he said softly, his guarded expression gentling. "Everybody has an off day every now and then. I know I don't see a vision every time I sit down in front of the fire."

"But I do," she insisted. "It may not show me exactly what I want it to, but I always see something when I meditate. But the fire is silent today. So I came here to see if I could get some answers. But all I've gotten was one very strange glimpse of a vision right before you showed up."

"It's probably just your nerves," he replied comfortingly. "And it's no wonder. We've all been on edge lately with Endymion and Serenity's engagement coming up and all. I'm surprised any of us have any sanity left."

She slid him a sly look. "I don't think anyone would ever mistake you for being sane."

"Ooo, those are fighting words!" he laughed, and then she joined in. After a few seconds he asked, "Feeling better now?"

She gave him a grateful smile. "Yes I am. I'll feel even better once tonight is over and behind us and Serenity has that damn ring on her finger. All this sneaking around for the past year has been exhausting."

Jadeite's look turned smug. "Are you sure it's just the sneaking around that has exhausted you? I think I've had a hand in it as well. We've had a lot of long nights together."

"Watch it, Hotstuff! You're treading into dangerous territory here," she warned him.

He flashed her a boyish grin. "Yeah, but handling danger is only one of my many talents. Of course, you've already witnessed my best talents."

She sighed in exasperation. "I swear I am going to put a muzzle on you."

He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Hmm…bondage. Now that's something that I have never tried. But I'm game if you are." He squeaked as Rei shot him a venomous glare and held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry…sorry!"

Suddenly he turned all professional. "Speaking of treading into dangerous territory, I'm going to be a little late arriving this afternoon. Kunz, Neph, Zoi, and I are going to ride to a nearby village and check things out. We got some reports that Beryl has been in the area stirring up trouble."

A bad feeling swept through Rei. "You guys be careful. I've been sensing something stirring lately, but I don't know what it is. Whatever it is it's dark and evil. I wouldn't be surprised if Beryl is behind it."

He nodded. "I know. I've felt it too. Nephrite says that he has sensed some kind of a disturbance, but the stars haven't confirmed it. Kunzite and Zoicite think it's just our imaginations. But we are on guard just in case."

A sound like a muffled voice traveling down a long tunnel reached them and Jadeite sighed. "That sounds like Zoicite trying to pull me out of my trance. I guess that means that it's time for me to get moving."

Rei reached for his hand, forgetting for a moment that they weren't in solid form. She huffed a frustrated sound when her hand passed right through his. "So I'll see you later, right?"

He winked at her. "You know it! Tonight is going to be a party that we won't soon forget. Wild horses couldn't keep me away from it. I'll be there with my dancing shoes on. And you better be ready, my princess, because I'm not going to let you go for the entire night."

Rei was glad that she wasn't in her body, because her cheeks would have been flaming if she were. Still, she managed to stammer, "I look forward to it."

"You're so adorable when you're embarrassed," he chuckled. "Love ya, Firefly," he told her sincerely as he began to fade away.

"I love you too!" she called after him. But fear slammed into her only milliseconds later as she received a frightening vision. For one tiny moment, before he'd disappeared entirely, she had seen Jadeite clearly. He had been dirty, bloody, and held his sword before him as he glared hatefully at her. Blistering fire roared all around them.

And then, just like that, the vision was gone. Jadeite had retreated back into his body and she was standing all alone.

"Maybe he's right. My nerves are really starting to get to me," she muttered. "If there is a battle coming Jed and I would be fighting together, not against each other. Why would I even be envisioning something as ludicrous as that? Perhaps I need a vacation after all of this engagement ball nonsense is over with. But fat chance of that happening. Once everything is out in the open Serenity will need her guard more than ever while she and Endymion are publicly courting." She sighed deeply. "Oh well, at least Jed and I will be able to work together. So that counts for something."

Knowing that she needed to get back and begin what was sure to be a crazy day, she let her consciousness fade out of the spiritual plane and return to her body.

* * *

"I wish I could go with you," Makoto said as she looked into the fairly large glass orb that sat on the nightstand next to her bed. At first it looked like a common snow globe, but closer inspection would show that instead of tiny white snowflakes floating around inside of it, it was full of glittering gold and silver stars. And at this moment there was also a man's face projected in the center of it.

Nephrite chuckled. "Always ready for a fight, aren't you, Sparky?"

She huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "It's not funny! You have no idea how boring it's been around here lately. The only thing that anybody talks about is this ball. I'm so sick of hearing about the music and the decorations. I don't even dare mention food in front of anyone because then they start discussing the menu for the banquet. I'm so fed up with it all that I could rip someone's head off!"

"Wow! Somebody is in rare form this morning," Nephrite replied in a joking tone.

Makoto speared him with a deadly glare. "I'm being serious here, Neph! I usually go into the kitchen and cook to escape the boredom whenever it sets in. But I've been banned from there the past few days because they've got an army of people in there preparing all the food for tonight. And on top of it all I have Luna dragging me away to go meet with the dressmaker every time I turn around to have a fitting for my ball gown. Geez! Just how many times do they have to measure me? I doubt that I could add any significant inches of fat to my body in a twenty-four hour timeframe. If it weren't for my regular patrol duties I would probably go stark raving mad!"

He winced in sympathy for her plight before responding smoothly, "If it's any consolation, I'm sure you'll be beautiful tonight when you wear that ball gown."

"Now you're just trying to sweet talk me," she grumbled as she threw herself across her bed. "At least you have the possibility of some excitement. I would give anything to be able to ride off for a few hours to do some snooping around on the enemy. You might even get lucky and come across a few of Beryl's little goons hanging around somewhere and have a little skirmish. That would be so much better than being stuck here."

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that it sounds like you're not interested in your princess's engagement to my prince," he chided her in a mock stern tone.

"Oh! You know that's not it," she huffed as she rolled to her side and propped her head up on her hand to look at him. "I'm really happy for Serenity and Endymion, I am. The two of them have fought tooth and nail to be together. And I think that Endymion is a really good thing for Serenity. I never thought that she would ever have the guts to stand up to her mother, much less take on the entire Alliance council, but with Endymion's support she turned from a fuzzy kitten into a ferocious tiger. The two of them deserve this ball to celebrate their triumph and to rub it into the faces of the people that are still grumbling about the union. But for Zeus's sake, there are other things to talk about besides the ball."

Nephrite's slate blue eyes twinkled with humor. "You've just been kept cooped up too long. That's what your problem is. But try to look on the bright side. After tonight Serenity will be spending a lot of time on Earth to start learning about cultures and customs. And as a personal guard of the future queen you will have to accompany her. So I promise you this, the next time I have to go out on a reconnaissance mission you can go with me. Maybe we'll have a stroke of luck and be able to take out some bad guys together."

She seemed only slightly mollified by his words. "That doesn't help me out today though."

He let out a light laugh. "Sorry sweetheart. It's the best I can do in these circumstances. Besides, you're really not missing out on anything. These recon missions usually end up being a bit of a bore themselves. We go to a village, find some scared villagers who are more than willing to tell us what has been going on, collect our information, and go home. That's usually the extent of it. I haven't seen a lot of action lately myself."

Makoto sat up slowly and gave him a sultry smile. "Well who knows, general? If you play your cards right you might have all the action you can handle tonight."

A hungry gleam entered his eyes. "Is that a promise, princess?"

"I guess you'll have to come up here to find out," she tossed back casually. "Just try not to tire yourself out too much."

He chuckled deeply. "I like the sound of that." Then he turned his head as a muffled voice spoke up behind him. After a few moments of conversation he faced her again. "Well, I guess I better go."

Makoto nodded. "Hey, you be careful out there. Beryl might not be the smartest thing walking around on two legs, but she is a dirty, underhanded, scheming, manipulative little bitch. I know it has to be chafing her raw that Endymion chose Serenity over her. Personally, I think she's a psychopath, and those are the type of people you have to watch out for. The news of the engagement announcement is common knowledge, so she's probably getting desperate by now."

Nephrite snorted. "I wish she would get desperate. When people get desperate they start making stupid mistakes. All we need for her to do is slip up once. If we could find out exactly where she's hiding we could go and arrest her. Then we'd drag her spoiled, skinny little ass to jail and that would be the end of the story. But so far she has managed to keep herself pretty well hidden and lets others do her dirty work for her."

"Typical behavior for a coward like her," she sniffed in disgust. "I can't really say that I'm all that surprised. From what I hear you guys scared the life out of her during your last little encounter when you caught her trying to sneak into Endymion's chambers."

His expression turned thunderous. "Don't remind me. We almost had her that time. I still don't understand how she gave us the slip. It was like she just disappeared or something. If I didn't know any better I would say that she teleported. But it would take somebody with some extremely powerful magic to be able to teleport alone, and Beryl doesn't have that kind of power. At least she didn't use to. But…"

"But what?" she insisted as his voice trailed off.

He shook his head. "It's nothing. I've just been feeling a little out of sorts the past few days. It's probably because the stars have been playing some kind of a cosmic practical joke on me. They have been keeping their secrets quiet lately and have refused to tell me anything, no matter how much I ask for their guidance."

Makoto's voice turned concerned. "Has anything like this ever happened to you before?"

He nodded. "Yeah. When I get distracted and lose my focus the stars give me the silent treatment. I guess it's their way of telling me that I need to get my head screwed back on straight."

Well that was a relief to her. She gave him a rueful grin. "Well we have been running around like a pack of raving schizophrenics lately. At least this part is almost done."

"Don't get too complacent yet, my darling," Nephrite chuckled. "This day is just getting started. In fact, I feel a little sorry for you. You see, the rest of us guys knew that if we let Endymion ride out with us today that we would have to listen to him moan and groan the entire time about how he wants to hurry up and see Serenity. He's completely hopeless when he gets like that, so we decided to not invite him along. I'm sure that means that he will be heading your way sometime in the near future."

"Oh boy! Isn't that just peachy?" she drawled sarcastically. "Now I'll be stuck watching him and Serenity being disgustingly mushy together all day. I should probably go ahead and skip breakfast this morning because I'm sure my stomach will be nauseous in a while."

"There, there, my mighty Jupiter," he said complacently. "You always act so tough, but I happen to know that you have a romantic side to you as well."

She rolled her eyes. "Only with you, general. Can you just imagine the disaster that would occur if everyone found out what a marshmallow I am on the inside? It would destroy my badass reputation. Oh well, if Serenity and Endymion start getting too frisky together I'll just have to lock them in the supply closet again until they cool off."

Nephrite snickered. "Um, darling, that may actually cause an adverse reaction. Locking them up together may have worked wonders back when we got tired of listening to them bicker all the time. But if you put the two of them together in a small enclosed space they are more liable to get heated up instead of cooling down."

"You're right," she sighed. "I just need to resign myself to the fact that I'm going to have to bide my time with those two. Maybe they'll settle down after the newness of marriage wears off and they have a kid or two, huh?"

"We can only hope," he agreed with a laugh. Then the voice behind him began speaking again and he groaned. "I better get moving before Zoi has a stroke. I'll see you later."

"I'll be here," she replied airily. "You be careful out there. I love you!"

"I love you too," he said wistfully as his face faded from view.

"Ugh!" Makoto moaned as she rolled over and buried her face in a pillow. She hated the separation between her and Nephrite as much as Serenity detested the time that she had to spend away from Endymion, and she knew that the other scouts felt the same way about the men that they loved.

It was kind of funny the way things had worked out. She knew that Queen Serenity had indulged in many laughs over the irony of the situation. What were the chances of Serenity's four scouts falling in love with Endymion's four generals at the same time that romance had begun blossoming between the prince and princess? It was pretty funny when you looked at it that way. It was just a shame that they'd had to sneak around so much in order to see each other, and all because the other planets held a prejudice against the Earth because it had refused to join the Silver Alliance.

But all of the secrecy was about to change. Once Serenity and Endymion's engagement became official the scouts and generals would be free to make their own relationships public knowledge. It was sure to rock some boats when they did, but that was just too darn bad. People would just have to learn to get over it.

The best thing of all was that an official engagement was almost as legally binding as an actual marriage, which meant that Serenity would be free to spend as much time with Endymion as she wanted to. She would even be allowed to share a bed with him and nobody would think less of her. And knowing Serenity, she would probably be stuck to her prince like glue from tonight on. And wherever Serenity went, the scouts went. Likewise, wherever Endymion was, the generals weren't far behind. So it was pretty safe to say that she and Nephrite would soon be spending a lot of time together. She couldn't wait.

But first they had to get all of the technical bull crap done and out of the way, which meant that she needed to get a move on. She sat up and straightened her curly auburn ponytail before reaching for her henshin wand on her nightstand. Tonight she would be allowed to wear a ball gown even though she would technically be on duty. But for now it was business as usual.

She stood beside the bed and held the wand up. "Well, here we go. Jupiter Power!"

* * *

"Don't give me that look!" Minako screeched as she slapped her hand against the water, causing ripples to dance across the glassy surface.

The face in the water distorted at the disturbance, but his voice was clear as he asked smoothly, "What look?"

The blonde girl growled low in her throat. "You know exactly what look I'm talking about! I mean that smug, condescending look that you always get. That overbearing attitude of yours may impress your underlings, but it doesn't work on me. In fact, I outrank you, buddy!"

Kunzite's face had cleared up enough that she could see him arch a pale eyebrow at her. "My apologies, _princess_. I didn't mean to offend you."

Her blue eyes flared. "You see! That's exactly what I'm talking about! I can't stand it when you try to act so superior, like you're better than everybody else."

His gray eyes narrowed slightly. "I have a lot on my plate right now."

"Well so do I!" she snapped back. "In case you haven't noticed, I happen to be in the same situation that you are right now." She stood up abruptly from where she had been sitting beside the small ornamental fountain in the corner of her room.

Kunzite heaved a sigh. "Minako, love, I am sorry. I know you're dealing with the same stress that I am, and it's not fair for me to take my frustrations out on you."

She folded her arms across her chest and lifted her chin imperiously. "No, it's not fair. And I don't appreciate it very much either."

"You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?" he groaned.

"Nope!" she quipped, but a grin twitched the corners of her mouth. A few seconds later she broke into a full-fledged smile and dropped to her knees beside the fountain. "Oh, who am I kidding? I can never stay mad at you for long and you know it. But you do owe me a dance tonight for being so mean."

The smile that he reserved only for her, the one that he would never show in front of anyone else, appeared on his face. "My lovely goddess, you may claim all of my dances tonight, for there is no other woman that I wish to hold in my arms."

She batted her lashes. "Flattery will get you everywhere, general." Then her expression turned serious. "Now, about our little situation for the day. I assure you, my scouts and I are more than capable of keeping an eye on one lovesick prince for the day."

Kunzite pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know you are. I suppose I'm just being overly cautious. I don't normally let Endymion go anywhere without at least one of the guys going with him. But I need the others with me and I don't feel like the prince would be much help on our assignment today. He's too wrapped up in Serenity to keep a clear head."

Minako tilted her head thoughtfully as she read between the lines. "No, there's something else to all of this. What aren't you telling me?" Then her eyes widened. "You're still expecting Beryl to cause some trouble tonight, aren't you?"

"I think we should be prepared for anything," he replied vaguely. "When dealing with someone as obviously psychotic as she is you have to expect the unexpected."

But she wasn't soothed by his words. "Why do I still get the feeling that you're keeping something from me?"

He shrugged. "I really don't think that it's anything to worry about. It's probably only rumors anyway. But one of my informers has reported that he's heard from some Beryl followers that she has decided that she wants to get her hands on the power of the Silver Crystal. She thinks that it will make her more powerful if she does."

Minako snorted. "What is she, stupid or something? Sure, the crystal would give her a magic boost if she had it, but it would zap her dry before it would let her harness its full potential. Only those of the Lunarian royal bloodline can truly control the crystal. And even then it is dangerous for them to unleash all of its power. Aunt Serenity would be the first one to tell you how draining it can be to use the crystal."

"Well Beryl doesn't see it that way, I'm sure," he retorted. "People like her are always blind of the consequences of her actions. All they see is their chance for power and to hell with anyone or anything else. She's obsessed, and I believe she will be relentless about going after what she wants."

A shiver of apprehension rippled down Minako's spine. "Do you still think that she may try to pull something tonight?"

"I honestly don't know," he answered glumly. "The rational part of me says that there is no way that she would be stupid enough to try it. But we're not exactly dealing with a rational person. I would better be safe than sorry though. If I get the chance to take her down today, then I'm going to take it. If she's locked up behind bars for treason then we won't have to worry about her crashing the ball. In any case, I'll be glad knowing that Endymion is out of her reach. I'm depending on you to keep an eye on him for me, my love."

"Trust me. He will be as safe here with my girls and I as he would be at home with you and the guys," she reassured him. "But I think you should give Endymion some credit. He has been successfully leading his father's army for years now and even you have admitted that he is a formidable fighter. You taught him well. I'm sure he could handle a walking scarecrow like Beryl if she made a move on him."

Kunzite shook his head. "I'm not doubting his abilities at all. I know that he can handle himself. But something about this whole situation bothers me. Beryl hasn't been spotted personally for a while now. But the last reported sighting was very disturbing. People said that her appearance had changed dramatically and that she barely appeared human anymore. Several people even said that she had fangs now."

Minako looked startled. "What? You mean like a vampire?"

"Vampires are merely a legend," he scoffed. "I was thinking more along the lines of a wild animal. I also heard that she has long, claw-like nails and that she carries a staff. There are even rumors that she can shoot energy blasts from her hands."

She raised trembling fingers to her lips. "But she has never had that kind of power before."

He nodded. "I know. And that's what concerns me. She's been dabbling around with black magic, and I think that she has unlocked something…something that could give her the advantage in a fight."

But Minako had heard enough. "Don't go out looking for her today. Come here instead. Together we can make sure that everything is secure for tonight so that nothing happens. Then in a day or so the other scouts and I will come to Earth with you and help you find and confront her. We can leave Endymion with Serenity while we go. I trust him to keep her safe. But between the eight of us I'm sure we can handle anything that she can throw at us."

A hand appeared in the vision in the fountain to run fingers through the silvery platinum hair. "Minako, I appreciate how you feel. Really I do. But this is my job. This is the first halfway solid lead that we've had on that witch in weeks, and I have to act now while it's fresh. If I wait the trail could go cold. It probably already has anyway. More than likely this will turn into another wild goose chase just like all of the other leads that we've gotten. So just sit tight, keep an eye on Endymion for me, and I'll be there just as soon as I can. Okay?"

"Fine," she sighed. "But you better be careful out there. And if that witch manages to give you the slip you better believe that next time I'm going to be included on the hunt. She has threatened my princess, who also happens to be my cousin, and I don't take threats like that lightly. So if I get a chance to take a piece out of her hide I'm going to take it."

Kunzite chuckled. "I love it when you turn all bloodthirsty. You are quite an amazing warrior, my lady."

Her sky blue eyes twinkled. "Coming from the great General Kunzite, I'll take that as the highest compliment."

"You should," he told her sincerely. "You are one hell of a woman."

She propped her chin on her folded arms on the rim of the fountain as she stared down adoringly at him. "I love you."

"And I love you," he replied back quickly.

Suddenly, the door behind Minako that led into her sitting room flew open to reveal an irritated looking scout dressed in green.

"Geez, Venus," Jupiter growled. "Don't you know how to answer your door? I've been knocking on the outside door for what seems like ten minutes now."

Minako rolled her eyes. "Sorry. I didn't hear you. Kunzite and I were talking about something important."

Jupiter snickered. "Well if you get your face much closer to that water you're going to find yourself all wet. Besides, I don't think you can kiss him like that."

"Ju-pi-ter…" Minako ground out in an infuriated tone.

"My bad!" Jupiter replied, holding her hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Geez, I was just joking. Don't get yourself so bent out of shape. Anyway, it's almost time for breakfast, and her majesty wants us all there."

"Okay, okay. I'm coming," Minako grumbled.

"I'll just wait outside for you," Jupiter said with a mischievous grin. "Just don't take too long saying goodbye to lover-boy. You'll have plenty of smoochy-smoochy time with him tonight."

Minako screeched and threw a high-heeled shoe at her friend. "Get out!"

Jupiter sidestepped the shoe and ducked back out the door, laughing loudly the entire time.

Kunzite tsked. "I warned Nephrite to not allow Makoto to spend too much time around Jadeite. He has a bad habit of corrupting people."

"Hmph!" Minako huffed. "I don't think it has anything to do with her being exposed to Jed. She's always been a little out there anyway. But I suppose she's right. I should really get moving."

"I will see you later then," Kunzite told her, a small smile softening his stern features for just a moment.

"I'll be here," she practically sang as she blew him a kiss.

Kunzite's face disappeared from the water of the fountain.

Minako stood and pulled her henshin rod from the pocket of her dress. She held it up and called out, "Venus Power!" A flash of light and a flurry of golden stars later found her dressed in her orange fuku.

"Time to take care of business," she muttered as she stalked from her suite.

Outside in the corridor, she found not only Jupiter, but also Mars and Mercury as well. She smiled and nodded at the latter two before turning a glare on the tall, auburn haired scout.

"Not a word out of you!" she snapped as Jupiter's mouth opened.

Jupiter shrugged. "All I was going to say is that it's nice to see you still dry. I guess you decided to not go for a dip with Kunzy in the fountain after all."

Despite her annoyance, Venus couldn't help but giggle. "You really aren't right, are you?"

"Ah, you wouldn't love me as much as you do if I were serious all the time. That's what we keep those two around for," Jupiter declared as she waved a hand toward Mars and Mercury.

Mercury only sighed and shook her head while Mars muttered under her breath, "Gee, thanks a lot."

"Now let's not have any doom and gloom today," Venus trilled as she looped an arm through the arms of the quieter duo. "This is a happy day for all of us. So I want to see nothing but smiles. Okay, so we have a little work to attend to today, but come tonight we will have our men with us and be able to party it up some. Now get rid of those glum faces before I sting you both in the butt with my Crescent Beam."

"Yeah right! You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn only ten feet away from you," Mars grumbled. But her expression had brightened tremendously.

Venus surveyed her raven-haired sister scout fondly. "Now let's get down to the dining hall before Aunt Serenity sends someone looking for us. With my luck it would probably be Artemis, and I really don't feel like listening to his bellyaching today."

They all laughed, and arm in arm they made their way down the stairs and across the grand foyer until they reached the dining room.

Queen Serenity looked up from her plate with a smile as they entered. "Good morning, ladies. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to eat my breakfast all alone this morning."

"Serenity's not here yet?" Venus mused as she took a seat to the left hand of the queen while eying the empty chair to the queen's right. "I thought for sure that her excitement would have her up before anyone else. In fact, I figured that she wouldn't sleep a wink last night."

The queen sighed as she patted her lips primly with a napkin. "I'm sure Serenity's excitement today is great, and I'm certain that she was probably up until late pacing the floor. But you girls know how much she enjoys her sleep."

"Yes. We know," the scouts intoned together. And then they burst into gales of laughter.

* * *

"I can't believe that you didn't tell me how late it was getting, Luna!" Princess Serenity squealed as she hopped across the room on one foot while trying to put her shoe on.

Luna and Olivia hopped along on either side of her, each trying to secure one side of her extremely long hair into the traditional Lunarian royal style.

"Well I didn't know that you were going to doze off while in the bath," Luna grumbled around a mouthful of hairpins as she wrestled with the golden strands. "I thought you were just taking your time bathing, not taking a chance of drowning yourself in the tub!"

"I was only half asleep, not really asleep," Serenity insisted. "The warm water felt so good that it just soothed me. But I was hardly in any danger of drowning, Luna. Only a nitwit would drown herself in her own bathtub."

"No comment there," Luna murmured under her breath.

"Okay, your highness, this side is done," Olivia announced as she quickly scurried away from the still hopping princess to avoid bodily harm.

Luna slid one last hairpin into place. "This side is too."

"Great!" Serenity said emphatically as she finally managed to get her shoe on properly. Why hadn't Olivia picked out some slip-ons instead of ones with ankle straps? Oh well, they were on now. "I've got to run. Mother will be livid if I'm much later."

She dashed to her bedside table and pulled out the chain with her engagement ring on it and looped it over her head. She pulled her tails of hair free from it and then slipped the chain inside the bodice of her dress where the ring nestled between her breasts. It served the dual purpose of keeping the ring out of sight of nosy people and keeping the symbol of Endymion's love for her close to her heart.

It wasn't until Serenity ran from the room that Luna noticed that anything was wrong with her princess's appearance, and she called frantically after her, "Serenity, wait! The back of your dress hasn't been done up all the way yet."

Serenity skidded to a stop in the corridor, but a combination of her forward momentum and slippery-soled shoes caused her to slide into a table that held a large ornamental vase. She shrieked and grabbed for the vase to steady it before it could fall and shatter against the hard marble floor.

A few of the servants that were going about their duties looked up in shock at the commotion. Obviously they must not have been employed at the palace for long because the more established members of the staff barely spared more than a quick glance and a quick shake of their heads. They were well aware of their princess's sometimes rambunctious habits, and those habits usually included a mad dash to the breakfast table in the mornings in hopes of avoiding a scolding from her mother for being late yet again.

Luna had frantically followed her and was panting slightly as she took her princess by the arm to drag her into a curtained off alcove and away from the ears of the curious members of staff.

"Honestly!" the dark haired woman grumbled. "I am the chief advisor to the queen, but most of the time I feel more like a glorified nursemaid."

"Sorry, Luna," Serenity mumbled as the older woman turned her around and began doing up the loose buttons on the back of her dress."

Luna sighed heavily. "I know you're sorry. You're always sorry. But not everything in life can be fixed just by uttering a simple apology. I just hope and pray to the goddess that you fully comprehend the magnitude of responsibility that is about to be laid upon your shoulders. Once you marry Endymion you will not only be the future queen of the moon, but of the Earth as well. People will be looking to you for guidance. And they will be expecting a strong ruler. Not to mention the fact that you will also have to win the favor of Earth's people. Some of them are still quite leery of outsiders."

"Oh, Luna! You're worrying too much," Serenity replied with a giggle. "Endy told me that if I just be myself that the people of Earth would love me. I've done a pretty good job so far of being a moon princess. I'm sure I'll make a good princess of Earth too."

"Here's hoping," Luna whispered under her breath as she buttoned the last button. "There! Now you are presentable. You better get yourself down to the dining room. Your mother has a very busy schedule today and can't spend half of the day waiting on you. And for Selene's sake, walk, don't run. We don't need any disasters and I would think that today of all days that you would want to be seen as a lady."

"Okay, Luna! I'll see you later," Serenity sang as she twirled away, surprisingly graceful. But to the princess's credit, she kept her pace down to a normal walk.

At least she did until she was halfway down the grand staircase. When a clock in the foyer began chiming the hour she flew into another panic. "Oh! Mother is going to kill me!"

She lifted her skirt a few inches and began running down the stairs, cursing the inventor of heeled shoes as she went. Sure, high heels were pretty when paired with the right gown, but they really were a pain for everyday wear.

She tripped on the bottom step, but caught herself on the banister in time to keep herself from sprawling out on the floor. She took a half second to right herself, and then ran for the dining room as fast as she could, heels clacking loudly along the way.

Artemis, in his human form, was leaning against the wall next to the dining room doors as she approached. He looked up and grinned when he heard her approach. "You're late," he told her as he opened the door for her.

"I know!" she cried as she blew by him and into the room. "I'm here!" she announced, still running, as she glanced around at the room's occupants. But when her eyes landed on the one person that she hadn't been expecting, her feet flew out from underneath her and she went tumbling. "Eek!"

A blur of black streaked across the room and reached her well before she was in any danger of becoming intimate buddies with the floor.

Her breath whooshed out of her in a rush as she fell forward into something that was unbelievably solid, yet yielding at the same time. An intoxicating scent swirled around her, filling her nose and befuddling her mind. Then the warm wall beneath her ear began rumbling with a chuckle.

"Well, well, it's not everyday that I have an angel literally fall into my arms," a husky voice said from somewhere above her.

Her head shot up and she found herself trapped by a pair of eyes that glowed like precious sapphires. Certain that she was still asleep and must be dreaming this, she barely whispered, "Endy?"

He threw his head back, tossing his ebony hair out of his eyes, as he laughed. "Well this isn't exactly the way that I envisioned this greeting. Did my presence shock you that much, princess?"

Serenity quickly pinched herself on the arm to make sure that him being there wasn't a dream. She jumped a little when she felt the sting of the pinch. Then tears flooded her eyes as she accepted the fact that he was real.

"Endy!" she squealed as she jumped at him to lock her arms around his neck. She stuck her tongue out at Mars over his shoulder. The red suited scout was miming being sick behind the prince's back.

Mars returned the gesture and then thumbed her nose at her.

Venus, predictably, had her hands clasped at her chest as she watched the touching scene. Little hearts were almost visible in her eyes.

Jupiter seemed oblivious to everyone else in the room as she kept her attention focused on finishing the last few bites of food on her plate.

And Mercury, as always, had her mini computer in her hand and was typing rapidly, probably inputting her to-do list for the day.

Queen Serenity cleared her throat quietly. "Yes. Well now that my extremely tardy daughter has finally decided to grace us with her presence I suppose that we can get down to business."

Serenity flushed as she released Endymion and took a step back. She deserved a chastisement and she knew it. She was extraordinarily late, even by her usual standards. That's what she got for staying up half the night, pacing. But she had been so nervous about today. And having Endymion standing there before her was doing little to calm her frazzled nerves.

Sensing her turmoil, he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She squeezed his back gratefully.

Queen Serenity shook her head, but couldn't stop the tiny smile that played around her lips as she watched the interaction between the young couple. They were so much in love that the emotion almost seemed to pulse around them like a living thing. Her heart swelled at the sight of her daughter's radiantly happy face. Happiness was all she had ever wanted for Serenity, and that was why she had agreed to this union even though she had known that it would cause some conflict. She had known love and happiness with her husband, although their time together had been cut tragically short when he had been killed during a battle with some renegades from a neighboring galaxy.

Her Venusian prince, turned moon king, had been cut down in his prime. Serenity had been very young at the time, so she only had a few vague memories of her father. After a suitable time for mourning, several members of the Alliance Council had suggested that perhaps Queen Serenity should remarry. After all, she was the high queen of the Alliance and had a lot of responsibilities. Having a king by her side would be a tremendous help.

But the queen had rejected the idea immediately. She had already given her heart to her husband. She sincerely doubted that she would love anyone like that ever again, and she refused to marry just for politics. Instead she had devoted herself to running her kingdom, with tons of help from trusted advisors like Luna and Artemis, and on Serenity's upbringing. Mother and daughter were very close, and when Serenity had declared that she loved Endymion and would marry no one else but him, the queen had done what needed to be done to ensure her daughter's happiness.

Shaking herself from her reveries, the queen indicated the chair to her right. "Come and sit, Serenity. You haven't had breakfast yet, and I know that it will be pointless to try to go over anything of any importance with you until you have some food in you."

The young princess reluctantly tore herself away from her prince's hypnotic gaze, and then blushed madly when her stomach let out a ferocious growl of hunger. Embarrassed, she scurried away from Endymion, who followed after her, chuckling softly.

She slid into her seat, and a servant appeared almost like magic, to set a heaping plate of bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, and toast in front of her. She clapped her hands in delight and immediately dug in.

Mars snorted. "Hey, Endymion, you may want to think twice about ever letting Serenity spend any significant amount of time on Earth. There's liable to be a food shortage if you do."

Venus and Jupiter snickered behind their napkins while Mercury looked up reproachfully. "Really, Rei! That was rather mean."

Mars shrugged. "Just stating the truth. Serenity could eat a dozen full-grown men under the table and still have room in that black hole stomach of hers. It's amazing that she doesn't weigh a ton."

Serenity swallowed a bite and then glared darkly. "Shove off, Pyro!"

"Serenity!" the queen gasped. "Such language! Is that any way for you to act in front of your betrothed?" She turned to Endymion. "I really did teach her manners when she was growing up. For the most part she is demure and well behaved. It's just something about when she gets with the other girls, Rei in particular, that this other side of her comes out."

Endymion chuckled. "You don't have to explain anything to me, your majesty. I'm used to it. A lot of bickering goes on between my guards and myself as well. And besides, Serenity's sometimes acidic personality is one of the things that initially drew me to her in the first place. She can be quite loud and outspoken when the occasion calls for it."

Serenity jabbed an elbow into his ribs. She hissed angrily, "Don't tell her that! I'll never hear the end of it if she even suspects that I was ever rude to a guest."

An evil grin appeared on the prince's face and his voice dropped low for his princess's ears only. "Then I guess I shouldn't tell her about the time that you called me the devil and told me to go straight to he…"

"If you tell her that I can guarantee that you will be dancing alone at the ball tonight," she cut him off in a threatening tone.

It was hard to be intimidated by a tiny slip of a woman whose head didn't even reach his chin, but Endymion wisely kept his mouth shut. This was a happy day, and he didn't want to ruin it with petty bickers with his fiancée. But she was just so adorably pickable.

Queen Serenity clapped her hands together once to get everyone's attention. "Okay, everybody, it's time to talk business. Some early guests who have requested meetings with me will be arriving soon. Rei, Ami, I'm putting you two in charge of greeting them. I don't believe that anyone invited has any evil intent. But you girls can pick up on any maliciousness easier than anyone else."

Mars and Mercury both nodded their heads and replied, "Yes, your majesty."

The queen beamed a smile. "Minako, I want you and Makoto to meet with the captain of the guards and make sure he understands the security measures. There will be a lot of personal guards and servants accompanying the invited guests, but I want each person scanned and cleared before they enter the palace. Nobody gets in who isn't supposed to be here."

Princess Serenity sat back from her now empty plate. "Don't you think all of this strict security is taking things a little overboard? You're all acting like you expect some sword wielding maniac to come slashing his way into the ballroom."

Lavender eyes grew stern as mother pinned daughter with them. "I refuse to take any chances. A threat has been made against us, aimed at you in particular, Serenity. I will not gamble with your life. So either you humor me and let me do this the way I see fit, or we cancel the ball all together. It's your choice."

The princess's blue eyes widened in surprise, and then she turned to the prince beside her. "Endy, you told me that Beryl shouldn't be taken as a serious threat, that she would never be able to make it here or even get close to me."

"And she won't," he reassured her. "That's the whole point behind having such tight security. Beryl may not be much of a human being, but she is crafty. She's managed to avoid my army for months now without getting caught. And she's managed to recruit herself a sizeable group of people to follow her. I also strongly suspect that she has been playing around with black magic. Her power levels seem to have increased dramatically the last time I actually saw her, and there have been reports of attacks by creatures that aren't exactly human or animal. I'm pretty sure she's behind whatever it is."

Mercury tapped her chin with a gloved finger. "Creatures, hmm…do you mean like chimeras?"

Endymion shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure. I haven't seen one in person yet. I've only gotten second hand accounts." Then he refocused on Serenity. "The point is, Sere, that Beryl is a slippery opponent. I'm not sure if she has the ability or the resources to make it here to the moon. But if by some chance she does I want to make sure that there is no way that she's getting in here. I won't let her touch a hair on your head."

Serenity laughed shakily. "You make this sound like this is all about me. I met Beryl a few times while visiting the Earth. Sure, she seemed to be a little mentally deficient, but I hardly think that she's going to attempt to come here to the moon and kill me. It sounds highly irrational."

Venus sighed. "Love and lust usually incites irrational behavior. Think about it, cousin. If some woman were to come along and snatch princey there away from you, what would you want to do to her?"

Anger blazed in blue eyes. "I would want to kill her!"

"Exactly!" Venus replied. "So you can at least partially understand where she's coming from."

Jupiter was nodding briskly. "True enough. That hussy thought that she had a shot of becoming the next queen of Earth just because she comes from a la-ti-da family. I bet it never crossed that little pea brain of hers that somebody better than her would come along."

Mars chuckled darkly. "Why would Endymion settle for the bottom of the barrel when he could have top shelf? Serenity may be a featherbrain, even on her best day, but she's still a thousand times more a lady than that pitiful whore. I saw her at Endymion's sixteenth birthday ball, and she was crawling all over every man that crossed her path. She's probably screwed half the court by now."

"Ladies! Is this really a suitable conversation to be conducting over the breakfast table?" the queen snapped.

"Oh my," Serenity murmured as she slapped her hands to her blushing cheeks and turned her head to bury her face in Endymion's shoulder.

Mercury clucked her tongue at her thoroughly chastised sister scouts. "One of these days you girls will learn to think before you speak."

Queen Serenity waved a regal hand. "In any case, you girls have your assignments. Luna and Artemis will be on hand as well to show the guests to the rooms they have been assigned. After lunch you will be off duty for a few hours to prepare yourselves for the ball. I'm sure the regular guards can handle things for the afternoon. Oh, and Endymion, your generals will be coming as well, will they not?"

He nodded. "Yes, your majesty. They had an assignment to take care of today, but they will be along once they have finished. They will also be escorting my parents when they arrive."

"Very good," the queen responded. "I have arranged for your parents to have a suite in our private wing, away from the where the other guests will be staying. I thought that they would be more comfortable staying near us. I didn't bother with setting up any accommodations for you or your guard. I figured that you men already have your own arrangements figured out."

Serenity's head flew up. Her face turned five different shades of red as she glared at her mother. "Mother! Really!"

The other girls around the table blushed furiously as well. They all knew that the queen was well aware of their relationships with the earth generals, but never had she been so blatant.

Endymion only laughed. "Yes ma'am. I'm very sure my men and I can find someplace to bunk in for the night."

Serenity jabbed another elbow into his side. "The only place you're going to be _bunking in_ is back home on your own planet in your cold and lonely bed if you don't stop it right this minute. You are embarrassing me!"

Endymion smothered the grin that wanted to break across his face and did his best to make his expression contrite. "My apologies, princess. Believe me, it was never my intent to cause you displeasure in any way."

But his dark blue eyes were twinkling with mischief, causing Serenity to give out a dainty snort. "Now you are teasing me, just like you always do."

The Earth prince chuckled lightly. "Sorry, love. I just can't seem to help myself whenever I'm around you. I guess it's because I think you're so beautiful whenever you blush. Your cheeks turn such a rosy shade of pink."

"Oh gag! Here they go again," Mars muttered as she pushed back from the table and stood. She rolled her eyes at the love struck expression on her princess's face. "I have to get out of here before I lose my breakfast. Are we free to go, your majesty?"

The queen hid a smile behind her hand. "Yes, that is all. You have your assignments. We'll meet back here for lunch so you can report to me. Then you will have the afternoon off until it is time for the ball." Then she focused on Serenity. "You and Endymion may have the morning free to spend together. I know that it has been a while since you have seen each other, and I'm sure you have some catching up to do."

"Oh, thank you mother!" the princess squealed as she jumped up from her chair and grabbed her prince's hand. "Come on, Endy! Let's go!"

"Hold on just a moment, young lady," her mother's voice pulled her up short. "There are a few conditions to this agreement.

Serenity folded her arms and pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. "What sort of conditions?"

Queen Serenity arched a pale brow at her. "Now don't sulk. It's not very becoming behavior for a princess. I was just going to say that for security's sake I wish for you to stay in the private wing for today. There will soon be a lot of people here, and I would feel better knowing that you were tucked safely away."

"Tucked away…being held prisoner you mean," Serenity muttered. "Are you saying that I can't even go outside? That's not fair!" One high heeled shoe smacked the marble floor as she stomped her foot in anger.

"Don't go throwing one of your temper tantrums with me, missy!" the queen scolded. Then she sighed. "I suppose that if you want to go out that it would be all right for you to spend some time in our private garden. The public is not allowed there. But you can only go if you have Endymion accompany you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear!" Serenity sang with a smile. Then she looped her arm through a smirking Endymion's. "Come along, darling. Our first stop will be my room. I want to take a stroll and walk off that large breakfast, but first I have to get out of these shoes before I fall."

Endymion chuckled as they strode regally from the room. "Don't worry, my love. I would never let you fall. I'll always be there to catch you."

Serenity's laughter pealed like bells. "A man after my own heart."

"I hope that they will always be that happy together," Queen Serenity murmured as she watched them with somewhat sad and troubled eyes.

"They will be," Venus said quietly to her. "Their souls are two halves of a whole. Fate has tied them together since before they were born. They are destined for great things. One day they will be a wonderful king and queen, and they will rule their kingdom with love and compassion. I can read it in the bond that they share. They will overcome any obstacles that life throws at them, as long as they stand together."

The queen gave her niece a gentle smile. "Spoken like a true Venusian. It's times like these that almost make me forget that you are my brother's child, and half Lunarian. When I hear you speak like that it makes me think of my dearly departed husband. He was quite the romantic visionary himself. All I have ever wanted was for Serenity to find a love like that."

Venus's blue eyes glowed with knowledge that seemed out of place on her youthful face. "And I believe that she has found it."

Queen Serenity looked toward the open doors, where she could see Serenity and Endymion climbing the steps of the grand staircase together. They were both smiling and happiness seemed to ooze from every pore on their bodies. "I do believe you're right, Minako. Now I just pray that nothing ever tears them apart. I don't think that either one of them could stand losing the other."

* * *

A few hours later, Princess Serenity sighed happily as her breathing and heart rate finally settled down to a normal level. The white satin sheets clung to her damp skin as she sprawled across her bed on her stomach.

The mattress beside her dipped as a heavier weight moved closer to her. Then a low, rich, smoky voice was whispering in her ear, "What was that sigh for? I sincerely hope that it wasn't a sound of displeasure."

"Don't be silly, Endy," she drawled lazily as she turned her head so that she could look up into the deep ocean depths of his eyes. "I could never experience any displeasure when I am with you. You should know that by now."

He dipped his head down to kiss the tip of her perky little nose. "I should hope not. I am devoting my life to making you the happiest woman in the universe. It would be a shame if I started failing so early on."

She grinned up at him. "You may irritate me beyond reason sometimes, but you could never make me unhappy. And I love you too much to ever stay mad at you for very long. If we could stay here, just like this, forever and ever, that would be just fine with me." Then she looked at her bedside clock and groaned. "But it is getting close to lunch time, and that means that we'll have to get up and face reality soon. I know we've had all morning together, but I feel like we haven't had nearly enough private time."

"Perhaps we should have skipped the stroll through the garden and come straight here instead," he chuckled as he leaned down place a string of hot, open mouthed kisses across her bare shoulder.

She shivered in delight, but forced her voice to sound cross. "That's not what I meant. Don't get me wrong, I love having you here in my bed, but I was speaking of us just having time in general. This morning has flown by much too fast. And now we have to get ready to face the masses."

"It will only be for a while," he murmured as his lips traveled further down her back. "And I'll be beside you the entire time. And once the party is over we will have all of the time in the world."

"I'm looking forward to not having to say goodbye all of the time," she sighed. "I know that we won't be able to be with each other every moment, but it will be nice to see one another whenever we want to without having to sneak around."

"But you have to admit that we've had some fun sneaking around," he quipped as he nipped at her hip lightly with his teeth.

"Hey!" she protested as her head shot up and swung around to glare at him over her shoulder.

A low laugh grumbled from him. "I guess that got your attention." Then, in a swift move, he had her flipped over so that she was on her back, pinned beneath his body.

Her startled gaze flew up to his to find him looking down at her with an expression that was both serious and loving at the same time. "I love you, Sere," he told her reverently before he swooped down to ravish her mouth with a kiss.

She melted against him for a moment and allowed her tongue to dance sensuously with his. But she knew that their time together was growing shorter, so after a minute she reluctantly broke the contact and pulled back. "Endy, we can't. Lunch is only about an hour away, and it will probably take me most of that time to straighten myself out after the mess you've made of me. My hair probably has a thousand tangles in it by now, and it will take me forever to brush it out."

He gave her a wolfish grin. "Your hair looks beautiful. And besides, if you have to, you can always use your Luna Pen to make yourself look presentable." Then he attacked her collarbone with his lips.

Serenity moaned in pleasure. That was one of her biggest weak spots and he knew it. As usual he was playing dirty just to get his way. But he did have a point. She rarely ever used the pen because her mother had told her when she had given it to her that its magic was only to be used in situations where she might find herself in danger and needed a way to disguise herself to avoid recognition. She had never found herself in such a situation, but she had used it on a few occasions when she had snuck down to Earth.

Well, if this was the way that Endymion wanted to play, then she would play back just as dirty. She would just take his advice and use the pen. What her mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her. So she went after his weak point, nibbling on his ear and swirling her tongue around it before blowing gently into it.

He went ramrod stiff for a moment before growling, "So the princess has decided that she wants to play after all, has she?"

She smiled impishly at him. "It depends on the game you want to play, my prince."

Despite their playful banter and the hot passion rolling between them, their lovemaking was slow. They took their time to enjoy touching and caressing one another, and they each delighted in the knowledge that they were giving satisfaction to the one that they loved. At one point, the beauty of the emotionally charged moment overwhelmed Serenity and made tears come to her eyes. Endymion gently kissed the drops away from her cheeks.

The hands on the clock were drifting dangerously close to the lunch hour when they finally untangled themselves from one another and climbed from the bed. As Endymion began pulling on his pants and tunic, Serenity went to retrieve her Luna Pen from a bureau drawer.

She giggled as she reached for the fat pink pen. "At least this won't take long for either of us. It would be worse if you were wearing you armor."

He chuckled as he sat on the bed to pull on his boots. "I don't normally go without it, but I figured that there really wasn't a reason for me to wear it today. Never fear though, I brought it with me."

Serenity wrinkled her nose. "You're not wearing it tonight, are you? It's not that you don't look good in it, you do. It's just not easy to dance with you when you're wearing it. I like to feel you against me when we dance, not cold metal."

"Not to worry, my soon to be bride," he reassured her. "My mother thought it was a good idea for me to wear my armor tonight, since it is kind of a status symbol of my being prince and leading the army. But my father and I wore her down on the subject by telling her that the generals will properly represent our militia since they will be in full uniform tonight. She finally gave in. I brought the tuxedo I wore to your birthday ball to wear tonight since you seemed to like it so much. I even got a mask to wear with it since the ball is supposed to be a masquerade."

"Ugh! I forgot about that," she groaned. "I doubt I'll wear mine at all. Every time I wear a mask to a ball it ends up in disaster. I always have a hard time seeing through it and I end up either tripping or walking into someone or something." She held the pen up in the air. "Luna Pen, make me look like myself, please."

There were a few flashes of light, and then she turned toward the full-length mirror on her wall to see that she looked like a proper moon princess once more instead of the rumpled woman who had just spent the last couple of hours romping in bed with her fiancé. "Much better."

"Beautiful, as always," Endymion declared as he stood and walked slowly toward her. He offered his arm to her as he reached her. "Shall we, my lady?"

She beamed a brilliant smile as she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. "Yes, let's. I am absolutely famished."

The dark haired prince wasn't quite successful in holding back a snort of laughter.

"Ooo! Not a word out of you!" Serenity fumed. "I get enough teasing from Rei about my eating habits. I don't need to hear it from you too."

"I wasn't going to say anything," he quickly inserted. "It's nice to see a woman with a healthy appetite. All those silly women in the court at home starve themselves half to death and then squeeze into corsets that are laced as tight as they possibly can be. It makes them look like walking toothpicks. Somebody should tell them that men like curves."

"So you're saying that I look fat in comparison to them," she muttered petulantly.

He barked out a laugh. "Not even close! I can practically span your waist with my hands. I find it amazing, actually, that you can eat like a foot soldier and yet remain one of the tiniest people I've ever seen."

She sniffed. "Ami says that I have a lot of energy and a fast metabolism. But enough talking about my weight. Do you think your parents and the generals have arrived yet?"

He shook his head. "Probably not. My mother would have hunted us down by now if they had. To be honest, I'm not looking for any of them to get here before late this afternoon. The village that the guys were going to is a couple of hours away from the palace, plus we have to factor in the time that they need to gather whatever information they can find. My father had some business to attend to today as well, and that could take a while. But they'll be here as soon as they can."

"I sure hope so," Serenity sighed. "It hardly seems fair for me to be spending all of this time with you while the others are still apart."

Endymion leaned down to brush a kiss at her temple. "It's so sweet the way you always worry about everyone else's happiness. But all of our friends will be as ecstatic as we are come tonight. The ten of us will be together so much that we'll probably have to go back to sneaking around to have a moment to ourselves."

Serenity giggled lightly. "You're probably right, but it will be a small price to pay for everyone's happiness."

* * *

Minako chewed on her bottom lip as she looked up from the dresses lying across the bed. "So, Sere, which one are you going to wear tonight; the white one, the white one…or the white one?"

Serenity scowled at her cousin before letting her lips curl up in a rueful smile. "Oh, I think I'll wear the white one." Then she giggled. "It is absolutely ridiculous, isn't it? You would think that, as a princess, I would have a formal dress in some color other than white. But mother has always insisted that all of my official royal gowns be made in white. I had to fight tooth and nail against both her and the dressmaker to get some day dresses made in an actual color." She smoothed her hand down the skirt of the simple pale pink dress she wore. "But they are such light pastels that they may as well be white. You other girls are so lucky to be able to actually wear colors."

Rei, draped in a flowing robe of crimson silk, snickered as she looked up from where she was lounging across plush cushions on the floor in front of the roaring fireplace, looking like a sensual cat. "You're just jealous because we can usually hide it if we accidentally dribble something on ourselves and you can't. Of course you wouldn't have that problem if you weren't such a messy eater."

Serenity blew a raspberry at her before tossing a throw pillow at her. "Shut up, Rei!"

Makoto let out a huff as she fell across the foot of Serenity's bed on her stomach. "It doesn't matter which of the dresses you choose. You'll still look stunning no matter what."

"Hmm…" the moon princess mused as she turned her attention back to her choices. After weeks of putting up with tortuous fitting sessions, the dressmaker had finally delivered three finished gowns shortly after lunch. Serenity had to admit that they were all beautiful, but they were all white.

"I can't wait until I can go to Earth," she grumbled. "Endy has promised me that he'll have me dresses made in any colors I want once I can stay with him at his palace. It will be better than Christmas."

Ami looked up from where she was sitting primly on a chaise and reading a book. "You might have to wait a little while for that, Serenity. Even though your engagement becomes official tonight, you know that the queen and Prince Endymion have both decided that it would not be a good idea for you to take up residency on Earth until after this unfortunate situation with Beryl is taken care of."

Serenity waved a slim hand. "That red headed witch doesn't concern me. Now that we have a union with Earth, you girls can go and assist the generals with the fight. Beryl and her followers won't last long once the sailor scouts get involved. They will probably run away, screaming."

"Nice to know that you value us for something," Rei snickered.

Serenity made a face at her. "Don't be such a goose, Pyro! You know I love you all like sisters. But I am proud of what fantastic warriors you girls are. I have to admit that I am even a bit jealous from time to time. Sometimes I wish that I could fight beside you, the way that Endy does with his generals. It would be nice to not be the helpless one that always has to hide behind others."

Makoto chuckled as she propped her chin up on her hands. "That would be something to see. You could be Sailor Moon, just like the old legends say."

"It's not just a legend. My mother says that Sailor Moon truly existed at one time," Minako insisted. "She even told me that she saw her once, back when she was a little girl. The alliance was young then, and not all of the planets were united yet. Battles and skirmishes were still fairly common at that time and there was an attack on Venus. I don't remember which planet was behind it, but mother said that it was a bad one. She was hiding with her mother and siblings inside the palace when the enemy found a way inside. She told me that she thought for sure that they were about to die when suddenly this sailor scout appeared from out of nowhere. There was a flash of silver energy, and then all of the enemies were gone. When she asked the scout what her name was, she told her that it was Sailor Moon."

Ami closed her book carefully. "There are several documented reports of people claiming to see a scout named Sailor Moon, but all we have are their accounts. There is no information on who she was or where she came from, so it's impossible to prove that she even existed. She disappeared about the same time that our mothers became the first sailor scouts."

A heavy silence fell over the room as each of the girls became lost in their own thoughts. Minako, Rei, Makoto, and Ami were all second-generation sailor scouts. Their mothers had been the first scouts when they had been younger and they had served Queen Serenity. When they had gotten older and had inherited the thrones of their own planets they had retired the scouts and taken their places on the Alliance council. But when they had daughters of their own they had passed the torch on to them. Eventually, the current scouts would follow the same path.

Suddenly, Serenity muffled a laugh behind her hand.

"What's so funny?" the other four demanded in unison.

"Nothing," Serenity gasped. "I was just thinking about this one time, back when I was little. I had come across a book in the library that had a story in it about Sailor Moon and I went to my mother and asked her if she was Sailor Moon. She laughed for ten minutes after that."

Makoto and Rei both snorted with laughter.

Minako giggled shrilly. "That is the silliest thing I've ever heard! Can you honestly picture your calm, quiet mother dressed in a fuku?"

Serenity grinned sheepishly. "Well, no…but…it made sense to me at the time. I was only five years old after all."

"I can see why you would think that," Ami said supportively. "It is a logical conclusion to come to when you take into account the stories of Sailor Moon and the fact that the other currently reigning queens were sailor scouts at one time. But in reality the lack of evidence supports the fact that Sailor Moon is more than likely a myth and nothing more."

"Wow! There for a moment I thought you were siding with me, Ami. Then you had to go and make me sound even more naïve than before," Serenity muttered. "Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I think I'll wear this dress. I like it best out of the three."

Minako nodded approvingly at the dress indicated. It was white, of course, with a long, flowing, multi-layered skirt and an empire waistline. Short, puffed sleeves and a series of golden circles embroidered at the bust set it off. "Perfect! That was my first pick as well. Great minds do think alike."

"Blondes!" Rei grumbled.

Serenity rolled her eyes. "I'll be so glad when Jed gets here. Maybe then you'll stop being so grouchy, Rei. Speaking of which, shouldn't they be here by now? It's beginning to get late."

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Minako replied quickly, although the slightly worried expression in her eyes didn't match her lighthearted tone. "They probably just got held up by something and are running behind. Oh my, look at the time! I had better get back to my own room and start getting ready myself. The goddess of love is not showing up at this ball looking anything other than stunning." Then she hurried from the room.

Rei, Makoto, and Ami all shared meaningful glances before getting up to follow her.

"We should all start getting ready. We'll see you later, Sere," Rei said as they slipped out the door.

"Oh…okay…" Serenity answered bewilderedly as she watched them go.

The three girls rushed down the hall to Minako's room and rapped urgently on the door. It was several long seconds before it opened to reveal a somber looking Venusian princess. They shouldered their way inside.

"Okay, spill!" Rei demanded the moment the door closed behind them. "I've had a sense that something has been wrong all day, and I think you have too. Tell me what you are feeling."

Minako shrugged. "I don't think it's really anything to get bent out of shape over. I'm probably just overreacting. It's just that I haven't been able to sense anything from Kunzite for the last couple of hours. But it's not unusual for our bond to fizzle out when either one of us are in the presence of any substantial magic. So if the guys managed to track down Beryl, and her magic is even half as strong as we suspect, it's only normal for me to have trouble trying to read him. I just don't like not being able to feel him."

"I'm sure they're fine," Makoto insisted. "I haven't felt anything from Neph for a while either, but that always happens whenever he's communing with the stars. I figure he must be using his powers to try to pinpoint Beryl's location."

Rei growled. "I still can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. What about you, Ami? Can you pick up on anything from Zoicite?"

The blue haired girl's face flushed pink. "Not exactly…but Zoi and I have never really relied upon on soul bond as a means of communication."

"I know. I know. It's not scientific enough for you two geniuses," Minako quipped. "In the meantime, we are probably getting stressed out over nothing. Endymion was going to meet with Queen Serenity for a while, and he said that he was going to contact his home for an update. We'll just have to ask him for a progress report when we get a chance. But let's not spend our time worrying until we actually have something to worry about. Tonight is a special night for Serenity, and we don't want anything to ruin it for her. Right?"

"Right," the others agreed.

* * *

A/N Okay, so up next is the ball and the final battle. This was just a filler chapter to set up the scene going into the ball and to give you some insight into what our characters' past selves were like. Not a whole lot different from their present selves, are they? Maybe just a little bit more polished and refined, at least as far as outward appearances go. On the inside they are still the same people that we already know and love. I really enjoyed writing the interactions between the scouts and generals. I thought it would be a nice set up for when a certain group of high school boys (aka Kyle & Co.) make an appearance in _What If_. I'm hoping to include some more scenes between them when I do the rewrite of that story. Well, I'm hoping that the worst of this writer's block is over so that I can get back to work now. Keep your fingers crossed. As always, reviews are adored. Reader feedback is always the best motivational tool, and it comes in handy when I get stumped if I have an idea about what you guys want. So please don't hesitate and review. (That didn't sound too much like begging, did it?) Later gators! Be happy! Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	31. From Heaven to Hell

**A/N **Whew! I finally got this ready for posting. Sorry about the wait, but I have been busy, busy, busy! It's always like this at this time of year because of the wonderful glory of standardized testing, which makes my job about ten times more hectic than usual. We're also coming up on the school's annual carnival and fundraiser. Oh joy! But it also means that there is only about a month left until school is out. Then it will be Hello Summer! I can't wait! Anyway, enough babbling from me. The only thing I can say about this chapter is drama, Drama, DRAMA! But you'll see what I mean. Hearts are going to breaking left and right. Now let me hug all of my fabulous reviewers. BIG HUGS TO:

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Thank you so much, you guys! Your inspiring words are what keeps me going. And tremendous thanks for pushing this story up to over 700 reviews! (Wipes eyes) I feel so loved! Now, on with the drama of Serenity and Endymion's engagement ball!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 30

From Heaven to Hell

* * *

"I really don't feel right about this," Serenity mumbled for what felt like the hundredth time. "It doesn't seem right for us to make our entrance without your parents or your closest friends here."

Endymion patted her arm, which was looped through his, lightly. "It's okay, love. I'm not exactly happy about it either, but it can't be helped. The word from home is that Kunzite and the others have a very solid lead on where Beryl has been hiding out, and they want to move in on her before she gets skittish and disappears on us again. They sent a squire back to the palace requesting that a squadron of soldiers be sent to meet with them, so my father wants to stay there and see how it plays out. I offered to personally escort my mother here, but you know how she is. She always stays by father's side."

Serenity smiled gently. "It's because they are just as much in love as we are, even after all of their years of marriage. I hope we'll still feel the same way after we've been married as long as they have."

"I have no doubt about it," he declared emphatically. "I don't care how many years pass. I will always love you just as much as I do right now, for eternity."

She blinked her eyes rapidly to hold back her tears. "As I will always love you, forever." Then she stood on tiptoe to press her lips to his.

An outraged voice hissed beside them, "Serenity! Stop that! You're going to smudge your lipstick!"

Serenity pulled back reluctantly. "Oops! Sorry, Minako."

Rei chuckled snidely. "That's a good color on you, Endymion."

Makoto leaned against a wall as she laughed. "Indeed it is. That shade of pink sets off his dark hair and eyes perfectly, doesn't it?"

"Don't pick on him! I'm the only one allowed to do that," Serenity seethed as she smoothed the lapels of his tuxedo jacket.

"Oh, for the love of…" Ami grumbled as she pulled a delicate, lace-trimmed handkerchief from a tiny hidden pocket on her gown and passed it to the sputtering prince. "Could we all at least try to act our ages for once? Some of the most powerful people in the solar system, including all of our parents I might add, are here tonight. Do you really want to embarrass yourselves in front of everyone?"

"Now, now, girls," Queen Serenity scolded gently as she glided over to them. She was a vision of beauty in a strapless, pale silver sheath dress. "Let's not let our tempers start getting the better of us. I know things are not falling into place the way that we had planned, but we must make the best of the situation. So take a deep breath and get your emotions under control. You are princesses, and don't you dare forget that."

"Yes ma'am," the four girls replied dutifully.

Luna approached them, looking quite regal in spite of the fact that she had returned to her normal feline form. "Your majesty, all of the royal Alliance members have entered and been announced. We are ready for you whenever you give the word."

The queen nodded. "Very good. We may as well get on with it so that the ball can officially start. There is no sense in making our guests wait. Are you other girls sure that you are okay with making your entrances alone though?"

"Perfectly sure, Aunt Serenity," Minako hastily reassured her. "Kunzite would have a stroke if he found out that I walked into this ball on another man's arm."

Makoto bobbed her head quickly. "Same here. Nephrite would go crazy for sure."

Rei snorted. "I don't really care what Jadeite thinks, but I would rather go alone than have to put up with some babbling idiot that thinks he has to try to impress me."

"I would never dream of being escorted by anyone other than Zoicite," Ami replied quietly and left it at that.

Queen Serenity sighed. "Okay then. I will go first. You girls will be announced one at a time after I have taken my seat. When your names are called, come down the stairs and join me on the dais. Serenity and Endymion, as the guests of honor, will be last of course. That is unless by some chance the Earth king and queen manage to make it here before the night is over. And I sincerely hope that they do. They deserve to be here."

"I know that they are disappointed about missing the festivities as well," Endymion told her smoothly. "But this chance to apprehend Beryl is just too great of an opportunity to pass up."

The queen nodded slowly. "I agree completely. That woman is a menace that needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible. There will be plenty of time to celebrate your good fortune with your parents once that nuisance is taken care of. Now if you will excuse me, I must make my appearance."

She glided over to the closed double doors as gracefully as if she were floating. As she approached, two footmen opened the doors and the voice of the court announcer could be heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, royals and nobles, may I present to you the queen of the moon and the high queen of the Silver Alliance, her royal majesty, Queen Serenity."

The sound of the applause coming from the crowded ballroom as the queen passed through the doors and began her descent carried up to those who were still waiting for their turn to be announced.

Serenity twitched involuntarily. "Oh, great Selene! I am so nervous! What if I fall flat on my face?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Rei snickered.

Endymion tightened he grip on his betrothed's arm. "Don't worry, Sere. I won't let you fall."

"Ami, you're next," Luna whispered loudly.

Ami forced her trembling hands to her sides and walked slowly to the doors as the announcer spoke again. "The crown princess of Mercury, Princess Ami." And then Ami was gone.

"Rei, you're up," Luna hissed.

With a toss of her dark head, Rei strode confidently to the doors. She even tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the announcer to say, "The heir to the throne of Mars, Princess Rei."

"And now for Makoto," Luna declared.

Makoto smoothed her skirt before walking slowly forward, trying her best to take small steps instead of loping along in her usual long-legged gait.

"The next queen of Jupiter, Princess Makoto."

Suddenly, Luna was spitting mad as she exclaimed, "Minako! What are you doing? It's your turn!"

Minako spun away from the mirror on the wall where she had been touching up her lipstick and fluffing her hair. "Okay! I had to make sure that I was perfect. I'm ready now."

She dashed to the door just in time to make her entrance as the announcement was made. "Niece of the moon and crown princess of Venus, Princess Minako."

"I don't know how Artemis puts up with her," Luna muttered as she turned to the prince and princess. "Are you two ready?"

Serenity's voice trembled as she replied, "As ready as I'm ever going to be, I suppose."

Endymion settled his white domino mask on his face before he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. "Just hold on to me. I won't let you stumble or fall. I'll be right by your side the entire time."

Her legs felt like rubber as he led her to the doors. The lights from the ballroom blinded her for a moment, but after she blinked a few times she was able to see the enormous number of people gathered there. And at the moment, every eye was trained on her and Endymion.

The court announcer cleared his throat before proclaiming in his most regal tone, "Your Majesty, Queen Serenity and honored guests, it gives me great pleasure to present to you their royal highnesses, and soon to be wed, Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom and Prince Endymion of Earth."

'_This is it!' _Serenity thought half-hysterically as she and Endymion began descending the wide staircase. She kept his arm clenched in a death grip to make sure that she didn't pitch headlong down the stairs because of the stupid high heeled shoes she was wearing. Oh! How she wished that she could have worn slippers instead!

"Smile, my love," Endymion whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "You look like a lamb being led to the slaughter instead of a happily engaged woman."

"I'm sorry," she replied back, without moving her lips. "I'm just terrified that I'm going to fall and take you down with me."

"Then we fall together," he answered back. "But I told you that I would keep you upright, and I always keep my promises."

"I love you," she sighed. A few steps later they left the stairs for the smooth marble floor of the ballroom and she relaxed even more against him as they crossed the distance toward the raised dais where her mother and the scouts were.

Some of the closest people that were congregated murmured their congratulations as they passed, and Serenity managed to fix a lovely smile on her face as she inclined her head to them. But deep inside all she wanted was to be back with Endymion in the privacy of her room, or alone in Endymion's private rose garden where they had spent so many happy hours together.

But the entire procession came off flawlessly…almost. There was one moment where Serenity tripped on one of the steps leading up to the dais, and she sucked in a startled breath. But true to his word, Endymion was able to keep her on her feet. And he was so skillful at it that nobody in the audience even noticed her split second falter.

Well, almost nobody noticed it. Rei was snickering behind her hand as they passed by her, and Serenity struggled hard to resist the urge to stomp on the Martian princess's foot. She knew that everyone would be horrified if she gave into such a childish temptation…but she would give up sweets for a week for the chance to give Rei what she deserved for once.

She ignored her naughty thoughts, though she did cut a quick glare at Rei to let her know that she didn't think she was funny at all. But as she approached her mother she was rewarded with a benevolent smile.

"Very nicely done, Serenity," the queen murmured approvingly to her as she came to a stop by her side. Then she turned to address the crowd.

Serenity squeezed Endymion's arm lightly and whispered, "Thank you."

He flashed her a heart-stopping smile. "You're very welcome."

Then they both turned their attention to the speaking queen.

Queen Serenity's speech was light-hearted and filled with hope about the future. She spoke of her beliefs that a union between the moon and the Earth could be beneficial to the entire solar system by opening up new business opportunities and expanding trade routes. Most of the assembled nobles there wore slightly skeptical expressions, but they seemed accepting of the queen's decision.

The same couldn't be said of the Alliance council members who were gathered at the high table a short distance away. As Princess Serenity scanned their faces she picked up on several different emotions.

The king and queen of Mercury, Ami's parents, were probably the most passive looking of the bunch. But then again, Mercurians weren't known for being demonstrative with their emotions in public settings. But Serenity still picked up on a certain amount of reservation from the dark blue haired and eyed king. And the cool look in the queen's pale blue eyes, coupled with her ice blue hair, made her seem chillier than normal.

The monarchs from Venus, her aunt and uncle, were both beaming smiles. The golden haired, blue eyed Venusian queen seemed genuinely happy, which was a good omen since she could sense soul bonds between couples and could tell right away when two people weren't suited for each other. But the king, who greatly favored his sister, Queen Serenity, with his silver hair and lavender eyes, looked just the tiniest bit worried. But as his eyes met his niece's the worried melted away, leaving behind only happiness.

Rei's parents, the king and queen of Mars, were an oddly matched duo. The black haired, black-eyed king was an extremely tall, powerfully built man who loved a good fight. His wife was painfully petite when compared to him, but she was no less formidable with her dark crimson hair and flashing violet eyes. At first glance, one would assume that the two royals were incredibly bored with the evening's procession. But their eyes were constantly moving, sweeping the ballroom for even the slightest sign of trouble.

Their best friends and neighbors, the king and queen of Jupiter, were in a similar, watchful state. They were both tall and brunette; though the king's hair was a deep shade of mahogany while his wife's was a lighter chestnut, like their daughter, Makoto's. They both also had the deep green eyes that were a common trait on Jupiter. And like the Martians, they were on guard and flitting around. But they both offered smiles when their gazes met that of the moon princess.

Disapproval, however, hung the heaviest at the other end of the table where the rulers of the outer planets sat clustered together. They had been the ones that had vehemently opposed her marriage to Endymion and had tried everything in their power to stop it. And they were the reason why she'd had to wait so long to make her engagement public.

The king of Pluto appeared fierce with his wild, dark green hair and deep garnet eyes that were almost the color of blood. But in Serenity's opinion he was the most jovial of the bunch. She had always felt sorry for him though. His wife had passed away many years before, leaving him to raise their daughter alone. She had met Setsuna, who was also Sailor Pluto and the guardian of the gates of time, on a few occasions when her duties allowed her a break, and had found her to be much like her father in looks and personality. The Plutonian king had been the first of the outer rulers to acquiesce to her decision to marry Endymion, but he hadn't been happy about it.

"I do not believe that this is the best choice for the future of our solar system," he had stated after he had grudgingly given his approval. And he still looked greatly bothered now.

The queens of Uranus and Neptune were another oddity. They had been the hardest to sway in favor of the marriage, but not because they feared for the Alliance's future. It was because they didn't seem to have any respect for men. Neither of the queens had ever married, nor had they ever taken a lover that anyone knew about. Rumors drifted around that the blonde haired, navy eyed queen of Uranus and the aqua haired, blue eyed queen of Neptune were madly in love with each other. But no proof had ever been presented to confirm those beliefs. They had counseled the moon princess, saying that men were more trouble than they were worth and that she didn't have to have a king to become queen someday. There had to be men somewhere in their past though, because each of them had given birth to a daughter. But no one knew who the fathers were.

Serenity had never met Princess Haruka of Uranus or Princess Michiru of Neptune, but she'd heard bits and pieces about them. They were both sailor scouts of their planets, but they never came to the moon to visit the high court. They preferred to stay at their end of the galaxy and protect it from outside invaders. There were also those that said that the two princess' relationship was very similar to that of their mothers'.

And finally, sitting at the far end of the table, as far away from the festivities as he could, was the lone king of Saturn. His story was tragic, but the dark, suspicious eyes that constantly glared out from beneath his fringe of black hair always kept people at bay. But he hadn't always been that way. Serenity vaguely remembered a time when he had been as happy and jolly as anyone she had ever seen.

Then about ten years ago, the queen of Saturn, with her glossy brown hair and warm amethyst eyes, had died while giving birth to their daughter. At first, everyone had thought that the baby was dead too because she showed no signs of life. But they soon realized that she was breathing and her heart was beating. It was if she were asleep.

Queen Serenity had arrived a short while later to examine the infant and see if there was a way to help her with the power of the Silver Crystal. But when the energy from the crystal touched the baby, a glowing signal of Saturn had appeared on her forehead and her body had transformed into that of a young woman wearing a purple-skirted fuku and holding a long, scythe-like staff.

Not knowing what to do, the oracles of the gods had been consulted, and their answers hadn't been encouraging. This girl was the first-born sailor scout of Saturn, but she was also the scout of death and rebirth. If she were to ever awaken, whatever planet she was on, and possibly the entire galaxy, would be destroyed.

Fearful for their nearby planets' safety, the king of Pluto, along with the queens of Uranus and Neptune, banded together to use their powers to reinforce the enchanted sleep that the princess was in. They didn't want to take any chances of her accidentally awakening and destroying their planets.

So for the past decade, the girl known simply as Sailor Saturn, for her father hadn't bothered giving her a name that she would never know, had remained in a deep sleep, hidden somewhere secret inside the Saturn palace. And the king had turned into an angry and bitter man.

Endymion nudged Serenity lightly and whispered, "Hey, are you okay?"

She blinked a few times before whispering back, "Yes. I was just…thinking."

"Well, you better stop daydreaming for now. Your mother is wrapping up her speech," he cautioned her quietly.

And indeed she was. Serenity turned her attention back to her mother just in time to hear the queen say, "I wish for all of you to join in and help us celebrate this joyous and momentous occasion. And to start off tonight's festivities, I believe that we will have our guests of honor lead us in the first dance of the evening. Serenity, Endymion, the floor is yours."

Serenity fought back her natural instinct to groan at this proclamation as she allowed her prince to lead her back down the steps and to the middle of the ballroom. She was a horrible dancer, and had left many men limping with sore toes after they had dared to ask her for a dance. But things were different when she was with Endymion, so she knew that she didn't have to worry.

She didn't know if it was because of the connection between them, or if it was just because Endymion was as talented at dancing as he was with everything else in life, but when he held her in his arms it was as if all of her awkwardness fell away and she felt as graceful as a swan. She had always detested dancing before. But from the first time he had danced with her at his birthday ball almost two years before, she knew that she could dance in his arms forever.

The music started as they turned to face one another. He gave her a formal bow as she swept into a curtsey. Then he took her hand in his and stepped closer to her, settling his other hand on her waist as her other hand came up to rest lightly on his shoulder.

And then they were off, spinning and twirling to the strains of the light-hearted music that was playing. After a moment, many more couples joined them in dancing, but the moon princess and earth prince barely noticed. They were already lost in each other's eyes and off in their own little world.

* * *

"Anything?" Minako asked Makoto tensely as the tall brunette joined her beside the refreshment table.

Makoto shook her head as she picked up a glass of punch and sipped it. "Nothing. I made a sweep of the entire perimeter and all was quiet. The guards are all alert and in their assigned places. I stopped and spoke to a few of them, and they all said that everything was calm."

"It's too calm," Rei growled as she joined them. "I patrolled every nook and cranny of this place, and the only thing I came across were a few couples that had snuck away to have some private time."

"Well I'm not going to complain about it," Minako replied. "We've all been revved up, expecting something to happen tonight. But it would be nice if we could get through this evening with everything staying quiet."

"That works for me," Makoto agreed.

"I still don't like it," Rei grumbled. "Something just doesn't seem right. These types of functions are never this tame."

Makoto chuckled. "Just give it time. The night is still young. Besides, I noticed that my cousin and your cousin have been vying for the same girl's attention all night, and they're starting to shoot each other dirty looks. Once they get a bit more champagne in them we'll probably have to break them up. Remember that fight they got into back at Christmas."

Rei rolled her eyes. "Yippee! That just what I want to do, break up a drunken brawl between those two idiots."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Ami murmured as she wandered up with her mini-computer in her hand. "And I'm sure it won't be the last time you have to come between them."

"How are things looking, Ami?" Minako asked her.

Ami looked up from the screen. "There is nothing to report. I have been doing continual scans, but I am not picking up on any suspicious activity. I am not getting any readings of any concealed weapons that have be brought in, nor have I picked up on any unusual vital signs or brain patterns from any of the guests, other than slight increases in heart rates and respirations brought on by inebriation, dancing, and hormones. If anyone in this crowd was planning on an assassination attempt or anything of that nature, their body would betray them."

Minako sighed. "So we're still in the clear then. Let's hope that it stays like this, for Serenity and Endymion's sake."

"Minako!" a voice hissed from around her feet.

She looked down to see a white feline sitting next to the hem of her floor-length orange skirt. "Artemis!" she exclaimed as quietly as she could as she reached down to scoop him up in her arms. "Please tell me you have some good news."

He shook his head. "I have absolutely nothing. I have tried to reach the Earth palace through every channel available, but I have gotten no response. It's like there is no one there."

Minako, Rei, and Makoto all sucked in deep breaths at his words.

"Let's not read too much into this," Ami cautioned them. "Things may not be as bad as what they seem. In fact, this could be a good thing. Endymion told us that when he spoke to his father earlier that the king said that the generals were very close to finding Beryl. If they managed to capture her and bring her back to the palace, then everyone there has probably gone out to see her being brought in, leaving the communication stations unmanned. We shouldn't jump to conclusions until we find out more."

"I guess you could have a point there," Makoto replied in a halting tone that clearly said that she didn't actually believe that was the case.

Rei was much more honest with her feelings. "That's a load of crap! If they had managed to get their hands on that witch I would know it already. I would be able to sense it from Jed. I can always tell when he's had a successful battle because he gets so giddy over it that his emotions spill over to me. But I haven't felt even a twinge from him in hours now."

"I haven't sensed anything from Kunzite either," Minako sighed. "I know that he knows that I'm worrying by now since he didn't make it here, and he's not the type of person to make me worry needlessly. He would at least send me a feeling of security to let me know that everything is okay. This isn't like him." She glanced around the ballroom for a moment before snapping to attention. "Where are Serenity and Endymion? They were just here."

"Calm down," Artemis chided her gently from his spot in the crook of her arm. "They're okay. I just saw them step out onto the balcony. They've been dancing for hours, so they probably went to get some air."

"Or they went to find a place to maul one another," Rei snickered. Makoto chuckled next to her.

Ami's cheeks were pink in embarrassment. "I'm sure they will be fine. My scans show that there is nobody else out there. So they should be safe."

But Minako wasn't completely placated. "I'm going to see if I can speak to Aunt Serenity for a moment. Ami's theory about why we are getting no response from Earth is plausible. I know that if I were there I would want to witness Beryl's humiliation. But if we haven't heard anything by the time this ball is over, I think we ought to go down there and check things out. The guys could be in trouble and need our help."

The other three girls nodded their heads firmly. They knew that their lovers would probably laugh at them if they knew the scouts were planning a possible rescue mission. The four generals who led Earth's armies had a reputation that was every bit as fierce as that of the sailor scouts. They had been in many tough situations before and had managed to get out of them on their own.

But the four princesses of the inner planets each felt that this time was different. Some instinct deep inside of them was telling them that something was terribly wrong.

Rei closed her eyes for a moment, and then she whispered, "Evil is brewing. The darkness is beginning to spread. But I can't see when or where it will strike. The visions are unclear to me."

Ami and Makoto shuddered at her words. It was very rare that Rei's second sight failed her. Something big must be looming in their future.

Minako's blue eyes met Rei's violet ones as they opened. Determination burned brightly in the head scout's gaze. "I'll be back," she said as she turned, still holding Artemis, to make her way toward where she could see the queen conversing with her parents.

"Minako, don't go flying off the handle," Artemis warned.

She patted his head gently. "I'm not. But whatever is going on has to be stopped. It's gone on long enough."

* * *

"My legs feel like jelly!" Serenity exclaimed laughingly as she leaned her back against the stone railing that surrounded the balcony.

Endymion smirked at her. "Is that your way of saying that you're done with dancing tonight?"

She shook her head. "Absolutely not! I just need a few minutes to give them a rest, and then I'll be ready to go again. I'm not letting you out of my arms until I absolutely have to."

The prince laughed as he came to stand in front of her. He pulled the white mask from his face and stuffed it in the pocket of his tuxedo jacket before he leaned forward slightly to cage her in with a hand on the railing on either side of her hips. "I agree. I have every intention of holding you the entire night."

She smiled up at him as she reached up to flick back the lock of ebony hair that always fell down over his eyes. "There! Now I can see your beautiful eyes. You've been hiding behind that mask all evening."

"Just trying to play the part," he quipped back, trying to sound light-hearted, but then he sobered some. "The mask has come in handy tonight. It's easy to keep an eye on those around you when they can't tell where you are looking."

Serenity folded her arms across her chest and huffed. "And here I thought that I'd had your undivided attention all this time."

"Oh, you've definitely had my attention," he reassured her hastily. "But a good soldier is always aware of his surroundings, even when in the presence of an angel such as yourself."

She turned around and presented her back to him to hide the smile that sprang to her lips. "You always think that you are such a silver tongued devil."

He bent down, over her shoulder. "I don't normally hear you complain. In fact, I was under the impression that you rather enjoy the ways I use my tongue." He nipped lightly at her neck before soothing it with said tongue.

She jumped a little and a few goose bumps raced across her skin at the feel of his hot mouth on her. A ball of anticipation formed in her stomach at the thought of the long night that stretched out before them, but she forced herself to remain calm. Once the ball was over they would have hours to be alone together.

But she also knew him well enough to be able to read between the lines. And the tone of his voice told her much more than the words he spoke. Her eyes drifted upward to where the Earth hung like a blue marble in the sky, and she sighed. "You're going to go home in the morning, aren't you?"

His breath whooshed out, ruffling her hair. Then his hands were on her shoulders, turning her back toward him. He lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "Yes, I am. I don't know if the generals have been successful in apprehending Beryl yet. And they may need my help if they haven't."

She clung to his sleeves as she looked at him beseechingly. "Take me with you. I don't want to stay here without you."

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again to look at her sternly. "Not yet, Sere. We've already talked about this. I would give anything to be able to take you home with me, but I won't risk your safety. As soon as I know for sure that Beryl is locked away and can't harm you I will come and get you. I promise you that. Just try to be patient a little bit longer."

She leaned her forehead against his chest as she fought to hold back her tears. "This isn't fair! Making our engagement public was supposed to free us so that we could be together whenever we want. But we're still trapped, just like before."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her. "No we're not. Before we had to worry about pissing off the entire galaxy. Now all we have to deal with is a woman on a power trip and her handful of lackeys. Once she's taken care of there will be nothing standing in our way. We'll get married and be together forever. You'll be the most beautiful bride ever born."

She smiled against his shirt before lifting her slightly damp eyes to his. "I think you're biased. I'm not the only princess around you know. Minako, Rei, Makoto, and Ami are beautiful women too, and they will make stunning brides. I'm sure you'll get to see that for yourself though. I have a feeling that there will be four more weddings following fairly quickly after ours."

One side of Endymion's mouth hitched up higher than the other in a boyish grin that made her heart thump just a little faster. "Oh, I'm sure there will be. I just hope the guys know what they're getting into with your scouts. And I'm sure the girls will be very pretty brides. But you are the only one for me, my love."

"I love you, Endy," she whispered softly.

"I love you too, Sere," he replied huskily as his head descended slowly toward her.

She rose up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway. But for some reason, when their lips met, she suddenly felt an extreme sadness come over her. One lone tear slipped from her eye to roll down her cheek.

When it touched their joined mouths and Endymion tasted it, he pulled back slightly to look at her questioningly. "What's wrong, my angel?"

She shook her head slightly. "It's nothing. I guess I'm just a little scared. There were times when I was afraid that we would never be able to be together. And now that we are, I'm afraid that something will happen to tear us apart. I'm terrified that I am going to lose you somehow, and I can't…no, I _won't _live without you. The agony would be more than I could bear."

He wiped the tear trail away from her cheek with his thumb. "Then I guess it's a good thing that I have no intentions of ever leaving you, other than a trip home to make sure that everything is safe for you of course. But we will always be together, Serenity. I promise you that." And then he kissed her again.

This kiss was much deeper than their prior one, and Serenity melted against him as heat burst to life like one of Rei's fireballs in her stomach. She flung her arms around his neck and returned the kiss as passionately as it was being given to her. His hands skimmed her ribcage, eliciting a soft moan from her into his mouth that was answered by a shuddering groan from him as she moved her body like a whisper against his.

Serenity knew that they shouldn't be doing this here. Anybody could come out onto the balcony at any moment and see them in this position. She tried to pull back to tell Endymion that they needed to stop, that they had all night to spend together, making love. But he slid one hand up to sink into the fine hair at the nape of her neck and held her close to him.

"God, the things you make me feel," he mumbled against her tingling, swollen lips. "I have never felt for anyone the way I feel for you. You are more than just my moon. You are my sun and my stars as well. I feel so complete when I am with you. It's like you're a part of me that I never realized I was missing until I found you."

That crumbled her resolve. So what if some people thought that she was behaving indecently by engaging in any sort of intimate activity with her prince in such a public place. How could she not want to kiss him senseless after that moving speech? She closed the few millimeters between them and fastened her lips hungrily over his.

She was in control of the kiss for several moments, licking and suckling at his lips, but it didn't last long. She felt him shiver a split second before he groaned and used the hold he had at her nape to tilt her head back as he took over. Her mouth opened under his, and he used it to his advantage as he plundered deeply with his tongue.

His other hand had just slid up to cover one of her breasts through the fabric of her dress when someone cleared their throat.

"Excuse us. Are we interrupting something important?" a humorous voice asked.

Serenity jerked a few inches away from Endymion with a hiss. "Minako!"

The taller blonde standing by the door began to giggle. "Oh my! I wish you could have seen your face!" She broke off with an "Umph!" as she was elbowed from behind.

"Knock it off, blonde brat! I thought we were trying to be serious here," Rei grumbled as she shouldered her way past Minako.

Makoto was grinning. "Aw, don't be such a sour puss, Rei. I thought they looked sweet together."

"If you like cannibalism," Ami muttered in a dark, uncharacteristic way.

Serenity stuck her tongue out at her four closest friends. "So what are you disturbing me for?"

Minako pushed herself away from the doorjamb. "It's not really you that we were wanting to speak to. We need to have a word with Endymion."

The prince straightened up as this caught his attention. "What is it? Has there been news from Earth?"

"Nada…zip…zilch," Makoto replied, popping her lips on the consonants.

"Not a damn word," Rei confirmed harshly.

Amy nodded slowly. "And now no one is answering when we try to make contact through the regular channels."

Surprisingly, Endymion laughed. "Well that could be good news then. It probably means that the guys have made it back with Beryl in tow. Whenever anything big happens in that palace everything shuts down. All work stops and everyone rushes from their posts to see the spectacle. You won't get an answer until everything calms down again. And that could take a while."

Serenity breathed a sigh of relief at his words. "I'm sure you're right, Endy. Besides, you girls share a soul bond with the guys. You would know if something was wrong. You would feel it. And…" Her voice faltered and died at the pointed look her cousin shot her. She gulped a few times before whispering, "What have you sensed?"

Minako's eyes became sad and her shoulders slumped as she muttered. "Nothing. And that's the problem. I lost mental connection with Kunzite shortly before lunchtime. I didn't think much about it at the time because that happens sometimes when he's on a mission. But it's been about twelve hours now and I've still felt nothing from him. Kunzite would never go for this long without giving me at least a small nudge of reassurance."

"Hmm…" Endymion muttered, beginning to look worried himself. "That is unusual." His eyes swung around to take in the other three princesses. "And it's the same for you girls as well?"

Ami, Makoto, and Rei all nodded solemnly, but remained quiet.

Endymion began pacing back and forth across the balcony, his cape snapping and swishing behind him as he murmured under his breath, "Very suspicious…they would never worry the girls like this…something must be wrong…very wrong." Then he stopped abruptly and rounded on the five women watching him, stating, "I have to leave, now."

Serenity let out an anguished cry. "What! You can't! It could be dangerous!"

He gave her a look of exasperation. "I'm no stranger to danger, Sere. If there is a problem with my home, then I need to go see about it."

"But you can't go alone, without backup," she protested. "If something has gone wrong you could be walking right into a trap."

"That's a risk that I'm willing to take!" he fired back angrily. "I can't just sit here…"

"Yes you can," Minako interrupted him.

Endymion gave her his most haughty look. "I beg your pardon."

"I'm sorry, Endymion, but we can't let you return to Earth right now," Minako replied in a soft, yet firm voice. "I have already talked this over with her majesty, and she is in agreement. The guests would start making wild speculations if any of us were to leave the ball unexpectedly, so we will all remain here until it is over. That will probably only be a couple of more hours at most. Once all of the guests have retired for the night, Makoto, Rei, Ami, and myself will use the teleportation pad to go down to Earth and see what we can find. You will stay here with Serenity."

"The hell I will!" Endymion growled. "_I _am the prince of Earth. It is _my _planet. If there is trouble there _I _will be the one to handle it."

Makoto's green eyes snapped furiously. "Four people are better than one. We can cover more ground and keep an eye on each other's backs. Face it, princey, we're better equipped for the job than you are."

"Then I'm going with you," the glowering prince insisted. "I could find my way around blindfolded. You may need my assistance."

Rei snorted. "I'm sure we can figure things out. We're not idiots. And believe it or not, we've been to Earth enough times to know how things work."

"Besides, would you really leave Serenity here with no one but the palace guard to look out for her?" Ami scolded.

"No. He's right," Serenity interjected. "You girls might need his help. You should take him with you. I'll be fine here."

"In your dreams!" Rei retorted hotly. "For all we know this could be part of Beryl's plan. She could have found a way to cut off communication to lure all of us to Earth so that she could have a clear shot at you. At least with Endymion here we know that you will be protected."

"Rei has a point," Makoto agreed.

"Then one of you stay behind and I'll go," Endymion argued. "That way Serenity will still have a proper guard and I can take care of whatever is happening on Earth."

Minako shook her head. "I can't let you. I promised Kunzite that I would watch out for you in his absence. I'm sorry, but allowing you to go back into a potentially hostile situation doesn't qualify."

"I am a warrior, not some helpless pup," Endymion sputtered. Then he bellowed, "I will not stay here, cowering behind women's skirts while you go off to fight battles for me! I don't care if you are sailor scouts!"

"Ahem," a quiet voice interrupted his tirade. Everyone turned to find Queen Serenity in the doorway, watching them. "I would suggest that everyone lower their voices before you start to draw attention to yourselves. Endymion, it was I who requested that you remain behind while the scouts go to see what has transpired on Earth. You are the only person besides them who I would entrust my daughter's life and safety to. I know that this is your kingdom we are talking about, but the girls want to find their soul mates and make sure that they are okay. Surely you can understand that. Wouldn't you do anything that you had to if you didn't know where Serenity was and wanted to find her?"

Endymion hung his head. "Yes, your majesty. Very well, I'll stay, for Serenity's sake."

The queen smiled. "Excellent! Now, how about we all return to the ball. I'm sure the guests are wondering where we all got off to. And there is no reason for us not to try to enjoy the rest of our evening, even in the light of events unknown." She gestured to the inner princesses. "Ladies, your fathers were looking for you. I believe that they were wanting to claim a dance with their lovely daughters." She shuffled them inside.

Serenity clung to Endymion's arm tightly for a moment after he absently offered it to her. "Endy, everything will be okay, right? Even if Beryl were insane enough to launch an attack on your home, your father would be able to beat her, surely. He has the Golden Crystal after all."

Her words smoothed the worry lines from his forehead and he smiled as he squeezed her hand in the crook of his arm. "You're right. I didn't really think about that. Father's health hasn't been exactly the best lately, so he hasn't been using the crystal much so he can conserve energy. But I'm sure that he still packs enough of a punch to blast that witch if she tries anything."

"I wish I had control of the Silver Crystal," Serenity grumbled. "If I did I would go to Earth and make Beryl pay for what she's done to your planet."

"Our planet," Endymion corrected her.

She scrunched her nose up. "Not yet. We haven't gotten married yet."

He tapped the tip of her nose. "That is just a formality. In my eyes you are already my wife and have been for a while. Now, didn't you say that you would be up for some more dancing, my lovely bride?"

She flushed a deep pink at him calling her his wife as she answered, "Only with you, my love."

* * *

An hour later Minako knocked on the slightly ajar door of the palace security office, which also held the main system for communications between the planets. "Artemis, are you in here?" she asked as the door slowly swung open.

The guard sitting at a console closest to the door, keeping watch over the monitor that showed views from the strategically placed cameras around the palace looked up at her and smiled before pointing over his shoulder toward the back of the room.

She returned his smile gratefully before lifting her long skirt a few inches so she wouldn't tread on the hem and heading in the direction he had indicated, her orange high heels clicking sharply across the marble floor as she went.

She sighed when she found the frustrated looking white feline hunched over the communications console. "There you are! Have you heard anything yet?"

"Nothing but static," he grumbled. "I haven't been able to pick up a single beep. If it weren't for the fact that I can walk over to the window and see the Earth, I would swear that it doesn't exist anymore."

She slumped down into a nearby chair and reached out to stroke his ears. "It's okay, Artemis. The ball will hopefully be winding down in a little while, and then the girls and I are going to go find out what's going on."

He bristled under her touch. "I wish you would reconsider this plan, Minako. I think it's a bad idea for you girls to go snooping around on Earth. I don't mean to sound cruel, but do you honestly think that you're going to find Kunzite alive at this point? You've heard nothing from him since this morning."

She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. "I really don't know what I'll find. I don't want to believe that he's dead, but I fear you may be right. I felt something earlier today. It was brief and only lasted for a moment, but it felt like someone had stuck a red-hot poker through my heart. I've felt empty ever since."

"And yet you still talk about going," Artemis growled.

Her eyes, shiny with tears, opened to look at him. "I have to. I have to make sure that this isn't some trick of Beryl's to make me think that he's dead. I will have to see his body with my own eyes before I believe that."

Her advisor shook his head as he grouched, "Stubborn girl!"

She ran a hand under her heavy mass of golden hair to rub her neck. "That's what you've always said. That and that I think too much with my heart."

"You do," he replied firmly, but his voice had lost its sharp edge.

"Would you really have me any other way?" she tried to joke.

"Weelll…" he drawled out.

"Artemis!" she cried in disbelief.

He chuckled. "I'm just kidding! I love you just the way you are, and I have since the first moment I saw you when you were barely an hour old. Now don't you have a ball you need to get back to?"

She sighed wearily. "You're right. I promised mother and father that I would visit with them for a while before we left. Ugh! This is going to be a long night. I'll see you later, Artie."

"I've asked you repeatedly not to call me that," he grumbled, but his blue eyes watched his mistress fondly as she stood and smoothed her skirt before turning away. Then he called after her, "You girls be careful tonight. Some earthlings are okay, but there are a lot of barbarians among them."

She fluttered a hand behind her in response to let him know that she'd heard him as she headed for the door.

"Lady Venus!" the guard at the security console exclaimed as a series of beeps had him snapping up straight in his seat. He pointed toward one of the screens. "You might want to have a look at this."

Minako bit back a groan. She was tired, not physically, but mentally and emotionally. But as the leader of the sailor scouts it was her job to stay on top of any possible security matters.

"Yes?" she asked politely as she walked over to him. One glance at the screen he indicated was all it took to bring tears to her eyes and set her heart pounding. A cry wrenched past her lips as she spun on her heel and ran from the room.

"What in Aphrodite's name was that about?" Artemis wondered as he wandered over to see what had caused Minako to act in such a way.

Then he glanced at the screen she had looked at, and his questions were answered. Four men had just appeared on the teleportation platform. And the one on the end with long silvery platinum hair was definitely the one that would have gotten such a reaction from the Venusian princess.

It seemed that the generals from Earth had finally decided to join the party.

But something was troubling the advisor, and it took him a moment to figure out what it was.

"It's strange though, that Minako didn't sense him coming. Very strange."

* * *

Rei slipped out a side door of the palace and took a deep breath of the night air, grateful to be away from the crush inside. Crowds were definitely not her thing. She had enjoyed the time she had spent talking with her parents tonight, but when Makoto had wandered over and told her to take a break a few minutes before she could have hugged her.

She knew that she couldn't dawdle long and would have to go back in soon to spell Makoto or Ami so that they could have a break. That made her wonder where Minako had disappeared to. The head scout had left the ball about fifteen minutes before, saying that she was going to check in with Artemis, but she hadn't returned yet. Rei speculated on whether that meant good news or bad.

Walking over to a nearby bench, she sat down, tilting her head back and closing her eyes as she attempted to clear her mind of all the clamoring thoughts that had been rattling around all day and night. She was going to need her senses at their strongest for the mission that she and the other scouts would be going on later.

A smile touched her lips as she thought about Serenity and how radiant she had looked a few minutes ago, dancing in her prince's arms. Rei had flicked a tiny wave at her as she had been slipping out of the ballroom, and Serenity had beamed her an understanding and supportive smile.

Most people thought that the Martian and Moon princesses could barely tolerate one another because of the bickering that always seemed to sprout up between the two. But in reality the two were as close as sisters. Many nights they had stayed up talking about their dreams for the future long after the other girls had given up and gone to bed. They may have been as different as night and day in both looks and personalities, but deep inside they were amazingly similar. They both dreamed of marrying the men that they loved and building a family with them. They both also harbored some of the same fears and anxieties about becoming good queens in the future that would be capable of running their kingdoms.

Thinking of her possible future had Rei's eyes opening so that she could look up to where the Earth hung heavily in the sky. To the untrained eye, it still looked as beautiful as it always had. But she knew how to look past the physical appearance and observe it from a spiritual perspective.

She frowned now as she studied the blue planet. A dark, evil aura had been emanating from the Earth for several months now, ever since Beryl had first begun stirring up rebellion there. So far, thanks to the armies of Earth led by Endymion and his generals, they had been able to keep Beryl at bay and keep the malicious aura from swallowing the planet. But tonight it seemed to be a little darker, and a bit more sinister. That didn't bode well for the scouts' later mission.

And Jadeite was somewhere on that planet. She shivered at the thought. Jadeite wasn't quite at the same level that she was when it came to sensing the spiritual world, but he was still highly in-tune with the spiritual plane and could hear and sense things that most people couldn't. Being on Earth right now had to be a nightmare for anyone who possessed any psychic abilities, at least the ones that didn't practice black magic, and she wasn't looking forward to descending into that pit of darkness later. But she needed answers.

At this point she wasn't sure what she would find. Her greatest hope, of course, was to find Jadeite alive. She also prayed for the safety of Endymion's parents and for the innocent inhabitants of Earth, but Jadeite was first and foremost in her mind. Unfortunately, as the hours passed without her being able to even pick up a speck of his aura, she was fast losing hope that he still lived. A momentary sharp pain had pierced her chest earlier in the day, leaving behind a horrible, gnawing emptiness. She had started to ask Minako about it, but had kept her suspicions to herself when she'd seen the empty look in her friend's eyes. She knew without words that Minako was thinking the same thing that she was…the generals were dead.

She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, not caring that she was probably smearing her makeup everywhere. This had been a long and emotionally trying night, and it wasn't over yet. She was happy for Serenity and Endymion, but she would be glad when this ball was over so that they could get down to business. She was tired of smiling and pretending that everything was okay when it wasn't.

"I guess I better get back inside and wrap things up," she mumbled to herself as she stood up from the bench. She shot one last look at the Earth and whispered, "Soon, Jed. I will find out what has happened. If you are still alive, I will be with you soon."

She was smoothing the wrinkles from her crimson skirt when the nearby bushes rustled softly. Her head snapped around as she demanded harshly, "Who's there?"

At first all she could see was the shadow of a large, definitely male figure appearing around the edge of the hedge. But there was something familiar about his movements that made her heart jump up into her throat and almost strangle her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to speak, but no sound would come out…until he stepped out of the shadows where she could see him.

One trembling hand flew up to cover her mouth while the other one gripped her skirt in a tight-knuckled grasp. Her eyes scanned him quickly from head to toe, taking in the tousled golden curls and blueberry eyes that haunted her dreams at night. The lips that she knew the feel of better than her own were twisted up into their usual smirk.

"Jed?" she whispered as she stumbled forward a few feet. She righted herself before trying to glare through her tears. "You stupid asshole! Where the hell have you been? I have been going crazy with worry!"

He just stood there, silently staring at her.

She stomped her foot in anger. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself? You've kept me cut off all day without a word to let me know that you were okay, and now you just stand there saying nothing. You're such an ass!"

The silence continued to bear down on them for several moments before she finally cracked. She wasn't done raking him over the coals, literally, for this little stunt, but right now she just needed to feel his arms around her. Her tears spilled over as she half walked, half ran toward him.

'_STOP!'_ a warning screamed through her head, jerking her to a halt. It jolted her enough that her rational thought returned to her in a rush. Why couldn't she sense Jadeite's aura? He was standing right in front of her, just a few feet away. She should be able to feel him.

She swiped the tears from her eyes and took a good look at the man in front of her. He looked just like Jadeite, right down to the dimple in his cheek. But now that she really took a good look at him she noticed the differences. The smirk on his face was twisted and sardonic instead of the mischievous and playful one she was used to. And his eyes, they made her shiver. The warmth and happiness that usually burned in their blue depths was missing, giving them a cold, cruel look.

But the most damning evidence of all was when she looked past what her mortal eyes could see to look at his aura. Instead of being the soothing green and blue of Earth, shot through with the gold of the royal house and the red of the flames he controlled, it was black. It was the same boiling, oppressive black that was trying to seize the Earth.

"Who are _you_?" she hissed venomously.

Just as she went to take a step back, his hand shot out, as quickly as a cobra strike, to wrap around her wrist. "Come now, Mars. You know who I am. Don't tell me that you've forgotten your one true love already," he said in a voice that was identical to Jadeite's, but with a cold edge to it.

Her temper exploded. "You're not Jadeite!" she screamed as her powers rushed through her. He let her go as her entire arm erupted into flames.

Rei was never one to run from a fight, but she spun quickly and began running back toward the palace door. She had to alert the queen and the other scouts to what was going on. She pulled out her henshin wand and transformed in a fiery rush as she ran. Just as she wrenched the door open, a dark, ominous feeling swamped her, making her stop and look back.

The fake Jadeite was still standing where she had left him, but now he was laughing. It wasn't the deep, belly-rolling laughter of the earth's fire general. This sound was the laughter of pure evil.

At that moment the malevolent aura surrounding Earth burst outward, zooming toward the moon.

* * *

"Okay, just lie back here and try to relax," Ami told the young woman whose arm she had wrapped around her neck as she lowered her to one of the beds in the infirmary.

"Thank you, Princess Mercury," the woman gasped in pain. Then she grinned ruefully. "I guess I shouldn't have had that last glass of champagne before I went out on the dance floor. I made a real spectacle of myself, tripping and falling like that. I'm sure that chased away any would be suitors."

Ami smiled gently as she used her Mercury computer to scan her patient's rapidly swelling ankle. "If a man holds such a trifling little incident like this against you, then he isn't worth your time. You're lucky though. It doesn't look like anything is broken, just a bad sprain. Let me go get some things and I'll bind it up for you. That should help with the pain."

She hurried into the adjacent supply room, trying her best not to feel irritation toward her patient. The poor girl had tripped and fallen during a complicated dance move near where she and Makoto had been standing, keeping watch. They had hurried to see if they could help, and upon the girl's complaint of pain in her ankle they had decided that she needed to visit the infirmary so it could be properly tended.

Ami was the obvious choice to take her since she had the most medical knowledge. Sure, some of the palace staff healers were in the crowd, but they were technically off duty and had probably been imbibing in the champagne and other spirits as well.

Ami had briefly considered summoning either her mother or father for their assistance, since their capabilities exceeded even hers, but Queen Serenity had gathered with all of the Alliance council members together at the high table, and they seemed to be having a deep discussion.

She'd even thought for a split second of calling Endymion over. The earth prince possessed some healing powers, and he had gotten pretty good at patching people up, according to Zoicite. But she couldn't see interrupting him while he was busy paying attention to Serenity. This was their engagement ball after all. And even though she knew they were stressed about not knowing what was happening on Earth, the couple seemed to be completely enraptured with one another.

Minako and Rei were both taking a short break, which meant that Makoto would have to stay behind, leaving Ami to escort the injured girl by herself. At least one scout needed to be around to keep an eye on things.

Ami quickly gathered what she needed, linen strips to bind the ankle and a small jar that contained an herbal pain relief cream. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind that Zoicite had been the one to show her how to make that particular concoction. Thinking about him, and the possibility that he might be dead, hurt too much at the moment.

She hurried back into the infirmary, where it only took her a few minutes to smooth on the cream and wrap the ankle tightly. An anxious feeling that she couldn't explain was beginning to form a knot in her stomach, so she suggested to her patient that they make their way back to the ball.

She was just preparing to help the girl up when a group of giggling young women appeared in the doorway to check on their injured friend. After assuring them that she was fine, the girl thanked Ami one last time before leaving with a friend supporting her on each side.

Ami watched them leave with a smile on her face. Then, knowing that she needed to return to her own friends, she quickly cleared away her mess, returning the remaining bandages and the cream to the supply room.

However, when she came back out, she gasped at the sight of a very familiar figure standing in the infirmary's doorway. "Zoicite!"

He gave a jerky bow. "I had a feeling that I would find you here."

Normally, Ami's analytical mind processed every detail before she acted, but that had never applied to the relationship between her and her soul mate. In the blink of an eye she was across the room and throwing herself against Zoicite, wrapping her arms around his waist as she cried into his chest.

"Where have you been? I've been so worried," she sobbed wildly.

He laid a hand on top of her head as he said softly, "Shh, Mercury. Everything is okay now."

She sucked in several deep breaths and tried to calm herself. After all, Mercurians always prided themselves on being able to keep control of their emotions. But it had been such a long and trying day. She had feared that she would never be able to hold Zoicite in her arms again, and now here he was.

But as her breathing began to return to normal, her logical thought process returned as well. The squirming mass of anxiety that had been rolling around in her stomach suddenly intensified as warning bells began clamoring in her head, telling her that something was very wrong with this situation.

Her brain clicked into hyper-drive, quickly breaking down everything that had happened in the past minute…and absolutely nothing added up.

First was the fact that he hadn't returned her embrace. Zoicite may seem reserved around others, but he never was with her. He was always sweet and loving toward her, and used any excuse he could to hold her. They hadn't seen each other in person for a few weeks, so she couldn't imagine him being content with merely putting a hand on her head.

Then there was what he had said, not just the words, but the tone of voice as well. He was a naturally soft-spoken person, much like her. But when he had spoken to her just now the words had sounded strained, like he was forcing his voice to remain low. And he had called her Mercury. Zoicite never did that. He referred to her as Lady Mercury, Princess Mercury, or Sailor Mercury whenever they were in a formal setting, but never just as Mercury…and certainly never when they were alone. He always called her Ami, or his little ice sprite during some of their more intimate moments.

And now that she was thinking clearly again, she realized just how cold he felt in her arms. Since ice was the element for his powers, as was hers, his body temperature ran slightly cooler than other earthlings. But since she was Mercurian he had always felt warm to her. Now the chest under her cheek felt as cold and as hard as stone. It was like she was hugging a dead man.

Startled by the thought, she tried to step back from him, only to have him grip her shoulders with his frigid hands to keep her pressed tightly against him.

"Let me go, Zoicite," she demanded as harshly as she could.

She felt his chin brush her hair as he shook his head. "Just stand quietly for a moment, Mercury. It will all be over soon," he crooned eerily.

Panic roared through her and she shrieked, "No!" as she slammed her hands into his chest and pushed hard. She called forth her powers and felt a glacial rush, like ice water, flow down her arms.

She managed to stumble away from him as his torso started to become encased in ice, and then dashed around him into the corridor. She pulled her henshin wand from her pocket as she ran and cried, "Mercury Power!"

By the time her transformation had completed she was at the end of the corridor. She skidded to a stop as she reached the corner and spun on her boot heel to look back at him.

Zoicite, or whoever he was, was still standing in the infirmary doorway, but he had turned and was watching her as water from the ice he was using his powers to melt dripped down him to form a puddle on the floor.

An uncharacteristically snide grin lifted his lips as he drawled, "Aw, what's wrong, Mercury? You don't want to play with me?" His sword, which looked to be made of ice, but was actually crystal, appeared in his hands.

'_He wants to kill me!' _she thought wildly as she whipped her mini-computer out to do the fastest scan she'd ever done. One quick glance at the results was all it took to send her running in the direction of the ballroom in search of her sister scouts.

The scans had shown her that the man was definitely Zoicite, at least physically. But his brain waves were highly erratic and the energy that was pouring off of him was pure negativity.

His dark laughter followed her down the hall as she ran. "That's okay, Mercury. I'll catch up to you later."

Then there was a sound like an explosion as the entire palace literally rocked around her.

* * *

"Man, this stinks! I wish the other girls would hurry up and get back," Makoto muttered under her breath as her dark green eyes swept across the crowded dance floor for the thousandth time.

Her gaze softened when she saw Serenity dancing contentedly in Endymion's arms. But when the earth prince leaned down to whisper something into the princess's ear and she lifted her face to smile brightly at him, Makoto couldn't help but feel a small stab of envy. If Nephrite were there she would have been able to have a few moments like that herself instead of being a wallflower all night. But who knew where he was or if he was even still alive.

She sighed and continued her surveillance. She couldn't really feel jealous of the happy couple. They truly loved each other and had fought long and hard against some pretty powerful people to get to where they were now. This was their night, and they deserved to be happy.

Her fingers twitched at her sides restlessly as she thought about what awaited her and the other scouts after this infernally long ball ended. She couldn't wait to get down to Earth and find out what the hell was going on there. And maybe, if she got lucky, she'd get the chance to beat the snot out of a few people while she was at it. She needed some kind of an outlet for the pent-up energy that was coursing though her. She was so wound up that she had actually shocked her father by accident earlier when he had asked her for a dance. And that was saying something since he was not only king, but also one of Jupiter's most mighty warriors as well.

But even Zeus himself would be unable to save Nephrite if she got down to Earth and found out that there was no crisis. She knew that he could get a little absent-minded sometimes, especially when he was communing with the stars. But if she discovered that he'd caused her to get this worried and upset for nothing she was going to make him pay, and pay dearly. He could block most of her attacks, but she'd never let the full fury of her temper loose on him before either. He'd be a crispy critter.

She began tapping her foot impatiently. Damn! Where were those other girls? She was going to go batty if she had to stand her much longer with nothing but her turbulent thoughts to keep her company. Sure, the sailor scouts weren't exactly the liveliest group tonight, but they had managed to share some smiles and laughs together as they tried to keep their minds off things.

"Have the others abandoned you?" a voice asked, making Makoto's head snap down.

"Oh, Luna, it's you," she replied with a smile to the black feline. "No, they haven't abandoned me, although it's starting to feel like they have. Minako and Rei are taking a breather and Ami had to help a girl to the infirmary. They should be back soon, I hope. I could use a break myself."

The furry black head nodded. "I understand. But I have to say that the festivities have gone off very nicely this evening, in spite of the pall of possible trouble looming over our heads. Princess Serenity seems to be happy, and I know the queen is pleased with the results."

Makoto smacked a fist into her palm. "I wouldn't mind a little action though. Everyone has been extremely well behaved tonight. I haven't had to break up one drunken brawl yet."

Luna huffed a laugh. "You've always been the first one of the girls to be on the lookout for a good fight. But it's in your blood, I suppose. At least I know you can handle just about anything that comes your way. Artemis and I trained you girls well. Speaking of Artemis, have you seen him? I was looking for him."

"I think he's in the control room," Makoto told her. "He's been trying for a while now to make contact with Earth. I believe he thinks that if he can get a hold of someone there and find out that everything is okay that he can stop us from going later."

"You're probably right about that," Luna sighed. "And I really don't blame him for it. I know that we've pushed you girls hard over the years, but we really care a lot for each of you and don't want to see any of you get hurt."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Aw, Luna! There's nothing to worry about. We are the sailor scouts after all. You and Artemis trained us well and taught us how to use our powers. I think we can handle one tiny trip to Earth with no problems."

Luna shook her head. "Confidence in one's self is a good thing, Makoto, but be careful that it doesn't spill over into arrogance. Everybody has a weakness somewhere, and if it is found out it can be used against you."

"I know. I know," Makoto replied quickly, having heard all of this before. She really wasn't in the mood to listen to the lecture all over again. "Why don't you go hunt down Artemis? And if you see any of the other girls along the way, send them back here. I'm starting to feel like I'm the only one working."

Luna knew that she was being brushed off, but she decided to let it go and merely nodded her head as she turned and left to continue her search for Artemis.

Makoto sighed and pushed away from the wall she had been leaning against, figuring that she might as well make a circuit around the room and check on things. Anything was better than standing around doing nothing.

She weaved through the crowds as carefully as she could, trying her best to not stand out. Not exactly an easy thing to do considering she stood just as tall as most of the men there, even taller than some of them. There were a few men there who could make her appear petite, but she could easily count them on her fingers and still have some left over.

Thinking of her height made her think of Nephrite again. At 6'4", he stood almost a half foot taller than her, and she loved the fact that she had to tip her head back to look up into his eyes instead of looking slightly down like she was used to doing with other people. And every time she went up on her tiptoes to kiss him she felt dainty and feminine. He was the only man that had made her feel that way.

She shook her head to clear it of those thoughts. She couldn't think about him right now. If she did, all it would do is make her angry enough to punch something or make her want to just sit down and cry. She would be getting her answers soon enough, so there was no sense in dwelling on his mysterious silence.

Suddenly, someone bumped into her from behind and she heard a male voice say, "Oh, excuse me."

She turned with a glare. She was in a bad mood and wanted an excuse to at least say a few scathing words to someone. But the hot words bubbling to her lips died when she recognized the young man behind her as being the son of one of the noblemen in her father's court.

"No, it's okay," she replied politely instead.

"Princess!" the man exclaimed, his dark green eyes under his fringe of medium brown hair widening in recognition. They had a bleary look to them though that clearly stated that he had definitely been indulging in the alcoholic liquid refreshment that was readily available.

"I am so sorry, princess. Please forgive me for terrible clumsiness," he apologized profusely, trying his best to keep his voice from slurring.

She hastened to reassure him, "No. It's okay. No harm, no foul."

"I still feel horrible about it," he moaned. Then his face brightened. "Let me make it up to you with a dance."

She almost choked on a laugh. Okay, so he was kind of cute, in a boyishly innocent way, but he was several inches shorter than her. If she were to dance with him his face would be right up against the cleavage that was showing over the low cut neckline of her gown. Actually, that was probably what he was hoping for, the little pervert!

Part of her wanted to laugh in his face, while the other part wanted to slap him. But instead of causing a scene she answered coolly, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I am on duty at the moment."

His expression fell a little. "Oh. Okay. Perhaps some other time then." He started to turn away.

Then he suddenly whirled back, almost tripping over his own feet and falling. "By the way, did that guy ever find you?"

She frowned at him. "Guy? What guy?"

He shrugged. "I don't know who he was. I ran into him a few minutes ago. I had left to go find a restroom and was on my way back when this guy came up to me out in the foyer and asked me if I was from Jupiter. I told him yes. Then he asked me if I knew where you were. I told him that I had no idea because there are so many people here tonight and that you were around somewhere."

Her brow wrinkled. "That's weird. I wonder why somebody would be looking for me."

Another shrug from the man. "Beats me. But he was kinda scary looking. He was really, really tall with long red-brown hair and creepy blue yes. You should probably stay away from him."

But Makoto was already hurrying away from him. There was only one person who matched that description who would be looking for her. Her eyes darted around constantly, looking for that wavy mane of mahogany hair that should be easily visible above all of the other heads. But she didn't see him anywhere.

It was strange that she hadn't sensed his arrival, but perhaps he wanted to surprise her. He had hidden his aura and snuck up on her a few times in the past, so it was entirely possible. Of course at this point her nerves were so frazzled that she didn't know if she would kiss him or kill him.

"Where is he?" she groaned to herself as she surveyed the room several times. "I know it has to be him. It couldn't be anyone else."

Finally deciding that Nephrite wasn't anywhere in the ballroom, she figured that he must still be lurking around out in the foyer somewhere, probably trying to decide the best way to take her off guard without her knowing it.

She strode quickly toward the main ballroom exit; casting a quick look over her shoulder to make sure that Serenity was still caught up in Endymion's arms. She knew that she shouldn't leave her post, and that Minako would probably read her the riot act if she found out that she had left Serenity for even a moment without a scout watching her. But Endymion was with her and would keep her safe. Besides, she wasn't going that far. She was just going to take a quick look in the foyer for any sign of Nephrite. She would be close enough to make it back to Serenity's side in five seconds if she had to.

She slipped past a crowd of people coming in through the door and into the large entrance hall of the palace. It was nowhere near as crowded as the ballroom, but there were still several people standing around talking in small groups. None of them were the person she was searching for.

"Damn it, Neph! Where are you hiding?" she growled, causing a couple of middle-aged noblewomen to shoot her startled looks and give her a wide berth as they walked by.

Then, for some reason, her eyes were pulled upward. They traveled up the wide grand staircase until they rested on the man at the top. He had his back turned toward her as he gazed out the large window there, but she would recognize him anywhere.

She wanted to scream his name, but her throat suddenly felt tight and closed. Her legs were shaking badly, but that didn't stop her from gathering up her skirt and running up the stairs. A few people clucked their tongues in disapproval as she took the stairs two at a time with her dress hiked up to her knees, but she really didn't care what they thought. She was sure that the story of her unladylike behavior would get back to her parents, but she would deal with that later. All that mattered was Nephrite.

Being a sailor scout kept her in great shape, but her emotions were running so high that she was panting for breath by the time she slid to a stop a few feet behind him.

"Neph…Nephrite?" she gasped as she gulped in air and tried to fight back the stinging of tears in her eyes.

He stood there in silence, not turning around or acknowledging her arrival for several long moments. Makoto felt her nerves stretching tighter and tighter with every second that passed. Just as she was about to reach her breaking point and snap, he finally spoke.

"All of life's mysteries can be revealed by studying the alignments of the stars and discovering the messages they conceal."

Makoto couldn't believe her ears! The man that she was everything but engaged to had just shown up after putting her through the most hellish day of her life, and all he could talk about was his stupid astro-babble about reading what was in the stars? She could strangle him!

She clenched her fists at her sides to keep her hands from wrapping around his neck as she ground out, "What the hell! Is that really all you have to say right now?"

He made a sound that was almost a chuckle. "Would you like to know what the stars are telling me tonight, dear Jupiter?"

Her temper was really starting to boil now. She could feel little zaps and stings crackling over her skin as she forced herself to keep her power in check and not lash out at him. This was probably just his idea of a sick practical joke. Next to Jadeite, he was ranked second of the generals when it came to pulling pranks on people. But she wasn't in the mood for joking right now.

"I really don't give a damn what the stars are telling you!" she fired back acidly.

He finally turned his head to look at her over his shoulder, and she froze at the steely cold gleam in his cobalt eyes. Then he smirked. "You don't even want me to tell you that the world as you know it is about to come to an end?"

She took an involuntary step back at the sight of his cruel, twisted expression. He didn't even resemble the man that she had given her heart to. She reached out her aura for his, hoping to find the calm warmth that had always been able to comfort her before. But all she could sense was a black emptiness, just like the void that had been swirling in her chest for most of the day.

Beryl was behind this. She just knew it. "What did that witch do to you?" she whispered as she stumbled back another step.

In a move that was quicker than one of her lightning strikes, he spun around, took two steps forward, and grabbed her by the shoulders, yanking her close to him.

Then a cold breath brushed her ear as he spoke into it. "Where is your dear little princess, Jupiter? You should really keep a better eye on her. Not that it really matters, because she is going to die tonight. My queen has decreed it."

"What!" she screeched as she jerked back. He allowed her to move away from him, but kept his hands on her shoulders, holding her at arms length.

Once again he gave her a demented smirk. "I told you, Jupiter. Your world is about to come crashing down around you. This kingdom, your princess, all of it is about to be gone. Queen Beryl will rule everything!"

Her heart was breaking, but she snarled, "You've lost your mind!" milliseconds before she let go of the restraint on her powers and let the electricity course through her. Nephrite was blasted away from her to slam into the wall beside the window he had just been looking out.

Makoto didn't stick around. Her princess could be in trouble at this very minute because she had left her post. She whirled around and began running for the stairs, pulling out her henshin rod and transforming on the fly as she ran. She had to get back to that ballroom.

But when she was only a few steps down the staircase there was a loud explosion and the huge window behind her shattered into a million pieces. The shockwave from the explosion hit her and sent her tumbling, head over heels, down the stairs.

* * *

Minako skidded to a halt as she reached the doors that led to the courtyard where the teleportation platforms were located. Pressing a hand to her chest, she tried her best to calm herself down. After a minute her pulse and respiration slowed a tiny bit.

She pressed her hands to her cheeks, feeling how hot they were. She was sure that her face resembled a cherry tomato by that point, and the hair sticking to her face and neck told her that she was perspiring some, but there was nothing that she could do about that. Normally she would never let herself be seen in such a state, but her need to see Kunzite overrode her vanity.

She peeked around the door and peered into the courtyard that she had observed on the screen in the security room just a few minutes before. It looked exactly the same, but instead of seeing the four men that had just arrived, she only saw one. But he was the one that was most important to her.

General Kunzite, the head general of the armies of Earth, stood staring up into the sky toward his home planet. His companions had already disappeared, and Minako figured that they had gone in search of the other scouts. Ooo, wouldn't they be surprised! In fact, she was surprised that they hadn't come running here just as quickly as she had. Surely they had sensed their arrival.

Her brow creased a little at that thought. Something troubling was nudging at her mind. She had always known when Kunzite arrived on the moon within seconds of him arriving there. But if she hadn't happened to have been in the security room and witnessed it on the monitor she would have had no idea that he had even shown up. Even now, being in such close proximity to him, she felt absolutely nothing from him. How odd.

'_You're reading too much into this, Min,' _she lectured herself. _'So he managed to slip under your radar. Is it really that surprising? You can run around like a giddy fool and try to make everyone think that you are fine, but the truth is that you haven't slept properly in a week because of all the drama. You're exhausted and you know it.'_

"But I am the princess of Venus," she muttered under her breath. "I am a descendant of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and nothing can hide my soul mate from me. I don't care how tired I am."

She pulled out her henshin wand and whispered, "Venus Power!"

She transformed into Sailor Venus in a flash of orange light and a shower of golden hearts. She would have preferred to greet her love while wearing her beautiful ball gown, but transforming gave her powers the extra boost that they needed. Her Kunzite was a very complex man, and she often had to rely on her extra-sensory capabilities to tell what he was thinking or feeling.

She shook her head with a quiet laugh. Her poor general, he'd had a strict upbringing, which had caused him to be very reserved when it came to showing his emotions. He could usually relax when he was around his prince and his brother generals, and though it had taken time, he had finally learned how to let down his defenses when he was with her. But he was still had a habit of retreating behind the walls that he had erected around him in times of stress. And no doubt today had been very stressful indeed for him.

She carefully unraveled her aura from around her, reaching for him slowly with it. She didn't want to surprise him with her sudden appearance, so she thought it was best to let him feel her first.

But a sick feeling began to creep over her the closer her aura got to him. And when it suddenly seemed to slam up against a wall of dark negative energy, a wave of nausea hit her so strongly that she actually fell to her knees.

Her eyes watered with the force that it took to keep her from heaving, and after a moment the worst of the sensation passed enough for her to be able to stagger back to her feet. She stared in disbelief at the man who was still standing in the courtyard, muttering as if he were actually talking to someone. She wasn't sure exactly who this person was, but one thing she knew was that he definitely wasn't her Kunzite. The most logical conclusion that she could come up with was that he was one of Beryl's minions.

But why did he look just like her beloved general? Was he the real Kunzite under one of that red haired witch's evil spells? He had to be. Either it was that or he was a darn good imitation. Because she knew that there was no way that he would willingly serve Beryl.

But the scary part was that not only was he on the moon, but he also wasn't alone. It made her wonder if the other guys were just like him, or if they were still themselves. All she could hope for was that the other scouts came across them before anyone else did, and that they would be able to tell as quickly as she had if there was something wrong.

She was conflicted inside about what to do. The part of her that loved Kunzite demanded that she walk out and confront this abomination that dared to mock her love, while the part of her that was loyal to her princess, her queen, and the Silver Alliance told her that she should run back to the ballroom as fast as she could and tell Queen Serenity of the possible danger threatening them.

The latter urge won out, and she spun on her orange heel and prepared to sprint back to the soothing calmness of her aunt's presence and the supportive ranks of her sister scouts. But before she had taken the first step, _his _voice called out to her.

"Oh, Venus, why don't you come on out? I already know that you're there."

She froze, eyes clenching tightly shut at the sound of that voice. Kunzite had a reputation within his armies as being a hard, unfeeling man, but never had he used such a cold tone with her before. Even when they argued, there was always a current of warmth and affection for her buried in his voice. But now that softer emotion was gone, and it sent a spear of crippling pain slicing through her as sharp as a knife's blade.

But anger followed quickly on the heels of her anguish, bubbling over and filling her with a rage unlike any she had ever felt before. Without stopping to think, she whirled back to the door and stomped through it.

An almost smile twisted his lips as she made her appearance. "Well, well, if it isn't the lovely Aphrodite herself."

"Shut the hell up!" she snapped furiously.

He clucked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, Venus. Is that any way to greet the man that you love?"

She took a step back as he took a step toward her, determined to keep some distance between herself and that…_thing_. "You must really think I'm stupid if you believe that I would fall for such an obvious deception. You are not Kunzite."

He held his arms out to the side. "Of course I am. I'm just a newer, improved version of the original. So what do you think?"

"Wh-what do I think!" she sputtered. "I'll tell you what I think! I think you're nothing but one of Beryl's stool pigeons, sent here to do her dirty work for her! She's had to resort to using and manipulating others because she's too much of a coward to do anything for herself. How pathetic!"

His already cold eyes went as hard as steel. "My queen is anything but pathetic! And I can assure you that she is no coward. But you'll be seeing that for yourself very soon."

Venus felt so cold that she thought for a moment that she had been caught inside of one of Mercury's bubbles. "What do you mean I'll be seeing it for myself?"

He pointed up, drawing her attention to the Earth. "They are coming, Queen Beryl and our great leader, Queen Metallia. The Silver Millennium is over, princess. Beginning tonight, this solar system will have a new ruler."

Venus watched the Earth with horror. Her aura perception was nowhere near as accurate as Mars's, but even she couldn't miss the inky black aura that was wrapped around the planet and slowly beginning to send out tendrils into space. It was by far the scariest thing that she had ever seen.

Then _his _voice was speaking in her ear. "You know, I could probably save your life. If you swore your allegiance to Queen Beryl, I may be able to persuade her to spare you. You are a high-ranking officer, just like me. We could lead her armies together. What do you say?"

She jumped as she realized how close he had gotten to her and quickly spun away from him. "No! I could never betray the kingdom I serve! And the Kunzite that I know and love would never betray his either! He is a fine and honorable man. And you…you're just a sick imposter!"

His expression hardened as he shrugged. "As you wish, Venus. I just thought I'd offer you a choice. But I guess you would rather die instead."

A sword manifested in his hand and he lunged at her so quickly that he probably would have run her through if she hadn't leapt to the side and sucked her stomach in. She drew her power in around her and pointed a glowing finger at him, "Crescent Beam Smash!"

The golden beam of light shot from her and hit his hand, knocking the sword from his grip. As he stood there, nursing his hand as he cursed her, she whirled and ran as fast as she could back into the palace. She slammed the heavy door behind her and dropped the bar into place. It probably wouldn't keep him out for long, but at least it would slow him down.

That thought spurred another. There should have been two guards stationed at this entry. Where had they gone? Had they abandoned their post? Ooo, if they had they were going to get an earful from her later. They would be lucky to be working security in the village marketplace by the time she was done with them.

She was leaning up against the door, still fuming, when her eyes fell on a partially opened door that led to a supply closet. Something that looked a lot like a man's boot was sticking out of it. She dashed to the door and wrenched it open all the way.

She spun away a few seconds later, feeling like she was going to vomit. She had discovered the mysterious whereabouts of the missing guards. She felt bad now for thinking that the men had deserted their post. She wished that they had run at the first sign of trouble. Maybe then they wouldn't be lying in a supply closet in a pool of their own blood, staring at nothing with dead eyes.

She wondered if Kunzite was responsible for the guards' deaths. Even though he was obviously under some kind of a spell, she hated to think that he would be capable of something this horrendous. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she forced her eyes back to the bodies.

Both of the men's uniforms were burned. In fact, a little smoke was still rising off of the one that was severely charred. The other one merely had scorch marks. And as she watched she saw a small spark of electrical energy crackle.

This looked like the handiwork of Mars and Jupiter, but since she knew that neither of her friends had killed these men that left only one other alternative…Jadeite and Nephrite. She knew that they were there because she had seen them on the monitor arriving with Kunzite.

And they were possibly somewhere inside the palace at this moment.

Her blood ran cold. She had to get to the queen. She had to sound the alarm. Everyone was in danger. Her orange heels pounded the marble floor as she ran toward the ballroom. She heard a loud explosion and the building lurched around her as she stumbled to her knees.

And then the door behind her that she had just barred blew in.

* * *

"What in the name of the beloved goddess is going on?" Luna screeched as she and Artemis studied the screens before them.

"I have no idea," Artemis grumbled next to her. "But whatever it is, it can't be good. I know the girls are upset with the generals, but things are starting to look hostile."

Luna nodded in agreement as the four simultaneous scenes played out on the monitors.

One camera in the side garden showed Rei in Jadeite's hold. Both felines gasped as her arm caught on fire and she jerked away from him and transformed into Sailor Mars as she ran away.

Just inside the infirmary, Ami had just tried to encase Zoicite in ice. She pushed by him and ran into the hallway where another camera caught her transforming.

Makoto and Nephrite had appeared to be arguing at the top of the grand staircase, but now she was blasting him back into a wall and calling on her transformation.

But both cats' jaws had dropped a minute before when they had seen Kunzite pull a sword and try to attack Sailor Venus. This seemed like more than just petty lovers' quarrels.

"Something's wrong," Luna murmured. "The girls and the generals would never physically try to harm each other, no matter how mad they get at one another."

Artemis just arched a brow at her.

"Oh, okay!" she huffed. "So I know that Rei and Makoto can lash out sometimes, but Jadeite and Nephrite just usually let them rant until they get it out of their system. But Ami is not the violent type, and you know as well as I do that Minako would never raise a hand to Kunzite."

"That's what bothers me," he grumbled, his eyes now on the monitor that showed the people in the ballroom, still laughing and dancing without a clue as to what was going on just a short distance away. "I think we should speak to the queen."

"I agree," Luna replied as she jumped down from the console.

Both cats dashed out of the security office and made a beeline for the ballroom. If there was anyone that could help settle whatever conflict was going on between the scouts and generals, it was Queen Serenity.

They screeched to a halt a few seconds later as they both sensed an ominous rumble under their sensitive paws. They barely had time to give each other a questioning look before the rumble turned into a loud boom and a nearby window exploded, the rush of air sending both felines tumbling head over tail down the corridor.

* * *

Princess Serenity sighed as she rested her cheek against Endymion's tuxedo jacket. She felt his arms tighten around her slightly before he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "What was that sigh for?"

She tilted her head back and then reached up to pull the mask from his face so that she could see his eyes clearly. "I was thinking about how perfect this moment is. I could spend forever right here in your arms."

He gave her a grin. "In my arms is exactly where you are going to spend forever. You are mine now, and I'm never going to let you go."

She tightened her arms around his neck and closed her eyes as they continued to dance, swaying to the soft music. Yes, she was content in this moment, but she still had about a hundred thoughts and worries whirling through her head as well, the biggest concern being the current unknown situation on Earth. Although everyone was trying to remain upbeat, she knew that Endymion was worried about his parents and her friends were anxious about the generals.

A warm gust of air blew past her ear. "Hey, are still with me? You seemed light years away."

"Hmm…" she murmured as she crashed back into reality.

Endymion chuckled. "It's nothing. I just wanted to make sure that your brain hadn't suddenly decided to take a hiatus to Pluto or something."

She scrunched her nose up and slapped lightly at his shoulder. "Be nice! So my mind wandered a little bit. I couldn't help it. This has been an extremely long day and night, and I tend to be a little spacier than normal when I'm tired."

He arched a brow at her. "I know you better than that, Sere. You weren't daydreaming this time. You were worrying. I could feel it."

She shrugged. "Maybe I was just a little. But can you blame me? Everything is so messed up right now. I just wish…"

Endymion cut her off by pressing his fingers lightly over her lips. "I know, my love. I'm worried too. But your mother was right before. We don't want to start a panic or any rumors. So if I have to bide my time, I can't imagine a more pleasant way to spend it than to be here with you. I just wish the queen would end this ball soon."

Serenity nodded. "The sooner she does, the sooner the scouts can go to Earth and see what's going on."

"Yes," he agreed. "And the sooner I can get you into bed as well."

A blush flooded her cheeks. "You are insatiable!"

"Only with you, love," he quipped back. Then his expression grew serious as he dipped his head down to place his lips against the shell of her ear. "I love you, my dearest princess, my Serenity."

She buried her face in his neck as tears stung her eyes. Her lips whispered against his skin as she murmured, "And I love you, my dark prince."

They were barely moving to the music now as they stood there, holding each other. A full minute passed before Serenity pulled back slightly to look at him. "Endy, I…"

Her words cut off as the floor rumbled under them. The musicians stopped playing and the room fell silent as everyone stopped talking to look around in confusion. Off in the distance they could hear a loud boom.

"Endy, what was that?" Serenity whispered as she clutched his arm tightly to her.

"Shh," he shushed her gently, but firmly. He cocked his head, listening for any other sounds of a disturbance.

Serenity listened too, and thought she heard the tinkling sound of glass shattering as well as a few screams. Then the floor lurched beneath them as a strong wind whipped through the room, blowing out all of the candles in the chandeliers, sconces, and candelabras.

She convulsively tightened her grip on him and whimpered, "Endy, I'm scared."

He moved his arm so that it was around her shoulders, holding her as close as possible to his side. His head jerked around as his midnight eyes became adjusted to the darkness. His fingers rubbed soothing circles against her arm as he murmured, "I know you are, darling. But don't worry. I'm right here with you. Do you know where your scouts are?"

Her hair batted his arm as she shook her head. "N-no. They've been mingling around in the crowd tonight, so I haven't kept up with them."

"Damn!" he hissed. "I want to go see what is going on, but I can't leave you unprotected."

A soft silver light flared to their left as Queen Serenity appeared next to them. She was holding the Silver Crystal in her hand, which was the source of the light. "Serenity, are you okay?"

The young princess was visibly shaking and her knees were knocking together under her skirt, but she managed to force out past her trembling lips, "Ye-yes, mother."

"Do you think this is Beryl's handiwork?" Endymion asked the queen.

"I'm not sure," she replied softly. "All I know is that a strong dark presence, accompanied by hundreds more weaker ones has suddenly entered our atmosphere. I believe it could be the evil entity that we have heard rumors about Beryl allying with."

The noise level in the room began to rise as people got over the shock of the last minute and began to either speculate loudly about what the disturbance was or to panic.

"Please!" Queen Serenity raised her voice to be heard. "Everyone, please, just calm down. I am not sure what has happened either, but I am going to find out. And as soon as I learn any information I will pass it on to you."

Her words had a quieting effect on the crowd, and they began settling down again, although several people still fidgeted and glanced around nervously. Some of the visiting nobles from the other planets were even holding hushed conversations about making a run for the teleportation platform so that they could go home where they felt it was safe.

"Endymion, keep Serenity safe," the queen murmured as she turned for the door. But before she could take a step toward it, Luna and Artemis barreled through it.

"We're under attack! Everybody take cover!" they yelled in unison.

Pandemonium erupted all around them as most of the people began screaming and ran for the nearest exits.

Queen Serenity stooped down to address the panting felines. "Luna, Artemis, what have you seen?"

"Not much, your majesty," Luna rasped. "We only caught a glimpse when something blew out a huge chunk of the wall in the northern corridor. A black shadow came from the Earth and is now covering our sky and there are rebel earthlings and these monstrous looking creatures crawling everywhere!"

"Ah ha!" all heads whipped around at the voice to find the king of Saturn pointing at Endymion. "This is exactly what I said would happen! I told you that you would be making a mistake if you let your daughter marry into such a barbaric race, Serenity. And it looks like I was right! The Silver Millennium is going to crash and burn around us."

"Quiet, you fool!" King Pluto growled as he confronted the smaller man. "I'm so tired of listening to you and your pessimistic bullshit! There are barbarian devils residing on every planet in this solar system, not just on the Earth. I'm sure you have quite a few tucked away on your precious Saturn as well. But you can't condemn an entire race just because there are a few bad seeds. You've witnessed the love between Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion the same as I have tonight. And I sincerely doubt that the earth prince had anything to do with this attack."

"Of course I didn't!" Endymion snarled. "This is just a move by a desperate woman that has gotten in over her head with black magic."

"So you know who is behind this attack?" King Jupiter asked as he stepped forward.

Endymion nodded. "I have my suspicions. I won't know for sure until I've had a chance to assess the situation."

Queen Serenity cleared her throat delicately. "For now, I believe that we should concentrate on getting as many people to safety as possible." She cast her eye over the monarchs that made up the Alliance council. "You should try to round up as many of your people as you can and get them to the teleportation pad so they can go home. I'll feel better knowing that as many innocent people as possible are out of the way."

Then she looked at her daughter, catching her lower lip between her teeth as she stared at her thoughtfully, causing the princess to take a step back with her eyes wide and squeal, "No, mother! I know what you're thinking, and I won't do it! I am not going to run away and hide on another planet until all of this blows over. Forget it! You, Endymion, and my friends are here, and that's where I'm going to stay!"

Endymion placed his hands on her shoulders and spoke softly. "It is a good idea, Sere."

She jerked out of his hold. "No it's not! This is my home and everyone I love is here. I will not abandon the moon!"

"Looks like someone finally grew a set of boobs," Queen Uranus snickered to the queen of Neptune.

"Serenity," Queen Venus spoke to her sister in law while holding her husband's hand tightly. "What about our girls? I haven't seen Minako or any of the others in a while. Do you think they are okay?"

Queen Serenity smiled. "I'm sure they are fine. They are sailor scouts after all. If I know them, they've probably already engaged the enemy. Now, let's see about getting some of these people out of here and to safety."

The rest of the monarchs nodded and quickly dispersed into the mobs of people jamming the doorways, calling out over the screams of the panicked people in an attempt to calm them down and restore some kind of order.

"I can't believe this is happening," Princess Serenity sighed as she leaned her forehead against Endymion's chest. But her head flew up seconds later when she heard someone call her name.

She looked, and saw Sailor Jupiter bulldozing her way through the crowd toward her. "Makoto!"

The green suited scout finally broke free of the mob and ran over to her princess. She was rumpled, ragged, and panting hard as she bent over with her hands on her knees in an attempt to catch her breath.

Serenity was by her side in a second. "Makoto! What's happened?"

Dark green eyes glittered at her as Jupiter growled, "We have traitors in our midst. I just had a nice heart to heart with Nephrite. He's here, and he claims that he is working for Beryl now. He called her his queen."

"What!" Serenity and Endymion exclaimed together.

"She's right," Venus snarled as she appeared with Mars and Mercury trailing behind her.

Artemis, who up until now had been laying wordlessly on the floor, trying to tend to the multiple cuts and scrapes that he had received from shielding Luna as much as possible from the flying glass and debris, jumped up with a strangled meow. "Minako! You managed to get away from Kunzite!"

Her eyes were shimmering pools of misery as she gazed at her guardian, but she forced a smile onto her face as she attempted to joke, "Of course I did, Artemis! What kind of sailor scout would I be if I couldn't handle one measly earth general?"

Serenity appeared flabbergasted. "Wait a minute! Kunzite too?" She spun on her remaining two scouts. "What about Jed and Zoi?"

Mercury just shook her head, sending tears flying from her lashes. But Mars hissed venomously, "That little idiot went and got himself captured by Beryl! I don't know what she did to convince him, I don't even know if it's really him, but he's playing on her team now."

Serenity slapped a hand to mouth as the tears began flowing down her cheeks. She turned those weepy eyes on her fiancé as she whispered, "Oh, Endy! I'm so sorry!"

The prince held a conflicted look in his eyes, but his expression remained stoic as he shrugged. "It doesn't matter. They've chosen which side they want to be on, and I'll just have to deal with it. The important thing is keeping you safe, Serenity."

Queen Serenity had been over to the side, conferring with Luna, but now she joined the conversation. "That's right. Beryl holds a grudge against my daughter, and I'm sure that she is one of her primary targets. Since Serenity refuses to leave the moon, that means that we have to be extra cautious of her safety. That poses a bit of a problem though, since the scouts would be the most effective against the generals because their powers are so similar. But they are also needed to keep their oath to protect the heir of the moon kingdom, and they can't be in two places at once."

Princess Serenity stomped her foot angrily. "I wish everybody would stop talking about me like I am not here! You all act like I am some fragile piece of china that will shatter into a thousand pieces at any moment. I have power of my own and I'm not exactly helpless."

"This fight is far out of your league, Serenity," the queen told her sternly. Then she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But there is the safe room. It is well hidden and a closely guarded secret. In fact, if Serenity were to take refuge there I see no reason why Endymion couldn't join the battle as well. That is if he wants to."

Endymion's dark eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness. "I would like nothing better, your majesty."

"No!" Serenity's cry was drowned out by the babble of the scouts as they began making their plans.

Queen Serenity clapped her hands. "It is settled then. Now let us see about dispatching this threat to our kingdom."

"Why is everyone ignoring me?" Serenity shrieked as her best friends and her mother began striding away.

Endymion cupped her face in his hands. "Sere, we're not ignoring you. We're just doing our best to protect you."

She flung his hands away. "No you're not! All of you are treating me like a child, and I hate it!"

As her scream died away, several explosions rocked the ballroom, sending her plummeting into Endymion as he fought to hold them both upright. She wound her fingers into his cape and hung on desperately.

Endymion cursed and yanked her out of the way of a falling chunk of white marble and tried to push her toward a door. "Run, Serenity!" he demanded in a harsh tone.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" she cried in a trembling voice. "Please, let me stay with you."

He cursed and ripped the cape from her grasp to pull it over both of them as a nearby window shattered into a million pieces. When the debris had settled he took her roughly by the arm and began dragging her to the door.

"No, Endy!" she squealed, trying to break his hold. "Don't make me do this! I can't just run away! What about my mother and the scouts?"

He ground to a halt in the doorway and spun to face her. He put both hands on her shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "Don't be an idiot, Serenity! Your mother has the Silver Crystal and can take care of herself. And I wouldn't worry about the scouts. Haven't you always said that they were four of the best fighters you've ever seen?"

She was trembling under his hands. "Yes, but…"

"No buts!" he commanded. "Beryl is out there and she's coming for you! She has also turned the generals to her side. I can't fight and protect you if I have to worry about your safety. So I want you to go find someplace safe to hide. I'll come find you when it's over."

Her hands came up to cover his. "You can't go out there and face them. They are your best friends, your brothers. You've always fought beside them. You can't draw your sword against them."

"I can and I will," he ground out between clenched teeth. "They severed whatever bonds that existed between us when they went over to that witch. I'm not going to let that snake get you too. Now please, Sere, for me, go hide someplace safe until I come and get you."

She nodded slowly. "Okay. But please be careful, my love."

"I'll be back soon," he promised her, and leaned down to kiss her lips, then he pulled back and whispered, "I love you, Serenity."

"And I love you, Endymion," she answered softly.

He gave her a little nudge. "Go."

She whirled away from him in a swirl of white skirt and ran as fast as she could toward the safe room.

"Be safe, my princess," she heard his voice call after her.

'_You too, my dearest,' _she whispered as she ran. She didn't know why, but it felt like her heart was breaking at that moment.

A chill ran through her. It almost felt like a premonition, like she would never see her prince healthy, whole, and alive ever again.

Tears began to pour down her cheeks.

* * *

**A/N **I know this was kind of a crappy place to stop, and I'm sure that a lot of you were looking forward to the conclusion of the fall of the Moon Kingdom, but this chapter is like 45 pages on MS Word, and the upcoming battle and death scenes take up many more pages. I felt that posting all of it together would be a little over the top and be entirely too long to be really enjoyable. Sorry if any of you are disappointed. I'm still working out some kinks with some of the scenes anyway, trying to make sure that I've got the right amount of emotion in them. Needless to say, it's all going down in the next chapter. Well, I'm sure you're sick of my rambling, so I'm going to say goodbye. As of right now, _GT _is next on my list to work on, but I'm at the mercy of the muse goddess. I never know which direction she will take me. Don't forget, reviews are much loved. Later! Be happy! Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	32. Ultimate Sacrifices

**A/N **I know, long wait for this, and I apologize. Real life and other things intruded, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. So instead of rambling on forever and boring you to death, I'm just going to hurry up and get my hugs out so you can move on. _BIG HUGS TO:_

**little princess of mercury**

**sabina21**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**saveme57**

**CherrySerenity-sama**

**Moonprincess998**

**Magic713**

**Seredhiel05**

**Anjirika**

**TheMoonPrincess110**

**GoldenDragon326**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**nickybluejess**

**My-Crazy-Awesome-Sox**

**CaughtInAFantasy**

**KatanaPrincess**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**LadyRosalie29**

**Komekoro**

**LoveInTheBattleField**

**inufan155687**

**Hitokage Higure**

**angeljme**

I hope I didn't forget anybody. And if I did, I apologize. I also have my hopes up that some of you are still reading this story after having to wait so long. I sincerely hope to never have to make you guys wait for so long ever again. But my life is smoothing out again, so keep your fingers crossed. I am devoting part of my writing time to working on what I hope to one day be a successful series of novels, but I still adore dabbling in fanfiction, and I'm not ready to give that up. Now, on with the story.

_**WARNING – **_Tissues may or may not be needed before the end of this chapter. Please use your own discretion.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 31

Ultimate Sacrifices

* * *

Tiny, slender, stockinged feet slapped lightly against the marble floors of the moon palace as the petite figure raced down the seemingly endless corridors. Her long, golden hair and the flowing white skirt of her gown fluttered behind her as she ran.

'_For the love of Selene! I never actually took the time to notice how big this place was before,' _Princess Serenity thought to herself as she reached a corner and turned down yet another hallway.

She reached up to wipe away the tears that had started to blur her vision again and almost bashed herself in the face with the high-heeled shoes that were dangling from her trembling fingers. She knew that her fashion-conscious cousin, Minako, would be horrified if she knew that she was running around in practically her bare feet. But in her opinion, it was much better to suffer through a fashion faux pas than it was to suffer from the broken neck that those instruments of torture would have given her if she'd tried to run in them.

It wasn't as if there were a lot of people around anyway. And what few she'd passed had been too panicked to notice whether or not she was wearing or carrying her shoes. So once Endymion had pushed her from the ballroom and ordered her to run and hide, she had kicked the offending objects from her feet. She had started to just leave them where they were, but a nagging voice, which sounded a lot like Luna's, had filled her head and demanded that she not leave her belongings scattered around. It was a silly thing to think about in the middle of all of the pandemonium going on around her, but she had picked up the shoes anyway and carried them with her.

Her eyes fell on the stretch of wall that was her destination, and her pace picked up a bit more. Most people didn't know this, but despite her sometimes precarious balance, the moon princess was a very fast runner. In fact, when she was younger, she had raced against her scouts and had beaten each one of them. She hadn't won the race by an overwhelming distance, but she'd felt a bit of pride that she was faster than the other girls. They might be able to fight where she couldn't, but she could outrun them.

She came to a stop and glanced up and down the corridor to make sure that there was no one around, but there wasn't a single person in sight. She hoped that this meant that most of the people had been evacuated by now. The entire palace seemed as empty and as silent as a tomb, which was a good sign, but she could still hear the faint sounds of the battle raging on outside…a battle that all of her loved ones were fighting in.

She shivered at the thought of losing any of them as she reached up to press the hidden button in the wall. The secret door to safe room opened and she quickly scurried inside and closed it behind her. Then she leaned against the wall and panted from her exertions.

After a minute, she tossed her shoes toward a corner and then walked over to the double bed against the wall to throw herself down on it with a short scream of frustration. The tears that had been flowing nonstop she had left Endymion's side welled up even faster now and poured from her eyes.

She punched a pillow in her anger. It wasn't fair that she had to hide while everyone else was fighting. Okay, maybe she hadn't been trained to fight the way the other princesses had, but she wasn't completely helpless. She felt like there had to be something that she could do. Sure, her full moon power wouldn't come until she had learned to use the Silver Crystal properly, but she wasn't completely useless. She just wished that everybody else would see that and stop treating her like such a pampered doll.

She rolled over and buried her face in the pillow that she had just punched. How had everything gone so wrong, so quickly? Tonight was supposed to have been one of the best nights of her life. She and Endymion were finally able to make their relationship known. And they had been looking forward to celebrating with their family and friends, but things had definitely not worked out the way they had wanted. She had enjoyed the time that she had spent dancing with her prince, but it had been painfully obvious that the absence of the Earth king and queen, and that of the generals, had been felt keenly.

She sucked in a breath and thought she detected the faint scent of roses, which made her throat tighten up worse than it already was. There were three things that Endymion adored, and that was roses, coffee, and chocolate. And his unique scent usually carried a hint of all three. But it was the aroma of the roses that filled his private garden that was always the strongest.

She rolled back over to face the ceiling. Great, now her mind was playing tricks on her. Granted, she and her prince had snuck into this room on several occasions and had made love in this very bed, but there was no way that his scent could still linger. She had changed the linens herself and had smuggled the dirty ones into the laundry, and that had been some time ago. She had to be imagining things.

She reached out tentatively with the bond that she shared with Endymion, just to check that he was okay. She kept the touch feather light though. If he sensed her trying to connect with him he might think that something was wrong and become distracted. And that could be deadly in a fight.

So she barely let her aura brushed his, but it was enough to let her know that he was still alive and uninjured. It also gave her a glimpse into the feelings that were bouncing around inside of him. Anxiety for her safety and worry for his parents warred with the anger that he felt that Beryl had turned his best friends against him and was using them to attack the moon kingdom. But over all of these raging emotions was a cloak of calm determination. Endymion was a warrior, and he would do what he had to do.

But still, her heart ached for him. Nobody knew what had happened down on Earth. The king and queen could possibly be dead. The army there, if it still existed, had to be in chaos now that its leaders were under the enemy's control. It was all one giant mess.

She didn't share a bond with her mother or the scouts the way she did with her soul mate, but with Rei's help she had learned enough to be able to sense auras. So she flung hers out to locate them.

Her mother's was fairly close, still inside the palace walls, and it pulsed bright silver, the way it always did when the queen drew from the power of the Silver Crystal. She must be trying to set up some kind of shield of protection.

Even though they were further away, outside in the thick of the battle, the scouts were easy to locate. The brilliant orange, red, green, and blue auras of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury practically jumped out at her from the middle of all of the others. But they were all tinted with a murky gray color that worried her.

It was hard on her to sit here while let she everyone that she loved go out to fight, but the scouts had it even worse. They actually had to go out and face off with the ones that they loved. Of all of the tricks that Beryl could have pulled, this had to be the worst. It was unthinkable to believe that anyone would ever pit soul mate against soul mate, but the witch had done it. If only there were some way to free the generals…

Serenity sat up in a flash, gasping at her revelation. Maybe there was a way to free them. Her power might not be at its maximum without the Silver Crystal, and it wouldn't do much good in a fight, but there was one thing that she could do. She couldn't heal physical injuries the way that Endymion did, but she could heal minds in a manner of speaking. Her powers had always seemed centered on dispelling negative energy. And that was what Beryl had used to brainwash the generals.

It was a bold and risky thing for her to try to do. Endymion, her mother, and the scouts would be furious with her. On top of that, she wasn't even sure if it would work. She had never tried to use her power at this magnitude without having the moon crescent wand in hand to direct her energy. But the chance of her mother handing over the wand to her right now was nonexistent, and she knew it.

"I still owe it to everyone to try," she told herself firmly as she scrambled off the bed. She was the only one who could even attempt it. Sure, her mother had the Silver Crystal, but where the true power of the crystal lay was in its ability to amplify the energy of the person wielding it. She shared shielding and protective powers with her mother, but the bulk of Queen Serenity's powers lay in her ability to seal away negative energy instead of destroying it.

Her decision made, Serenity went back to the door and opened it a crack so that she could look out and make sure that the corridor was still clear before she slipped out of her hiding place. She knew that she had to hurry. Using the full power of the Silver Crystal was potentially life threatening, but she had no doubt that the queen would use it to seal away Beryl and Metallia if this fight started going badly. And if she did, she ran the risk of killing herself and locking away the generals forever as well.

Serenity wanted to do everything that she could to prevent that from happening. If she could free the generals and return them to their side, then that could turn the tide of the battle. Once Endymion and his generals joined forces with the scouts, she was fairly sure that Beryl and Metallia wouldn't stand a chance. They would defeat them, and then her mother wouldn't have to use the crystal.

But if she was going to pull this off, she was going to need her Luna Pen to disguise herself. She wished now that she had thought to slip the pen into the pocket of her gown earlier. But to be honest, she never would have dreamed that she could have possibly needed it while attending her own engagement ball.

So striking out in a fast run, she headed for the nearest set of stairs that would take her up to her room. Let everyone get mad at her later if they wanted to. Right now she was a princess on a mission.

* * *

The four Imperial Sailor Scouts of the Moon Kingdom stood on the steps that led up to the palace, looking out across the grounds at the battle that was waging between the Lunarian army and the motley assortment of youma and rebellious civilians that Beryl had put together for this attack.

Jupiter cracked her knuckles expectantly. "So do we just jump right in, or what?"

Venus shook her head. "In a minute. There is something that we need to discuss first. I'm just trying to think of the best way to put it."

"Just spit it out already!" Mars growled, smoke already rising from her clenched fists.

Venus nodded sadly. "This is the hardest thing that I've ever had to say. And I know that none of you want to hear it. But they have betrayed us. No, they have betrayed more than just us. They have turned their backs on everything that they believed in, even their own planet and the family that they swore to protect. Their actions here tonight have proclaimed them enemies of the Silver Millennium, and we all know what the punishment for that is."

"Death," Mercury barely breathed.

Jupiter and Mars, both of who had seemed so eager to enter the fight moments before, paled.

"Is there no hope for them?" Jupiter finally asked. "Maybe if Beryl and Metallia are destroyed, whatever magic was used on them will disappear."

"I don't think it would be that easy," Mars said with a shake of her head. "I mean I study spiritualism, not magic, but I've heard a lot about it. And there are some seriously dark and creepy things when dealing with black magic. Beryl obviously has a knack for it, since she was able to bring Metallia back on her own. And now that they are working together, I doubt they'll make any rookie mistakes. At this point I'm not even sure if our guys souls exist anymore."

Mercury's lips were as white as the rest of her face as she whispered. "Which means that if we face them, we'll have no choice but to kill them."

Venus wobbled on her feet for a moment, like her legs were about to give out, but she quickly regained her balance and stood straight and proud. "Well, girls, we have to do what we have to do. It's our job. I'll understand if any of you don't want to go after your own mate. I would never ask that of you."

"If you ladies won't finish them off, then I will," a deeper voice growled as Endymion joined them.

The smile on Venus's face was forced, but she still couldn't resist throwing in a jab. "It's nice of you to come take a part of the action, Endymion. I was afraid that my cousin would keep you occupied for too long and you would miss all of the fun."

He flashed her his trademark smirk, but it lacked its usual sardonic twist. "I wouldn't dream of missing this fight, Lady Venus. I sent Serenity to hide in the safe room. She should be fine as long as she stays there. But I thought that my tuxedo might not be the most proper battle attire, so I decided to change. I'm sure it meets your approval."

Venus looked the earth prince up and down, taking in the black and silver armor that he now wore and the dangerously lethal looking sword strapped to his side. His signature black cape with the red lining snapped behind him in the breeze. Finally, she drawled, "It is much more appropriate. I am thrilled that you have decided to help us beautify this gruesome battle."

"If you two are done flirting," Mars snarled, "perhaps we can get back to business. I'm going after Jadeite. Ours powers are the most evenly matched, and it just wouldn't seem right to ask one of you to kill him. I'm no coward. I can face him."

Jupiter nodded. "Same here. Nephrite is my target. It's not that I want to do it, but I feel I owe it to him to be the one to release him from whatever Beryl has done to him."

"Very well," Venus accepted their proclamations without question. Then she turned to the last member of her team. "Ami?"

Mercury looked startled for a moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she looked toward the prince. "Endymion, if you had been forcefully turned against us, would you want Serenity to be the one to kill you?"

Endymion seemed surprised by this line of questioning, but after thinking it over for a few seconds, he nodded. "Yes. I think I would. Taking another person's life may seem brutal, but in a case like this I see it as an ultimate act of love. I don't believe that my generals asked for this to happen. And I think that they would rather have their bodies set free by the women that they love instead of staying under that witch's control."

Mercury gave a jerky nod of understanding and then turned back to Venus. "I will confront Zoicite myself."

Venus closed her eyes for a moment as if she was in pain, and then she sighed and opened them. "Okay then. I will face Kunzite. Endymion, I'm assuming that Beryl is your target."

The prince's expression turned fierce. "Definitely! I know that red headed bitch is here somewhere. And when I find her, I will put an end to her. After that, I'm hoping that Queen Serenity will be able to seal Metallia away again with the Silver Crystal."

Venus shrugged. "It may not be much of a plan of action, but it's the best we've got. Let's go kick some Dark Kingdom butt!"

* * *

Serenity quickly dove behind the long curtains of one of the tall windows of the palace as the sound of voices speaking echoed down what she had thought was an empty corridor. She pulled the folds of fabric close around her and did a quick check to make sure her skirt and her feet were concealed. The voices grew louder as the speakers came closer, and she tuned in eagerly.

"Your majesty, is your shield around the palace secure?" Luna asked in a slightly shaky voice.

"Almost," Queen Serenity replied tiredly. "The front of the palace is the last section that I have to secure. I saved it for last because I wanted to make sure that none of the enemies would be able to sneak in through the rear or side entrances. I also figured that with our entire army out front that it would take a while for Beryl's forces to make it to our steps, if they even make it that far. What is the word from outside?"

Luna cleared her throat. "Artemis is in the control room, and he is monitoring the events closely. At last report, he stated that the two sides were in a bit of a stalemate, but that the sailor scouts and Prince Endymion had recently joined in the fighting. So maybe that will turn the tide."

"Let's hope so," the queen sighed, her voice very close now and sounding like she had come to a stop at the very window where Serenity was hiding. The princess held her breath.

"My queen," Luna said worriedly. "I'm afraid for you. All of this use of the Silver Crystal is severely draining your energy. Perhaps you should get the princess to help. She has mastered shielding quite well."

"Absolutely not!" Queen Serenity snapped. "Keeping my daughter safe and away from Beryl is my number one priority. Endymion told Serenity to go to the safe room and stay there until someone came to get her."

Luna snorted. "And do you think she'll actually do as she was told? I mean no disrespect, but the princess does have a streak of rebellious independence in her."

The queen actually laughed a little at this. "So did I, once upon a time. And let's not forget her father. That man had a streak of Venusian stubbornness in him a mile wide. Poor Serenity didn't stand a chance with us as her parents. But I'm sure that she grasps how dangerous this situation is and she adores Endymion. I believe her love for him will make her stay put in the safe room the way he asked. True, she can be reckless at times, but she's not lacking in intelligence."

Serenity started to feel a little queasy as she listened to her mother's words of confidence about her. And for the first time, she seriously started questioning the wisdom behind her plan. Perhaps everyone was right, and she was better off staying hidden until this battle was over. Maybe she should give up her idea now and return to the safe room.

Then she turned and looked over her shoulder. Through a gap in the curtains around her, she was able to see out the window and the battle that was currently waging mostly in the front courtyard of the palace. It already resembled a disaster zone. The gardens had been trampled and stone and marble from destroyed statues and fountains littered the ground.

Her scouts, her closest friends, were fairly easy to locate. Their colorful uniforms and the light from their attacks made them easy to spot. She even thought she might have caught a glimpse of Endymion as he fought his way through the collection of youma and misguided humans. But what held her attention the most was the sight of the flame haired Beryl and the four men that she had gathered close to her side.

The sound of the queen and Luna's voices began moving away, and in a few minutes they were gone. She stood there for another minute, wrestling with her indecision. She had a choice to make. She could either return to the safe room and wait until the battle was over, which could result in her losing one or more of her loved ones forever, or she could try to help turn the outcome in their favor. But which one was the right choice.

She looked out the window once again and saw that Jadeite, Nephrite, and Zoicite were no longer at Beryl's side. Searching frantically through the jumbled mass of people, she finally caught a glimpse of the three men as they hacked, slashed, and blasted their way through they crowd.

And they were heading straight toward Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury.

That was all the inspiration Serenity needed to make her choice. She threw back the curtain that she had been hiding behind and ran in the direction of her room, holding her skirt up to her knees as her legs pumped faster than they ever had before.

Time was running out, and things were about to take a nasty turn. It would kill the girls, who were like her sisters, if they were forced to fight against and possibly kill the men they loved. If there was even the slightest chance that she could save the generals, then she had to try.

'_Hurry, hurry, hurry!' _her mind chanted repeatedly as she ran, but she skidded to a halt moments later when she found her way blocked by rubble where a blast had destroyed a whole section of the corridor.

Muttering some curses under her breath that would have surely shocked anyone that knew her and probably earned her mouth a date with a bar of soap, she spun around and backtracked to where there were a set of stairs. She would have to go down, around, and then back up again, which would eat up precious minutes, but it was the only way to get to her room at this point. And she needed her Luna Pen if she ever hoped to disguise herself enough to get close to the battle without anyone recognizing her. She wasn't thrilled at the thought of being in the middle of the bloodshed, but it was the only way she would be able to get close enough to the generals to try and heal them.

She took the stairs two at a time as she flew down them, not even tripping once. A hysterical giggle choked in her throat as she thought about what a shame it was that nobody was around to witness that little miracle.

* * *

"Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!" Sailor Mercury cried out, and she drew in a breath of relief as hundreds of tiny bubbles flowed from her fingertips to wrap around the assortment of humans and youmas that she had been fighting against. Her enemies immediately froze in place.

There was a blur of movement beside her, and then Sailor Jupiter was there, laying a hand on her arm. "You okay, Ami?"

The blue suited scout nodded. "I'm fine," she answered tersely as she tried to hide the way she was panting. As a sailor scout, she had been trained to fight, but her area of expertise lay more in tactics and strategies than in hand to hand combat. She could fight, and fight well; there was no doubt about that. She just wasn't quite as enthusiastic as some of her sister scouts.

Jupiter, in particular, loved a good fight. And with her tall, leanly muscled body, she was built for it. Venus, despite her vanity, wasn't afraid to mess up her hair or her manicure either when it came time to take care of business. And Mars, with her temper that was just as fiery as the flames she controlled, was always quick to jump into the fray. But she was slightly more subdued since she used quite a bit of her extrasensory abilities during a fight.

They all had their strengths and weaknesses. That was what made them such a formidable team. But right then Mercury wished that she had paid a bit more attention to her stamina training instead of pouring over books so much. Her body already felt like this battle had been going on for hours. But in reality it had probably been a half hour or less since Metallia had taken her and her friends off guard with a blast of dark energy as they stood on the palace steps that had flung them headlong into this fight.

"So, any sign of your target yet?" Jupiter asked as she spun and kicked at a man wearing the tattered remnants of a Terran army uniform. He was probably a deserter.

Mercury shook her head. "No. I haven't seen him yet. But I'm not surprised. Zoicite is every bit as skilled as I am when it comes to diversionary tactics. Despite whatever black magic Beryl used to take over his mind and body, I'm fairly certain that his abilities still exist. I just have to concentrate on outmaneuvering him."

"All that cloak and dagger crap is for the birds!" Jupiter snorted. "Give me a head-on fight any day. I've caught a few glimpses of Nephrite, but I haven't been able to get close enough to him yet. I just hope Rei or Minako doesn't come across him first."

Just then, two youma attacked the scouts, and they were forced apart in order to engage their new foes. Mercury's opponent was a strangely amphibious looking woman with pale blue skin and dark green hair who looked like she would be much more at home in a lake rather than on land. She even had real, honest to goodness gills on the sides of her neck. But she proved to be a worthy adversary as she lunged at Mercury, striking out at her with claws that were curved like fishhooks.

Mercury hissed in pain when a couple of the claws caught her arm just above her glove, slicing through her skin like it was tissue paper. She ignored the blood that began to pour down her arm and turned a heated glare on the creature.

"Bubbles Blast," she ground out between clenched teeth.

The youma she had been fighting quickly became disoriented as a heavy fog surrounded her. She snarled viciously and began waving her arms around madly in an attempt to clear the vision impeding mist. But the fog barely even swirled at her antics.

Mercury, however, could see perfectly. The mists of her home world didn't cloud her vision one bit and she could see just as clearly as if it were a bright, sunny day. Like most Mercurians, she normally kept her emotions under strict control. But every now and then that control would slip and let her feelings out. This was one of those times.

She was angry, angrier than she had ever been in her life. It was if tonight had been taken straight from the pages of one of those books of gruesome fairytales that was tucked away in the palace library. Instead of the lighthearted stories that parents told their children about princes and princesses, or knights in shining armor that rescued the damsels in distress, those stories weren't filled with love at first sight or happily ever afters. They were horrific tales of monsters and betrayal…and people having to kill those that they loved for the greater good.

That was exactly what this night had turned into. Here she was, sore, bleeding, and on a mission to kill the love of her life who had betrayed her. All the years of training in the world could have never prepared her for something like this.

She focused her rage on the youma trapped in her mist. And ignoring the pain in her arm, she raised her hands in front of her and manifested a large spear of ice before them. Then, with a shriek, she sent it shooting straight into the clueless youma.

The youma let out one short scream as the ice punched through her midsection. And then she crumbled to dust. The ice and the mist both disappeared.

Mercury sucked in a few ragged breaths, trying to bring her rampaging emotions back under control. She was just beginning to feel a bit more like herself when she heard someone clapping their hands behind her. She spun around, already knowing who she would see.

"Very good, Mercury," Zoicite drawled in an approving tone. "I was a worried for a minute that you were going to be taken down by a mere youma. But I always knew that you had some fight buried down deep inside of you somewhere."

She lifted her chin, refusing to show him how much his presence rattled her. "Don't be condescending to me, you imposter! I didn't become a sailor scout based on my mental faculties alone. I have many positive attributes."

He smirked at her. "Oh, I just bet you do. And I would love to discover each and every one of them. Why don't you join me, Mercury? I'm sure Queen Beryl would be happy to accept a sailor scout into her ranks, as long as you swear allegiance to her. We could make quite the team, you and I. We could be a great asset to the new regime once Queen Beryl and Endymion take over."

She stared at him, flabbergasted. "Are you insane? I would never turn my back on my duties and join the Dark Kingdom."

"Oh well. I just thought I'd offer," he said with a shrug. "I had rather hoped that you would take me up on it though. That way I wouldn't have to do this."

With a flick of his hand, he sent a barrage of tiny ice crystals flying through the air at her. Mercury dodged them fairly easily, but was caught off guard by the surge of dark energy he had shot at her in anticipation of her evasive move.

Mercury tried, but couldn't stop the sharp squeal of pain that left her as she was blasted back into one of the few statues that still remained standing. Now her back and her head were throbbing as much as her injured arm. But she pushed the pain away as she stood on wobbling legs and faced off again the man who, at least until tonight, she had loved with all of her heart.

"Ice Bubbles Freeze," she gasped, letting the freezing bubbles flow from her fingers to surround Zoicite.

He batted them away like they were nothing more than pesky flies. "Really, Mercury? You were going to try to freeze me? You are far too intelligent for that. The ice obeys me every bit as much as it does you."

She ground her teeth together. Of course she knew that. Ice was the element that his power was based on. That was what made them such a perfect match. And now he had Beryl's dark energy as well, which made him twice as lethal as before. But just because he could control ice didn't mean that he couldn't be hurt by it. She just needed to catch him off guard, which was easier said than done.

Then, she had an idea. Zoicite was a master of ice in its solid form, but his powers diminished quite a bit in its liquid form. She, however, was from Mercury. And her planetary powers granted her control over water in every form. That was the key.

She raised her hands above her head, and as she did the water from a nearby fountain rose up into the air. Then she flung her arms wide and the water shot at Zoicite like a high-pressured cannon.

It moved too fast for him to be able to dodge or to form any defense, and it hit him head on. While the water distracted him, Mercury quickly manifested another spear of ice, like the one she had used to destroy the youma, and aimed it him.

She closed her eyes for one moment and a single tear slipped down her cheek before freezing to her skin. "I'm sorry, Zoi," she whispered softly before opening her eyes and launching the spear at him.

Even blinded by water, he must have sensed it coming and tried to dodge it. But he wasn't quite quick enough for it to miss him completely. He jumped to the side, and instead of the spear skewering him in the chest like Mercury had intended, the large shard of ice scraped painfully across the dark general's ribs, leaving a large, bloody gash behind.

"Damn you!" he snarled as he clasped his hand over the injury. He hunched over, panting, as blood began pouring through his fingers.

Mercury watched the blood in fascination. Instead of being the rich, dark red it should be, his blood was as thick and black as tar, just like youma blood. In that moment, she knew that her Zoicite, her smart, gentle general, was lost to her forever.

She was filled with resignation as she called forth her mist to enshroud them, hoping that it would be enough cover to keep him from being able to follow her movements. But as she moved toward him, he slipped behind a column that was still standing that had once been part of a covered portico.

She readied herself to attack as she reached the column. She needed the element of surprise on her side if this was going to work. Taking a deep breath, she lunged around the column.

He wasn't there!

Mercury gaped in confusion. Where could he have gone? Did his new dark powers allow him to teleport?

Then, she was in agony. Pain exploded in her back only milliseconds before it seared straight through her and a blade burst from her chest.

"Sloppy tactics, Mercury," Zoicite's voice sneered in her ear. "You should never leave your back unprotected.

Her pain increased as the blade was ripped out of her body again. She managed to turn around on shaky legs, ignoring the flood of warm blood that was rapidly turning her fuku red.

She knew she was dying, but she had one question left to ask. "Why?"

He just stood there, looking at her with those eyes that resembled cold green glass. In his hand he held a sword, Zoicite's sword, which looked to be made of ice, but was actually crystal. Her blood ran down the almost perfectly clear blade to drip on the ground.

Then, he answered her simply. "Because my queen asked me too."

She nodded slowly as tears of pain and sorrow spilled down her face. She had been killed by the man she loved, by his body at least. She wasn't sure how much, if any, of her Zoicite still existed. But she wasn't going to depart from this world without making sure that he was free too.

She felt her tears freezing to her skin as she put a hand behind her back and manifested a long, pointed icicle in it. "I'm sorry," she murmured. And then, with the last out her strength, she lunged at the dark general and buried the shard in his chest.

Her aim was true, and she stuck him directly in the heart. She knew she had from the way he gasped and went limp as her body barreled into his as they both fell together.

As she lay next to her lover's dead body in her last seconds of life, her thoughts turned to her princess. She hated to leave her, but she had no choice. Besides, Serenity would be fine. She had Endymion and the other scouts to look out for her. Yes, she would be okay.

And she, Mercury, hoped that perhaps she and Zoicite would be reunited in the next world. With her last breath she whispered, "Serenity, Zoicite, please forgive me."

And with those words, Ami, princess and sailor scout of Mercury, passed into the next life.

* * *

Sailor Jupiter bit down hard on her tongue to keep from crying out as dark energy ripped through her body, making her feel like her skin was being stripped from her bones. She ignored it, however, and gathered her own power to send it out in a burst of crackling electricity.

Evidently she must have hit her target, because the attack that held her was released, much to her relief. Her legs shook crazily under her, but she refused to give in to the temptation to slump to the ground. She wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction of knowing how much that attack had taken out of her.

She did grin though when she looked up and saw Nephrite down on one knee, leaning heavily against his sword, which had its point buried a few inches into the pale, rocky ground. Smoke was rising from his uniform and his hair was definitely looking frazzled.

"You're not giving up on me now, are you?" she taunted him in between breaths.

He raised his head to give her a sardonic smirk. "I wouldn't dream of giving you the pleasure, Jupiter. What about you, are ready to throw in the towel yet?"

She snorted. "Not even close, buddy! I never give up!"

"Ah, yes, the mighty scout of Jupiter," he drawled with a chuckle. "You always have had more brawn than brains, my dear. But everybody has their breaking point."

"Don't speak to me in such a familiar way!" she seethed. "You don't know me. You don't know anything about me. So stop acting like you do!"

He stood up with that same annoying smirk on his face. "That's where you are wrong, my feisty princess. I know much more about you than you think. I know you enjoy a good fight, but I also know that you like cooking, dressing up for parties, and dancing. You adore your princess and your sister scouts. And…"

"Stop it!" Jupiter snarled, cutting him off.

An expression of mock offense appeared on his face. "I was just going to comment on the passionate nature you hide being your gruff exterior. According to some of the memories I have in my head, you could be quite _wild _at times."

"You want to see wild! I'll show you wild!" she screamed at him as an antennae shot up from her tiara, pulling down lightning from the sky to her. She let it build for a moment before she sent it flying out at him in a blinding, crackling wave.

Nephrite merely looked bored as he pulled his sword from the scabbard at his side and held it in front of him. And just like a giant magnet, it drew in every bit of her attack. Then he shot it right back at her.

"Shit!" Jupiter hissed under her breath as she jumped quickly out of the way, only just missing being fried by her own power. The smell of burning hair told her that the end of her ponytail hadn't quite made it out unscathed. She had hoped that Beryl had confiscated all of the generals' weapons when she had captured them, but obviously she hadn't. This sword in particular had been custom made for Nephrite. And in addition to it being lethally sharp, it had the ability to draw in and control lightning based attacks.

"Hmm…" the dark general mused. "That really is a handy little weapon to have, isn't it?"

"That doesn't belong to you!" she spat back at him. "That belongs to Nephrite."

His expression turned mildly amused. "And just who do you think I am, Jupiter?"

She froze for just a moment before responding, "I don't know exactly _who _or _what _you are, but I know for damn sure that you are not Nephrite. I know him inside and out. And he would never be here doing the things that you are doing."

Faster than a blink, he was directly in front of her, standing so close that their bodies were almost touching. "Look at me, princess, and tell me who you see. I have his face, his voice, and his entire body. Look into my eyes and tell me that you don't see _him_."

She did. She stared up into those eyes, delving in deep for any sign that the man that she loved was still there. They were still the same beautiful slate blue that had captured her heart from the first time she met him, but instead of the warmth and caring that usually shown in them, she saw nothing but cold hardness.

"No!" she yelled, jumping back a step. Acting on instinct, she sent a fist slamming into his stomach.

The air whooshed out of him and he stumbled back. But instead of appearing angry, he seemed pleased. "Very well, Jupiter. I guess we'll handle this the old fashioned way. You've always been fond of a physical fight, haven't you?"

Now it was her turn to smile at him. "I never turn one down if that's what you mean."

He re-sheathed his sword before giving her a mocking bow. "Ladies first."

Her smile turned almost feline. "I don't mind if I do."

She blurred into movement, fists and feet flying, and the fight was on.

They danced an intricate dance for several minutes, both of them ducking, dodging, and blocking while they each tried to get in a hit of their own. And occasionally they got lucky.

Despite the anger and rising tension between the two of them, it was a pretty straightforward and clean fight, at least for a while. But then things turned ugly in a bad way.

Nephrite began taunting Jupiter in between lunges about her fighting techniques, which anyone who knew the high-tempered girl could tell you was a no-no. After a particularly barbed slur about how she hit like a sissy, she flung herself at the gloating man with a deep growl.

But she'd overestimated the amount of force behind her attack, and when he easily stepped to the side to avoid her she shot past him, unable to stop. But as she stumbled by him, he spun, his arms closing around her from behind.

Jupiter froze for a moment as she felt his hands gliding across her chest in an intimate way. Then she heard a sharp inhalation at her ear and lost her temper completely.

"Let go of me, you sick pervert!" she screeched as she spun in his arms and performed what most people would call a low blow.

The dark general groaned and doubled over as he found a knee slammed into his groin. "That's playing dirty, Jupiter," he sneered as he released her.

She leveled a chilling gaze on him. "Well it serves you right for groping me! I thought we were having a fair fight here."

He grimaced as he straightened. "We were. But now you've made me angry." He drew his sword once more as he stared at her with dark eyes.

Jupiter refused to be intimidated. "Bring it on!" she snarled, electricity crackling to life all around her.

The fight began again; except now it was much more vicious and there was a lot more bloodletting.

After just a few minutes Jupiter was surprised to find herself quickly nearing exhaustion. Her breath was rasping harshly in her lungs and every inch of her body trembled and ached. There were also a few sharp stings from where Nephrite's electrically charged sword had managed to graze her skin.

Her auburn hair had long since come loose from its ponytail, and she panted heavily as she pushed the sweat soaked curls from her face. What was wrong with her? She had always considered herself to be the strongest scout as far as endurance went. Venus was almost her equal in strength, but she had always prided herself on the fact that she could last longer than the rest of them during their field training.

But this wasn't training. And she wasn't facing some computer-generated hologram that Luna and Artemis had come up with. She was facing a real, flesh and bone person. And while she was completely convinced that the man that she loved was no longer in that body, whatever was controlling it was certainly using its powerful muscles to their maximum ability. And Beryl's dark energy mixed with Nephrite's control over electricity certainly compounded the problem.

She felt a grim satisfaction though, as her eyes quickly scanned over him. He may be stronger than her physically, but that hadn't prevented her from being able to land several attacks of her own. The gray uniform of the Dark Kingdom was exactly the same as the uniform of the royal army of Earth; only it was several shades darker. But it still wasn't dark enough to hide the even darker patches where her lightning had scorched the material and where his noxious black blood had soaked through. The skin around one of his eyes was swelling rapidly and a nasty gash covered one of his high cheekbones.

But even wounded, he still managed to look arrogant as he sneered, "Giving up, Jupiter?"

She tossed her head back. "Not on your life!" And then she sprang into action.

She knew that she only had one shot at taking him down, and was to get behind him and away from that sword. Once she did she would be able to unleash a barrage of electricity into his body, electrocuting him. Nephrite may have had a fair control over electrical currents, but his body was still only human, no matter what magic Beryl had used on it.

She flew at him on swift feet, aiming straight for him. She waited until he lunged forward to meet her and then jumped into the air, turning a flip as she sailed over his head. She landed hard behind him, ball of electric energy forming in the palms of her hands as she spun around, intending to slam it into his back.

But he took her by surprise when he swung around with a grace that almost seemed unnatural for such a large man. His eyes met hers coldly as he jerked.

And the attack in Jupiter's hands sputtered and died.

She looked down in shock where the steel of his sword was firmly buried in her abdomen, blood already pooling around it and dripping down the blade in a steady stream. It wasn't until she pushed herself away from him and the sword was ripped from her body that she felt the agonizing pain. She clutched her hands over what she knew was a mortal wound and tried to keep from choking on the blood that was rising in her throat as she stared ay him.

"Stupid princess of Jupiter!" he sneered. "Did you honestly think that you would be able to beat me?"

The world was swimming around her and growing dark around the edges. But even when she was only inches from death she still found the will to fight.

"I'm not dead yet!" she spat, sending out a fine spray of blood and saliva to hit him in the face.

He backed up a few steps and wiped an arm across his face. He glared at her as he leveled his sword in her direction. "You will be soon. Come on and give me your worst, Jupiter!"

She glared at him as fiercely as she could through the tears and the sweat in her eyes. He had beaten her, and she knew he had. Every second more of her blood poured out, weakening her. But she was still determined to beat him too. If she was going down, then she was taking him with her. She reached out with her powers, pulling in every electron in the atmosphere she could toward her.

An antenna extended up from the tiara on her forehead as lightening shot down to surround her. She ran forward and threw her arms around him, gasping in pain as his blade cut through her side.

She looked up into his shocked eyes before pressing her blood coated lips to his and whispering, "I will always love you, my dear general."

She called the lightening into their bodies, and just as she felt the darkness that was coming to claim her she heard a heartbroken scream, "Endymion!" She fell to the ground, still wrapped tightly around the man she held. Tears streaked down her blackened cheeks as she felt the last breath expel heavily from his body. The burning ache in her heart intensified a few moments later, and she knew that her beloved princess had died as well.

"Wait for me, Nephrite, Serenity. I will see you soon in the next world," she murmured weakly. Her eyes fell shut as the darkness descended.

* * *

Venus gasped as the uncomfortable feeling she had been experiencing in her chest for the past several minutes flared into a sharp pain. That wasn't good.

"Damn!" she hissed through clenched teeth, fighting the urge to look around wildly in search of Mercury and Jupiter. She wasn't quite the spiritualist that Mars was, but she shared a bit of a bond with her sister scouts. And right now that bond was telling her that Ami and Makoto were in bad trouble. She could feel a ghost of their pain and sense that their life forces were slowly fading away. But right now she was trapped, locked in a standoff, and there was nothing she could do to help them.

Fire flared at the edge of her vision, followed shortly by a masculine scream of pain. The combination made a grim smile twitch her lips, despite the dire circumstance she was in. Evidently Mars was still on her feet and in fighting form, if Jadeite's howls were anything to go by. Still, she hoped and prayed that she and the other scouts all made it through this alive.

She had lost her train of thought for a moment, but she jerked back to awareness just in time to duck to avoid a boomerang of light purple energy that had only been milliseconds from decapitating her. Straightening up, she glared at the monster that resembled the man that she loved so much.

"For shame, princess," the platinum haired dark general admonished her. "Things would have gone much easier on you if you had just stayed put and let me kill you. It would have been quick and relatively painless."

"Ha!" she spat. "That just goes to show that you don't know anything about me. If you did then you would know that I never back down in a fight. In fact, I enjoy a good battle from time to time."

He smirked at her. "Oh, I know more about you than you think I do, Venus. And I know all sorts of things that you enjoy; what makes you laugh and smile." Then his voice dropped to a seductive purr. "And what can make you moan and scream in pleasure."

Venus's expression turned livid. "You bastard!" she screeched as she summoned her powers. "Crescent Beam Smash!"

Her emotions might have been chaotic, but her aim was true. The beam of golden light shot from her finger, speeding directly for his chest where his heart should be. And though she felt like she was being torn apart inside, she also had a sense of satisfaction.

It was a fatal attack…at least it would have been if he hadn't dodged it. Well, he almost dodged it. He was fast, but her Crescent Beam was faster. So instead of blasting a hole through his chest, her attack slammed through his shoulder, sending out a spray of black blood that almost splattered on the woman behind him.

"Ugh!" Beryl muttered in disgust as she checked to make sure her revealing purple dress was still clean. "Kunzite! Quit toying around with that pathetic scout and just kill her already! This battle is almost over. Queen Metallia has already released her shadow warriors to take care of the rest of these nuisances. So just as soon as you generals eliminate the scouts and we take the palace, kill the queen, and get the Silver Crystal, victory will be ours."

"Keep dreaming, witch!" Venus snarled, wondering for the fifth time in as many minutes where Endymion was. She and the prince had originally charged across the battlefield together since, unlike the other generals, Kunzite hadn't strayed far from his new queen's side, but eventually they had gotten separated in the chaos. And she could really use his help right now to distract Beryl. It was hard to completely focus on her fight when she was keeping one eye on the witch to make sure she wasn't blindsided.

Beryl looked down her pointy nose at the blonde scout. "It will be more than just in my dreams, you silly little Venusian tramp. Maybe you're too stupid to realize it, but you have already lost. The days of the Lunarians ruling everything are over. By morning this galaxy will have a new queen…me! And once I get that sow, Queen Serenity, and her sniveling whore of a daughter out of my way, I'll use the Silver Crystal to expand my kingdom even more. One day, the entire universe will be mine!"

"You're insane!" Venus snapped. "I may not be the brightest person in the galaxy, but I know a load of bull when I hear it. You've bitten off more than you can chew, and you don't even know it. The royal house of Selene will never fall to you."

"And I'd watch who I was calling a whore if I were you," another, deeper voice growled as Endymion arrived on the scene. "That happens to be my future wife you were speaking of, and I don't allow anyone to speak ill of her. I don't care who they are."

Beryl's expression turned positively feline. "Ah, Endymion. I was wondering where you were keeping your handsome self, my prince."

"Oh, shut up!" he thundered. "What have you done down on Earth? Why can't I get in contact with my parents?"

A slight flicker of apprehension flashed in Beryl's reddish-brown eyes before she shrugged. "I'm afraid that neither them nor any of your army survived my storming of the palace. I really wanted to keep the king and queen alive for your sake, but they insisted on fighting against me. Your mother even had the nerve to threaten me with your father's sword."

The dark haired prince pointed his own sword at her as he ground out, "You lie! My father has the Golden Crystal. There is no way that you could have beaten him!"

Beryl tapped a scarlet-tipped finger against her chin. "Ah, yes, the Golden Crystal. That is indeed an interesting little artifact. I do believe that it could almost rival the Silver Crystal with its powers. But sadly, as you and I both know, your dear father hasn't exactly been at the peak of health lately. He did try to use it against me, but he just didn't have the stamina. After his death I was going to take the crystal and keep it for you until after you become my king, but strangely it disappeared before I could touch it. So I'm afraid that your family's legacy has been lost forever."

"You bitch!" he snarled ferociously. "I'm going to enjoy separating your head from the rest of your body. After that I will have the honor of skewering my sword through your deceitful heart and cutting out your lying tongue as your black soul descends into the deepest pits of hell."

"That is enough!" Beryl hissed, the staff she was holding beginning to glow ominously. "No matter what my feelings for you may be, I will not allow you to speak to me in such a way. I am above you now! I am a queen while you are just a prince without a kingdom to rule."

Venus had had enough. "That's not true!" she snapped. "You may have taken away his parents and his best friends, you can even burn his palace to the ground, but the Earth rightfully belongs to Endymion, and there is nothing that you can do that will change that. And what's more, he is now legally bound to my princess, which technically makes him prince of the moon. So he still has a kingdom to help back him up."

"Not for long," Beryl practically purred as she ran her tongue over her newly acquired fangs. "Once I'm done with that whimpering mouse of a princess none of you will even be able to identify her remains. In fact, I think I'll go take care of that little problem right now. This battle has been dragging out for far too long, and I'm ready to get my crystal and my throne."

She vaporized into a smoke-like mist and flew toward the palace.

"Serenity!" Endymion yelled as he whirled and started to run back toward the palace. The fear for his beloved echoed in his voice. He skidded to a stop and jerked back abruptly as a familiar purple boomerang slashed past his face, missing him by a mere inch.

"I don't think so, prince," Kunzite sneered, voice strong despite the blood still pouring from his injured shoulder. "I may have orders to not kill you, but that doesn't mean that I can't keep you entertained until my queen has finished disposing of the Lunarian trash."

A snarl ripped from the prince's throat as he glared at his former head general. "Believe me when I say that you really don't want to deal with me in the mood that I'm in right now. I could rip your head off without a second thought!"

Kunzite shrugged with his good shoulder. "I suppose I can't blame you for being upset since we did interrupt what was to be your pre-honeymoon night with your princess." Then he cast a sly look at Venus. "There is something alluring about women with golden hair, isn't there?"

"Bastard!" Endymion exploded as he lunged at him.

And then Venus was between them. "No, Endymion! He is mine! We agreed to that. Beryl is your target and the one that you need to be going after right now. Leave this dark energy scum to me. It's important that you return to the palace."

Slowly, the wild thrashing is the prince's dark blue eyes calmed. Then he sighed. "You're right, Minako. Are you sure you can handle him?"

She rolled her eyes. "Remember who you are talking to here. I didn't become the leader of the scouts just because of my pretty face or because the queen just happens to be my aunt. I am trained for this."

"Okay. Good luck," Endymion told her as he turned back toward the palace.

"Endymion!" she called after him once more. When he looked over his shoulder at her she grinned and flashed him a V for victory sign. "Keep my cousin safe, okay. I'm putting Serenity's care completely in your hands."

He gave her a sharp nod. "I'll protect her with my life." And then he was off, leaping over the rubble and dead bodies before the still battling crowd swallowed him up once more.

"How sweet," Kunzite snickered sarcastically. "Love is such a useless emotion."

Venus ignored the pang she felt in her heart as she hardened her voice. "The Kunzite I used to know would never have said that."

He threw back his head and laughed. "Of course he wouldn't have. But that doesn't mean that he had any more need for that pitiful emotion than I do."

The love goddess's temper began to simmer. "You liar! I don't know exactly who or what you are, or how you came to possess his body, but Kunzite loved me."

He arched a sardonic brow at her. "Why, because he told you so?" He clucked his tongue. "You silly little mortals can be so easily manipulated. I have seen inside my predecessor's mind, and I know what he thought. He didn't love you, princess. He lusted for you. I thought surely that you would be able to tell the difference. Isn't that what Venusians are supposed to be famous for? Or perhaps your Lunarian blood blinded you to his deception. He wanted you, yes, but only for the gratification that your delectable body could give him. It was the same with the rest of the women that he was stringing along back on Earth. Did you honestly think that you were the only one that he was dallying with? General Kunzite cared for nothing and no one but himself."

"Stop lying to me!" Venus screamed at him as tears of anger, pain, and frustration began pouring from her eyes. "Your mind tricks aren't going to work on me. Kunzite may not have shown it very often, but he was capable of love. And nothing you can say will make me change my mind."

"There's no room for tears on a battlefield, princess," he sneered at her. "I thought you were supposed to be the best of the sailor scouts, their leader. But all I see before me is a whiny little girl."

"Shut up!" she screeched as she launched herself at him with her fingers curled into claws, intending to claw those mocking gray eyes out of his skull with her bare hands.

She realized the mistake of letting her emotions get the better of her only a second later when he moved so fast that he blurred out of sight. She heard the faint hiss of metal…and then her world exploded into agonizing pain.

"I win," the dark general whispered in her ear from behind her where he had buried a dagger through her back and straight into her heart.

She gave a soft scream of pain as he jerked the dagger back out and her knees began folding beneath her. But instead of slamming to the ground she felt arms lowering her gently. She forced her heavy eyelids to open and looked up into the face of her killer. And for just a moment, she imagined that he was once again the man that she'd loved.

And then he spoke. "So the mighty Sailor Venus has fallen. And soon the rest of your little Alliance will as well. It's a shame to have to destroy such beauty, but it's business. I'm sure you understand."

She was fading fast, and she knew it. But she wasn't about to just lay here and die without fulfilling her mission. Her strength was almost gone, but she still had a trick up her sleeve.

She raised a trembling hand toward him as she stared at him through blurry eyes. Then she forced out in a quiet whisper, "Kiss me…please. That is how I want to go."

A lustful smirk appeared on his face. "If that is what the lady wants. I'll be happy to oblige." He bent over her.

'_Just a little closer,' _Venus thought as his head descended toward hers. Then, when his lips were only inches away from kissing her, she pulled on her last dregs of strength and gripped his hair with her fingers, wrenching his head back.

"You miserable dog!" she hissed into his astonished face. "As if I would ever allow you to defile my memory of Kunzite in that way. You may have killed my heart, but his belongs to me. And I'm going to take it with me because you don't deserve it."

She placed her other hand against his chest and summoned the last of her energy. "Venus Meteor Shower!"

The attack shot right through his body, taking out most of his chest cavity. A shower of black blood rained down on Venus before he was blasted away from her. She looked toward where he lay several feet away, unmoving, and whispered, "I'm sorry, my love. But I'll be with you soon."

Then she rolled painfully to her side as a series of racking coughs attacked her body, sending blood gushing from her mouth. As they subsided, her gaze drifted toward the palace for the last time. And her eyes widened at what she saw.

"No…Serenity…" she moaned in despair as she forced her body onto its hands and knees. But she only crawled a couple of inches before they gave out and she crashed back to the ground.

As she lay there, struggling to pant for breath, she felt the heat from the inferno that had been blazing nearby, although Mars's aura had begun to flicker like a candle burning out. Mercury and Jupiter's were so weak now that she could barely sense them. It seemed the sailor scouts had fought their last battle. All she could hope for now was that the Earth prince delivered on his promise to protect Serenity.

Reality was melting away around her when she heard the anguished scream, "Endymion!" Several heartbeats later she felt a tearing at her soul as Serenity, her cousin and princess, departed from life.

And then her heart stopped beating.

* * *

Mars swiped at the combination of tears and sweat that was streaming down her soot blackened face with one hand while she clutched her side with the other. Blood spilled through her fingers, streaming all the way down her leg where it began to pool under her spiked red heels.

She wasn't sure how long she and the dark general Jadeite had been fighting, but she knew that it had been going on for quite some time. In fact, if what her spiritual powers were telling here were true, then she could be the last person left alive. Mercury and Jupiter's presences had faded dramatically a few minutes ago, followed by Venus a short time later. Now she couldn't sense any of them at all anymore.

And Serenity…feeling her soul departing this world had cut her as deeply as her scream for Endymion had only a minute before. She sensed that her queen was still alive, but just barely.

Not that she was in any better shape. But she had no one to blame other than herself. If she had paid more attention to the fight instead of keeping a spiritual eye on everyone else, then her opponent might not have been able to send his flaming sword plunging through her side. It had been her own fault that she had been distracted.

She couldn't even accuse the dark general of playing dirty. He might be nothing more than one of Beryl's twisted creations wearing the face of the man she loved, but he had given her an unbelievably fair fight. Oh he'd taunted her into losing her temper on several occasions, but he'd not gone for any cheap shots. That was quite admirable for a Dark Kingdom flunky.

The man in question was standing across from her, his blonde curls glinting in the light of the fire that surrounded them and his blue eyes cold as they bore into hers. "It's over, Mars. You've lost!"

She knew that he was right. With every beat of her heart more of her life spilled from her. Her vision was already blurry and turning black around the edges as the specter of Death continuously crept up on her, ready to steal her away from this plane of existence. She honestly didn't know how she had managed to stay on her feet for as long as she had with the way they were trembling beneath her.

But she wasn't quite ready to give up the fight just yet. True, there wasn't much that she could do in the condition that she was in, but she did have one last thing that she could try. Sure, it was a desperate move, and it would cost her her life. But she was already dead anyway.

She fought to keep her vision clear as she turned condemning eyes on her killer. "If I go down, then I'm taking you with me!"

Then she launched herself at him, locking her arms tightly around his body as she used the last of her strength to call upon her element of fire.

A column of flames engulfed the two of them and he screamed as he fought against her and the fire that was beginning to char his flesh. Normally he would have had some control over the fire as well, but these were the ceremonial flames of Mars, and they would obey only her.

A few tears slipped free from her eyes as his body went limp in her arms and they both fell to the ground. She normally would feel a soul escape from a body at the moment of its death, but she felt nothing. That confirmed what she had suspected. The man that she had loved was already dead.

"I'm sorry, my princess," she whispered as a black veil fell over her. "Wait for me, Jadeite…"

* * *

"Where is it? Where is it?" Serenity muttered over and over as she scrambled around under her bed. "Darn it! How hard can it be to find one silly little pen?"

She scooted back out and looked around wildly as she stood. Her room, which was usually kept in immaculate condition by the maids, looked as if a hurricane had gone through it. Her closet doors were open wide, showing dresses and gowns that were hanging drunkenly from their hangers. Dresser drawers were open, regurgitating stockings, shifts, petticoats, and other unmentionables from their depths.

She sat down on the edge of the bed as she pulled at her long golden hair. "Okay, Serenity. Think! Where was the last place you had the Luna Pen?"

She forced herself to calm down and think over the day's events. Her thoughts screeched to a halt when she came up to the point in time right before lunch. She had used the pen to make herself presentable after she and Endymion had spent some _alone time _together earlier. But after that she had lost track of it.

She closed her eyes and carefully retraced her steps. She had gotten out of bed, after fussing at Endymion about his wandering hands for what seemed like the hundredth time, and had gone into the bathroom to freshen up with a quick shower. Of course her prince had followed right behind her, making her have to get onto him yet again. Then, while he had been getting dressed the normal way, she had pulled the Luna Pen from the drawer of her bedside table and used it to dress herself and fix her hair and makeup.

She'd used it again later to remove the illusion just before the scouts had come to her room to visit and help her choose a gown. But after that she wasn't sure what happened to it. Obviously she hadn't placed it back in the drawer, because that had been the first place she'd checked upon entering her room.

She got up and walked into her bathroom, the last place that she remembered having it, but she didn't see it anywhere. It had to be there somewhere! She distinctly remembered standing in front of her vanity and reversing the spell earlier. She must have laid it down somewhere close by.

Thinking back, she brought the memories of those moments into sharp focus. Just seconds after the illusion had faded she'd heard the knock at her door that heralded the scouts' arrival. So she'd pulled on her dressing gown before hurrying to let them in.

And that was when the answer hit her. She'd still had the Luna Pen in her hand as she'd dashed across her sitting room. When she'd realized that she was still holding it, she'd set it on a side table.

"Rei is right. I am an idiot sometimes," she muttered as she ran into the front room of her suite. And, lying right where she'd left it, was the Luna Pen.

"You sure have caused me a lot of trouble," she giggled softly as she scooped the pen up into her fingers. Now she would be able to see what she could do to help.

But what form should she take? She would have to make herself look like somebody who belonged on the battlefield. She could make herself look like one of the soldiers in their army, but the only problem with that was that they were all men, and the Luna Pen couldn't change her gender. She could be found out almost immediately if she wasn't careful.

The only women that would be near the battle would be her mother and the scouts, and for obvious reasons she couldn't make herself look like one of them. Suddenly having two of someone running around would give her away even faster than her posing as a man.

"Yeah, you really thought this plan through well. Didn't you, Serenity?" she grumbled angrily at herself. "Oh well. It looks like option A is my best choice."

She held the pen up. "Luna Pen, turn me into a…"

Her voice broke off in a gasp as several sharp pains speared her chest. For a long moment she feared that her bond with Endymion was telling her that something had happened to him. Then she realized that it was a completely different bond.

"Oh, goddess…" she whispered through suddenly pale lips before whirling around and running back through her suite to the balcony outside her bedroom that overlooked the front grounds of the palace.

Her eyes darted around, looking for the bright spots of color of her closest friends' fukus to help find them faster. When she had checked on them just before she had started tearing her room apart, they had all still been on their feet and fighting the generals. It had given her hope that she had some time.

But now that hope was lost. Mars was still trying to valiantly put up a fight, but she was fading by the second. And Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury were lying on the ground, unmoving. Their life forces were so dim that she could barely sense them at all.

She gripped the marble railing tightly with her fingers. "No…my friends…my sisters. They're dying!"

She swept out with her senses, searching for her mother and Endymion. She could feel both of them in the palace, which comforted her immensely, but also concerned her.

Endymion seemed to unharmed, at least physically. But emotionally she could feel his turmoil. Something had happened during the fight to upset him greatly. Then she sensed his flare of irritation and worry as he reached the safe room and found her gone. Then his aura wrapped around her and she heard his voice snarl in her head, _'You are in so much trouble when I get to you.'_

She gulped. She had no doubt that her fiancé would probably rant and rave at her for hours for not staying hidden like she had promised him. But once he'd run out of steam he would take her in his arms and give her comfort for all that they'd lost this night.

And they had lost so much. Her friends, his friends, and so many other people had died or were dying at this moment. Some were still fighting bravely, but the number of people standing was far less than the number of bodies on the ground. And a large percentage of those still alive were monsters instead of humans.

And the entire time the battle raged, the dark shape of Metallia covered the sky. The evil entity laughed and shot random energy bursts from time to time that shook the moon.

Beryl was conspicuously missing from the fight, so all that Serenity could hope for was that the witch was dead. It wouldn't make up for their losses, but it would be gratifying to know that the threat against them had been eliminated.

But right now the moon princess had other concerns to worry her. She could sense her mother only a floor below her, and she was alive, but she could also feel that the queen had been gravely injured. And that scared her. She couldn't lose her mother too on top of everything else. She didn't think she could handle it.

She turned away from the gruesome sight of the battlefield. She was going to go find her mother. Endymion would be able to trace her there. And she hoped that her prince had enough energy left to be able to heal her mother. Perhaps then, between the three of them, they would be able to put an end to this horrible night. She didn't care if she had to wrestle the Silver Crystal away from her mother and use it herself. She just wanted it over.

She was almost to the glass doors when a mass of swirling dark shadows appeared in front of her. They twisted and writhed together for several moments before they formed the shape of a woman.

Serenity slapped a hand to her mouth and backed away as she gasped, "Beryl!"

She had met the noblewoman a few times during visits to Earth. And though there had never been any love lost between them since they were both in love with Endymion, Serenity had always strove to be polite to Beryl, even in the face of the woman's blatant hostility. Just the same, it had taken an extremely heavy weight off the moon princess's chest when Beryl had been ordered away from the Earth palace by the generals for spying on her and Endymion.

She had never thought that Beryl was beautiful in the classical sense, but she had always found her to be quite striking. Beryl was very tall, as tall as some men. And despite being very slender she had possessed curves that were meant to catch a man's attention. Team that together with her vibrantly red, wavy hair and her unusually colored reddish-brown eyes, and she could have been called pretty.

But there was almost nothing of that noblewoman left in the creature that stood before her now. Sure, she was still tall and sported an ample bosom, but the body that was on display under the very revealing purple dress was horribly emaciated, almost skeletal. And the red hair that had once rippled like silk was now a mass of snakelike snarls while those unique eyes of hers blazed like the fires of hell. Add in the fangs and the long scarlet nails, and she looked just like a demon.

Beryl looked down her nose and sneered, "That is _Queen Beryl_, to you now, _princess_! But I guess you haven't heard my news yet. I stormed the Earth palace and killed the king and queen. So I have named myself the new queen of the Earth. I outrank you now."

Serenity's heart hurt at the news of her future in-laws' deaths. No wonder Endymion had felt so upset to her. He must have found out already.

Her knees were knocking together in fear, but that didn't stop her from glaring at Beryl. "That doesn't make you queen, Beryl. If the king and queen are dead, then the throne goes to Endymion. He is the new king of Earth."

Beryl cackled darkly. "I'm not denying him the throne, moon brat. I fully intend to see that he assumes his rightful place. But it will be as my king. He will become my husband and we will rule together. And it won't just be the Earth. The moon and all of the other planets will fall under our command once I get the Silver Crystal from your little mommy-dearest."

Fury and jealousy burned inside the princess. "You're delusional! You will never get your hands on my mother's crystal, and you will never have Endymion. He is my betrothed, and he has already made the commitment. We are in an unbreakable contract that is as binding as marriage. And he _loves me_!"

"Then I guess I'll just have to kill you," Beryl purred sadistically. "With you out of the way the contract will be null and void. And I don't care how much you think Endymion loves you; he cares about his planet too. He was born to be its king, and he will marry me to keep his birthright. I know he will. That's just the way his mind works. And as for your dear mother, well, I doubt she'll be alive much longer. I'm afraid a dealt her a rather nasty blow earlier. And since she has been working so hard to try and secure this palace against me…let's just say that I don't think she has enough energy left to use her healing powers without dying from the energy drain first."

"You bitch!" Serenity growled, surprising them both with her profanity. Spending time with Rei, Makoto, and Minako over the years had taught the princess quite a colorful vocabulary, but normally she only thought the words instead of saying them out loud. Her lapse in behavior showed just how angry she was.

Then Beryl gave her a chilling smile. "Oh, sweetie, don't try to stand up to me. You're way out of your league here. I eat little tramps like you for breakfast. I knew that you were going to be trouble from the first time I met you at Endymion's sixteenth birthday ball. I wanted to get rid of you then, but I knew that I would never make it past your stupid scouts. But now I have the power of Metallia behind me, and I am more than capable of taking you out."

Serenity had been backing up slowly, as Beryl had been advancing on her as she spoke. Gradually, the distance between the witch and the door widened, and Serenity decided to take a chance. She dashed to the side and started to dart around her enemy.

An angry snarl was backed up by a fissure of dark power that shivered through the air, followed almost instantly by a deadly sounding hiss. Serenity reacted instinctively and ducked only microseconds before the sword that had manifested in Beryl's hands came close to decapitating her.

The frightened princess reeled back in astonishment, her lower back slamming into the railing that surrounded the balcony. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the infuriated witch.

"You disgusting little whore!" Beryl spat. "You are not getting away from me! I plan on killing you nice and slow. Let's see how many hours you can scream before you finally give up and die like the pathetic piece of moon trash you are."

And then she lunged at Serenity with her sword extended in front of her.

'_Oh, goddess! I'm going to die!' _Serenity shrieked to herself as she clenched her eyes closed tightly so she couldn't see the wild-eyed bringer of her death bearing down on her. She drew in a quick breath and thought, _'Endymion…'_

Time seemed to move so slowly as she waited for the pain of steel slicing into her body that she wondered for a moment if the mysterious Sailor Pluto hadn't cast a spell to slow down time. She was about to open her eyes to see for herself when she heard the unmistakable sound of a sword plunging into a body, followed by a low hiss of pain. But surprisingly she felt nothing.

And then she sensed the presence in front of her.

Her eyelids snapped open, her cerulean eyes immediately locking onto the sapphire ones that were only inches from her own. Her mind raced to try to comprehend what had just happened.

His features were stiff with pain, but his voice still held tenderness as he choked out, "Sere…are you okay?"

She raised trembling fingers to his cheek as she whispered, "Endy?"

He groaned, his eyes already turning dull and dark as the blade was pulled from his back. And then he began to fold, falling away from her to land on the hard floor of the balcony. In only seconds there was a large pool of blood around him.

"_ENDYMION!_" she screamed as her shaking legs gave out beneath her. She felt a churning burn deep inside her soul, one that she's heard Venusians talk about in the past. Her soul sensed that its mate was leaving, and it was mourning.

Tears stung and blurred her eyes as she glared at Beryl. "You evil witch! You killed him!"

"No!" Beryl hissed. "He wasn't supposed to die. You were the one I wanted dead so that I could have him all to myself. But instead he sacrificed himself for you, a pitiful little moon twit." She took a step toward Endymion's body.

"You stay away from him!" Serenity growled as she crawled through the blood to her love's side and pulled his head into her lap. Her tears fell from her eyes to land on his still, lifeless face. She tried with all of her might to sense some spark of life still within him, but there was nothing.

"Please, Endy, don't be dead. You can't be dead," she begged in a broken whisper as she leaned over to press kisses to his face. "Please, my love, open your eyes. You promised that we would be together forever. You can't leave me now."

"It's no use, you brat! He's dead!" Beryl spat. "That puts a bit of a kink in my plans, but I guess I'll have to work around it. Even the power of the Silver Crystal wouldn't be able to save him now. What he ever saw in you I'll never know. But it's of no consequence. It's time for you to die."

Serena's hand brushed something cold and hard and she looked down to see Endymion's sword lying beside them in the blood where it had fallen from his scabbard. At that moment, a feeling of almost frightening peace fell over her. It seemed that it was her fate to die tonight, just like everyone else that she had loved and cared for. But if she was to die, she was going to die here on her home soil with those that she loved, not in some dark torture chamber like Beryl wanted her to.

She wrapped her fingers around the steel hilt, and then lifted the sword.

Beryl's expression turned incredulous for a moment before she cackled. "You don't honestly think to challenge me, do you?"

Serenity shook her head. "No, Beryl. I know I don't stand a chance against you right now. But if I have to die, it will be on my terms." She pressed one last kiss to Endymion's lips, tasting a faint hint of his blood, and whispered, "Wait for me, my love. I'll be with you soon." Then she turned the sword so that it pointed at her chest, right above her heart.

"You don't have the guts," Beryl sneered.

"Just watch me!" Serenity said coldly. Then with a last cry of, "Endymion!" she plunged the blade into her chest.

She gasped softly at the searing pain that tore through her, but after a few seconds it melted away along with the rest of the world. She felt her body slump down to rest on Endymion's chest and thought almost happily that at least she was leaving this life with the one that she loved.

Her vision went dark, and the last thing she heard was Beryl's maniacal laughter.

* * *

**Present Day**

Serena jerked back to consciousness as her memories of the past ended. Suddenly she felt herself falling, and then there was something hard underneath her hands and knees. She forced her eyes open and found herself staring at the crystal floor of the moon palace.

"Serenity!" the soft voice of her former mother exclaimed. Then there were gentle hands under her arms helping her back into the seat she had fallen from.

Serena looked around in a daze, seeing that the other girls seemed to be in similar states. Lita, always quick to rebound, was already back on her feet, though her normally vibrant green eyes held a shuttered look. She offered a helping hand to Raye, whose expression was a mix of both sadness and anger. Luna was helping up a severely shell-shocked looking Amy, and Artemis was trying his best to get the openly weeping Mina to get up off the floor.

"Come on, Mina," the white haired man tried to cajole his charge gently. "There's no sense in sitting there on the floor, crying over things that are ancient history."

Mina sniffled hard as she scrubbed at her face. "I'm sorry, Artemis. I know I shouldn't be acting like such a sentimental basket case. It's just that for the past few years I'd thought that I remembered so much about the past. But that vision just showed me how clouded and broken my memories were."

"Which was as I intended," Queen Serenity told her. "I knew that you girls would need some of your former memories in order to reassume your roles as sailor scouts, but you don't need to remember every tiny detail of your past. You are building new lives for yourselves in this time, and it would be hard for you to live those lives to the fullest if you were constantly dwelling on your past lives. But you also needed to relive that last day so that you would know exactly what you are going up against. Getting rid of Beryl and Metallia won't be easy, even with the Silver Crystal."

Serena looked down at her hands, which were clenched tightly in her lap as she fought the urge to burst into sobs. Over and over in her mind she kept seeing Endymion dying right before her eyes. Then she would think back to that horrible night at the Starlight Tower when Darien sacrificed himself to save her. And that didn't count all of the other times that he had thrown himself into danger's path to protect her. It seemed that no matter what life they were in, he was always protecting her.

But now he was the one in need of saving. And she swore to herself that she was going to find some way to free him from whatever evil spell Beryl had managed to cast over him.

She looked up with a determined gleam in her eyes. "How do I do it, mother? How do I get rid of Beryl and Metallia for good? Even you weren't able to destroy them. What if I can't do it?"

Queen Serenity sighed. "I could have destroyed them that last night, but I chose a different route instead. You see, Serenity, I arrived on your balcony only moments after you had died and I made a split second decision to send all of you to be reincarnated. But I knew that I couldn't leave those monsters free to run rampant, or they would have destroyed the future that I wanted for you. But I could only seal the evil away since I used the Silver Crystal to hold your souls. If I had eliminated them, it would have destroyed you as well. So I locked Beryl and Metallia away in an icy prison and split the power of the Silver Crystal into the Rainbow Crystals to capture the shadow warriors. After that I had just enough energy to send you all to the future."

"But you didn't have to sacrifice yourself," the ever-practical Amy spoke up. "You could have healed yourself and then defeated the Dark Kingdom."

The queen shrugged elegantly. "I was dying. That blast that Beryl had hit me with had caused massive internal damage. I may have been able to patch myself up enough to make an escape to one of the other planets and then face them another day. But my kingdom and my family were gone. It was more important to me that the rest of you live. So that was the choice I made. I feared that one day the evil would break free from my seal, and that was why I made sure that you girls would have everything you would need to fight them. I believe that you five pose a far greater threat to Beryl's plans than I ever could."

Then she turned back to her former daughter. "I know the power of the Silver Crystal is a frightening thing, but you must believe in yourself. Use your feelings of love and friendship to give you the energy that you need to get rid of your enemies once and for all. You have a special power inside of you, Serenity. I have known this from the first moment that you were laid in my arms. Find that power."

"And try not to screw things up," Raye snickered with a hint of her usual sarcasm.

"Aw, Serena will do fine," Lita drawled. "She's not some pampered little princess anymore. And she can hold her own in a fight now thanks to me and Dar…" She broke her words off abruptly and glanced apologetically at her blonde friend.

Serena smiled slightly. "It's okay, Lita. You can say his name in front of me without me going berserk. And thank you for that vote of confidence. I have learned a lot in the past few months. Now I just have to put it to good use."

Then she rounded on the queen with a mischievous grin. "Which reminds me, mother. I asked you once, a long time ago, about Sailor Moon and whether or not you had been her. And you pretty much told me that she was nothing but a bedtime story. But now, in this life, I find myself in the role of Sailor Moon…and it brings all of my old suspicions back to life."

Queen Serenity giggled softly. "Well, I guess there is no need to keep it from you anymore. Yes, the old legends of Sailor Moon were very real, and I was she. Only a small handful of people ever knew this though. Our solar system was a vastly different place back then. There were always fights and skirmishes going on between the planets, and many innocent people were hurt as a result. I wanted to do the best I could to help them, but being from the moon back then didn't carry as much influence as it did in later years, so I joined my best friends, my sailor scouts, as Sailor Moon. I was just about your age at the time. I knew that one day I would be queen, and I hoped that eventually I would be able to bring all of the planets together peacefully. And I succeeded, at least for a while."

"Your majesty," Amy spoke up quietly. "I've been wondering for a while. What happened to the kingdoms on the other planets? Did they just gradually die off?"

The queen sighed. "Let's just say that the universe is a mysterious place and has ways of dealing with what it sees as problems. Perhaps someday the time will come when you need to know what happened and why. But we'll leave that until a later time. Right now all you need to focus on is defeating the Dark Kingdom."

"We'll do our best," the five teens pledged to her.

* * *

**The Dark Kingdom**

_'Darien…'_

The dark prince jerked awake in his bed and quickly sat up. His breathing was harsh and his heart was pounding in his chest because of the dream he'd had. He didn't remember much about it. In fact, all he remembered was darkness. But he'd heard a voice, a girl's voice, calling the name Darien over and over again.

"Just what the hell was that about?" he growled as he swiped a hand over his sweaty face and then fell back against his pillows once more as his mind whirled. He had no idea why he would dream something like that. But then again, very little made sense to him anymore.

Even his existence was a mystery to him. His memories started from the moment that he had awakened here in this place with Beryl. Before that there was nothing. But the strange thing was that he knew his name and knew that he was the prince of Earth and Beryl's fiancé, even if he had no memory of it.

He pulled another pillow over his face as he groaned in frustration. He threw it against a wall a few seconds later when he smelled the damp, musty scent that he always associated with Beryl clinging to the fabric. Evidently the woman had been in his room, watching him as he slept, maybe even lying beside him. And the thought filled him with disgust.

He knew that he shouldn't feel that way toward his queen. After all, he was going to marry her and rule at her side as king. He had to admit that the idea appealed to him. Beryl's ambitious personality was quite infectious. But every time the woman came near him he felt like bolting and running, and he didn't know why. If he had agreed to wed her, shouldn't he have some affection for her?

He wasn't completely adverse to her, and even found her amusing at times when she got wrapped up in plotting her little schemes. She had a cunning and wicked mind that strangely appealed to a dark side of him, and her verbal spats with Kunzite were highly entertaining. But her fawning over him each time he had a comment or suggestion gave him a headache after a while and made him long for peace and solitude.

And each time she kissed or touched him he was so revolted that he actually felt nauseous, which confused him most of all. Her attentions toward him were definitely of a romantic nature, while he felt nothing of the sort for her. How was he supposed to be her husband when he doubted that he would be able to sleep in the same room with her, much less bed her?

Deciding that a hot shower would help him clear his head, he threw back the covers and left his bed for the adjoining bathroom. He started the water to let it heat and then began undressing. He had just pulled his black tunic over his head when a shiver went down his spine and he felt like eyes were watching him.

He paused with his hands at his belt as he ground out, "Beryl!"

"Oh, pooh! You sensed me," the red haired witch pouted as she materialized in the bathroom. "And that is a shame because I was enjoying the show."

Endymion clenched his teeth together in frustration. "Why are you here, Beryl?"

She gave him a feline smile as she walked toward him, hips swaying. "I was just checking in with my fiancé. That is okay, isn't it?"

He felt sick at his stomach as she reached out with one hand to trail her nails across his bare chest to his shoulder, but he managed a grin. "What a naughty girl you are, my queen. But if you don't mind, I would like a few minutes alone to get myself together. Our enemies could strike at any time, and I want to make sure that we are prepared for them. I'm sure you understand."

A flash of irritation smoldered in her eyes before it was replaced with lovesick adoration. "Of course I understand. I'll just take my leave of you for now."

"I'll meet you in your throne room as soon as I am done," he promised her, hoping that she would hurry up and get the hell out.

She took a step back, but she purred at him, "You can continue to play your little hard to get games for now, my prince. But it won't be long until you are my king. And then we will belong to each other mind, body, and soul. Remember that."

"How could I forget?" he mumbled as she disappeared from sight. He waited a few moments, until he was sure that she was really gone, before he quickly finished undressing and hurried into his shower.

He scrubbed himself down hard, trying to erase the eerie phantom feel of Beryl's touch, before moving on to working shampoo through his silky black hair. Afterward he simply leaned against the glass wall as the water rained down on him, trying not to think of anything in order to clear his mind.

It was working, and he was starting to feel calm and in control once more, when he was taken by surprise as the same warm feeling he had experienced earlier blossomed in his chest.

"Well, hello again," he murmured as he rubbed the skin directly over his heart. As he did, a sense of complete peace and happiness flowed through him. He didn't know what this feeling was, or what caused it, but he liked it. Right then, he felt like he could take on the world single-handedly.

Feeling completely rejuvenated, he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, using the curious powers that he'd discovered that he had to dry his body and hair and to manifest his clothes and armor onto himself. He took a moment to inspect himself, and was satisfied that his black and silver armor was gleaming, his cape was straight, and that the sword strapped to his side had a deadly glint.

After that, he used his powers to teleport himself directly to Beryl's throne room. No matter what his feelings were for his queen, they had enemies that would be heading their way soon, the moon princess and her little band of sailor scouts. And it was up to him to help defend Beryl and defeat the ones that threatened her.

No, Prince Endymion may not be thrilled about the idea of taking Beryl as his wife, but one thing he was not was a coward. Once he had pledged himself to a cause, there was nothing and nobody who could sway his loyalty. And at some point he'd obviously devoted himself to Beryl's cause…even if he didn't remember doing it.

So he went to join his queen to plot and plan the final downfall of those silly little girls. Before long, Princess Serenity and her scouts would be nothing more than memories.

But as he walked across the large chamber to take a seat on the throne next to Beryl's, he remembered the dream that had woken him, and a tiny shiver of what felt like anticipation shuddered through him as he thought about the clear, sweet sounding voice that had been calling out. He'd felt like it had been speaking to him, even if he hadn't recognized the name.

_'Darien…'_

* * *

**A/N **Whew! I don't know why, but I feel like this was one of the hardest chapters that I've ever had to write. Maybe it was because of all the death that occurred. It bothered me I guess to kill off pretty much every single one of my beloved characters, even though we know that everything turns out fine and they get their second chances. It was still just very hard for me to do. I have to admit that I've shed a few tears over this chapter because I was picturing the scenes in my head very clearly, and it broke my heart many times over. And now we're coming up on the end of this story, and I'll have to kill them all over again. I'm liable to be a nervous wreck by the time this story is completed. Okay, so the final big battle is coming. I don't have a final count on how many more chapters there will be yet, because I honestly don't know. Right now I am shooting for two, but it depends entirely on my muse and where it goes. Anyhow, I hoped you guys liked it. As always, feel free to drop me those reviews to let me know what you thought. Now I'm off to work on some other projects. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	33. The Cold Road Ahead

**A/N **Okay everybody, it's update time! I'm not going to blab your ears off right now because I've put a rather long note at the end of this chapter. So, let me get my hugs out and we can get this chapter started. BIG HUGS TO:

**little princess of mercury**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**GoldenDragon326**

**Moonprincess998**

**Seredhiel05**

**Tiny2008**

**sabina21**

**LoveInTheBattlefield**

**Lunar Cadet**

**CaughtInAFantasy**

**angeljme**

**nickybluejess**

**TheMoonPrincess110**

**KatanaPrincess**

**LadyRosalie29**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**Perfect Beauty**

**jade2nightwing**

**Princessa de Silence**

As always, you guys have lifted my spirits. Now I'm going to let you get on with it.

_Last time on Rekindled _– The girls wrapped up their trip to moon and reliving the memories of their last day there.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 32

The Cold Road Ahead

* * *

"Serena, can I speak to you for a moment?" Miss Haruna asked as the bell rang and every student in her fourth period Algebra II class jumped from their seats and rushed for the door, eager to get to the cafeteria and lunch.

Serena, who was moving much slower than everyone else and was still at her seat, putting things in her bag, sighed, "Yes, Miss H." She trudged sluggishly up to the desk in the front of the room.

"Have a seat, Serena," Miss Haruna told her, pointing to one of the desks in the first row.

Serena bit back a groan, but did as she was told. If the woman wanted her to sit, then that meant that she had a lot to say. So much for getting this confrontation over with quickly.

Miss Haruna eyed her for a moment before standing up, giving her auburn head a shake and smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt before moving around to the front of her desk to lean against it.

"I'm going to cut right to the chase, Serena," she began in a brisk tone. "As of right now you are in danger of failing both this class and my English class. I've spoken with some of your other teachers, and they had similar things to say. You started off fine at the beginning of the school year, but several weeks in your grades began severely declining. You bounced back slightly at the end of the semester and were able to just squeak by. You continued to improve gradually when the new semester started, and I had hoped that meant that you were getting back on track. But in the past couple of weeks your grades have begun taking a nosedive again. You always seem depressed, easily distracted, and very exhausted. I've been teaching you for several years now, so you falling asleep in my class is not a new notion to me, but it seems to be happening more often than usual."

Serena grimaced internally. She didn't need anyone to tell her that she had been acting like one of the walking dead. She was all too aware of it. But it wasn't entirely her fault. Sleep had been hard to come by since Darien had been taken by Beryl. Every time she closed her eyes she saw his face, and dreams of him woke her whenever she slept for more than an hour or so at a time. It was easier to sit up, plotting and planning ways to get him back while catching catnaps in between and during classes.

Today was super hard because she and the other scouts had spent most of last evening on the moon, reliving the memories of the final day of their past lives, and hadn't arrived back on Earth until just a couple of hours just before dawn. The other girls had rushed home to try to squeeze in a power nap before school, but she had tossed and turned in her bed until even Luna had gotten disgruntled and had moved to the window seat to sleep. She'd finally dozed off, but had been jerked awake only a half hour later when her mother had burst into her room screeching that she was going to be late.

She'd dragged herself out of bed and stumbled out the door, barely tasting the toast that her mother had given her as she passed by the kitchen. To be honest, she didn't even want to eat it. But she had promised Darien that she would take care of herself and keep her strength up, so she slowly ate all of it as she trudged toward the arcade with Mina to meet up with Andrew and the rest of the girls.

In truth, the food, combined with the walk in the cool morning air and talking with her friends, had perked her up some, as had the fact that she had actually made it to school on time and had avoided another detention. But by halfway through Miss Haruna's first period English class her fatigue and worries about what was to come had caught up with her again, causing her to drift off and eventually doze.

"Serena, are you sick?" Miss Haruna's voice pulled her out of her musings.

She blinked hard. "Sick, Miss H?"

The teacher nodded. "I was just wondering because I know you are close to Andrew Furuhata, and he is friends with Darien Shields. Andrew has been helping Darien out since he has been sick the past couple of weeks by bringing his assignments back and forth to him. I also know that you and Darien haven't always gotten along, but over the past few months the two of you have seemed to be on much more civil terms. Whatever infection this is that Darien has picked up seems to be quite a nasty one, and I was just concerned that perhaps you may have caught it if you have gone with Andrew to visit him."

"O…oh…" Serena stammered. "No, I haven't caught what Darien has." She winced slightly as she said his name. "I haven't been around him all that much. I mean I have seen him a few times." That was an understatement. "But I'm not sick."

When Miss Haruna simply gave her a disbelieving look, she decided to amend what she'd said. "Well, I don't mean I feel great. I have had a case of the sniffles and a bit of a sore throat lately. Maybe I've caught a cold." She cringed at the white lie and waited to be busted for it. She'd always been a terrible liar.

To her relief, Miss Haruna seemed to buy it. "I know that there are several viruses going around right now. But if you are feeling too bad to even attempt to pay attention in class, Serena, then perhaps you should see a doctor. I hate sounding like a stodgy old schoolteacher, but you aren't benefiting one bit from attending any of your classes, and the point of coming to school is to learn. So I'm telling you now, you need to straighten out whatever is wrong with you so that you can at least try to focus some on your work. You are sixteen years old and practically an adult. That being said, I hate calling in parents about my students when they've reached your age, but I will contact your parents if I don't start seeing some improvement in the very near future. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal clear," Serena grumbled petulantly, though she managed to keep a tone of respect in her voice. Part of her was angry at being dressed down like this when her life was in such a shambles, but it wasn't Miss Haruna's fault. The woman was just doing her job. She had no idea that her student was a reincarnated princess from a long gone civilization who now masqueraded as a superhero, wielding a powerful magic crystal in an attempt to save the Earth from a demon entity and her puppet.

Miss Haruna looked her over seriously for a few more moments before nodding her head brusquely. "Okay, then. You know what's expected of you. I want to see some improvement by this time next week. Now, off to lunch with you."

That was all the motivation Serena needed. She jumped up from her seat, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she all but ran for the door. She was almost there; her escape was almost within her grasp, when Miss Haruna's voice stopped her again.

"Just one more thing before you go, Serena. And please be honest with me about this." The teacher's voice sounded oddly strained. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

"Wh…what! No!" Serena exclaimed as she spun around to gape at the uncomfortable looking woman.

But Miss Haruna managed to remain calm and composed. "I just wanted to make sure. Your moods and appearance lately made me have to consider the possibility. After all, young girls find themselves in unexpected situations all the time. And I happen to know that you have quite a few boys as friends."

Serena felt her cheeks flame with mortified heat. "I am _NOT _pregnant, Miss H! In fact, I would be willing to bet the fate of the world on that!"

She stomped out of the room to find Andrew leaning up again the wall of the hallway. His expression was casually blank and he whistled a tune softly under his breath as he looked up at the ceiling tiles like they were mildly interesting.

Her embarrassment swelled as she tried to glare at the boy who was like an older brother to her. "I guess you heard all of that, huh?"

He turned his head, his hazel eyes glinting mischievously. "I heard most of it. You may not have wanted to tell Miss H, but you can be honest with me, Sere. When is the baby due?"

She knew he was teasing her, but that didn't stop her from wailing, "Drew!"

He chuckled. "Don't be so touchy. Once Dare is back with us I'll give him a stern brotherly lecture. I'll make sure he pays his child support on time. He's a rich guy and can afford it."

She seemed to choke for a moment before she ground out, "I'm going to give you a lecture, Furuhata! And it's going to be compliments of my fists!" Then she lunged at him.

Thanks to his athletic ability, Andrew was able to dodge her. Laughing wildly, he sprinted for the stairway with her hot on his heels. He stopped when he reached the stairs and turned to face her. Her face was still flushed from embarrassment, but his teasing had brought a genuine smile to her face, one that had rarely been seen in the past two weeks.

He looked around the empty hallway to make sure they were alone before he reached out to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "It's good to see you smile again. It's been breaking my heart to see you so sad."

That smile quivered for just a moment, but then remained firmly in place. "It feels good to smile again. I know everyone has been trying to cheer me up, and I appreciate it, but it's just so hard to try to be happy when everything else seems to be so wrong. But that's all going to be over soon, one way or another."

Andrew heaved a sigh. "I wish I could go with you girls tomorrow. I feel a bit cowardly about staying behind while the rest of you are marching into battle. I get why I can't since I don't have powers the way you do, and I would only be in the way, but it still makes me feel like a loser."

"You're not a loser, Drew," Serena told him softly. "You're one of the bravest people I know. Believe me, I wish you could be there with me too. You have a way of being able to get through to Darien when I can't. But I know that you'll be there with us in spirit. Besides, somebody has to hold the fort down here. I have a feeling we're all going to be in need of Dr. Drew's concoctions when we get back."

He huffed a quiet laugh. "I'll have the milkshakes for you girls and the coffee for Darien ready and waiting. Just make sure that all of you get back in one piece."

He looked so concerned that she didn't have the heart to tell him her deepest fears, that some of them, or possibly none of them, would be returning from this battle. After all, they were going up against Beryl and Metallia, the two beings that managed to reduce both the earth and the moon kingdoms to piles of rubble.

At least this time Beryl only had one of the four earth generals sided with her, so that helped. But she also had Darien, or was he Endymion? She wasn't sure which name to call him anymore. But after her last couple of encounters with the so-called Dark Prince she wasn't sure what to expect out of him. She didn't want to believe that he could hurt her or the other scouts, but Beryl had meddled with his mind so much over the past two weeks that anything could happen. She would have to remain on her guard.

So rather than burden her friend with her uncertainties, she merely nodded her head. The smile that he had brought to her face before reappeared as she teased, "Now! How about escorting a girl to lunch? My stomach is feeling a bit grumbly, and the lunch period is already almost halfway over. I bet there won't be any pepperoni pizza left."

Andrew held his arm out gallantly to her. "Whatever the lady wishes. But I wouldn't be too concerned about you not being able to get your pepperoni fix. I'm sure you'll be covered somehow."

His words were proven correct just a minute later when they walked into the school cafeteria. Mina immediately jumped up from her seat and waved to them.

"There you are!" she exclaimed when they had drawn closer. "I was getting worried, Serena. I was also scared that the lunch line would run out of pizza before you got here, so I went ahead and picked you up some. I know it's your favorite."

Serena took one look at the plate on the table that held two large steaming pieces of pepperoni pizza and burst into a gale of giggles.

"I told you so," Andrew chuckled smugly beside her.

Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy looked at each other in clueless confusion for a moment before shrugging. They had no idea what had their princess so tickled, and honestly, they didn't care. All that mattered was that Serena was laughing and smiling. That was what was important to them. None of them knew what the next day would bring, but they knew that they would have to be at their strongest, especially Serena.

And they all knew Serena well enough to know that while she was still tormented deep in her soul, she had an uncanny gift for finding a speck of silver lining in even the darkest clouds and drawing strength from it. And that ability, coupled with her compassion and determination to protect the planet, was the key they needed to defeat the Dark Kingdom. They may not all survive the coming fight, but as long as Serena was able to use the Silver Crystal, and didn't lose her focus, they had a shot at saving the world.

* * *

Luna ran a furry paw over her blurry eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day, trying her best to clear her vision before returning her gaze to the computer screen that she had been studying relentlessly for the past several hours.

"I swear I saw it again," she said plaintively to her companion.

Artemis sighed as he looked up from his spot in front of an identical monitor only a few feet from her. "It's just your eyes playing tricks on you, Luna. I started seeing dots hours ago."

She shook her head. "No. I'm telling you, Artemis, the scanners are picking up on something. It's weak and sporadic, but it's there. I know you think it's all in my mind, but it's there."

The white feline stood and stretched, groaning when he felt his back pop in several places as he arched it. He and Luna had been in the control room under the arcade ever since they had returned from the moon during the pre-dawn hours, researching the best coordinates for the scouts to teleport to the next day when they went to face the Dark Kingdom. The magnetic fields over the Arctic, D-point in particular, interfered with their computer readings, making it almost impossible to pinpoint the exact location of the entrance to Beryl's lair, but they were hoping to find a spot that would put the scouts relatively close to it. They wanted to try to send their girls into the upcoming battle with as many advantages as possible.

He walked over and sat next to Luna, glancing at the screen, which showed a satellite view of D-point. The picture was blurry and full of static, just like the one he had been staring at. But a second window was open in the top left corner of the screen that showed a map of the Azabu and Juuban districts.

"We're supposed to be trying to localize the negative energy output in the Artic, not keeping an eye on things here. Besides, if the Dark Kingdom attacked right now the girls would know about it in seconds. You know that Amy has the Mercury computer programmed to pick up on their negative energy the moment it arrives here," he told her.

She nodded. "True. But a youma or a general would put out quite a bit of negative energy. This is so small that I doubt it would trigger her computer's alarm. Just watch this for a moment and tell me what you see." She enlarged the map so that it filled the entire screen.

"Okay. Okay," he grumbled, obviously humoring her. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"Just keep your eyes here," she demanded, tapping a spot on the screen. "Try to not even blink, or you might miss it."

He bit back a retort and focused his gaze on the point she'd indicated. He stared at the spot for a full minute, only blinking once, but saw nothing. His irritation was beginning to simmer and he was about to tell Luna that she was losing it, when something small flashed briefly on the screen.

"There! Did you see it?" Luna demanded shrilly.

"What…was that?" he asked hesitantly.

Her expression turned smug. "What do you think it is? This program is made to pick up negative energy signatures. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but whatever it might be it's stationary. I think it's being shielded somehow, that's why it keeps popping in and out on the scans."

Artemis, being a bit more computer savvy than she was, nudged her gently out of the way and took over her computer. With a few clicks he managed to zoom in closely on the spot.

"I'll be damned," he murmured. "It is a negative energy spot. But look, it's distorted just like the readings we are getting from D-point. Do you know what this means? We may have just found a doorway directly into the Dark Kingdom itself."

Luna grew excited. "Well Amy was saying just last week that she thought they might have a permanent portal somewhere to transport youma back and forth to their base. The generals were all able to open portals of their own to travel through, but they weren't present at all of the attacks. This must be how the youma have been getting here."

"And if it is, then that means that the scouts can probably use it to travel there as well," Artemis stated, looking more animated than he had in hours. "I'm sure Beryl would have had it placed in a convenient location. In any case, it's worth checking out. What time is it?"

Luna quickly checked the time on the computer. "It's 4:00. School is out and I bet the girls are upstairs by now in the arcade doing their normal afternoon thing."

"Perfect," Artemis practically purred. He tapped a few keys to access the scout communications program.

In a matter of seconds Mina's face appeared. "What's up, Artemis?"

"Are you and the girls at the arcade?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. We just got here a little while ago. Why?"

"I need you to round them up and meet me and Luna out back as quickly as you can," he told her.

Her expression immediately became concerned. "What's going on?"

He shook his head. "I'll tell you when you get there. See you in a minute." He cut the communication.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to have the scouts go there?" Luna worried. "If this does turn out to be a portal to the Dark Kingdom they are going to want to jump right in instead of waiting until tomorrow."

"We won't let them," Artemis replied simply. "We'll tell them our suspicions, but we'll stress to them the importance of taking tonight to rest up before the battle tomorrow. I'm sure they'll listen to us."

Luna shrugged. "I'm surprised that you didn't just suggest the two of us going without them to check it out."

He let out a snort. "I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid. Whatever this is, it's definitely Dark Kingdom territory. And since neither one of us can assume our human shapes here on Earth without help from the Silver Crystal, I'd feel much better going in with some backup. You never know what might pop up if we go sniffing around."

Luna sighed. She understood what he was saying, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. "Okay. You've got a point there."

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Beryl smiled gleefully as she carefully watched the two men who were glaring murderously at each other across the wide table that had been set up in her throne room. The top of it was littered with hand drawn maps of their underground lair as well as maps of Tokyo. But the paper they were on was in danger of catching fire from the heat of the anger rolling off of Endymion and Kunzite.

"I still think your idea is crap!" the dark general snarled. "Do you honestly think that letting the princess and her scouts come right to our doorstep is actually the wise thing to do? It's madness!"

Endymion's voice was a deadly hiss as he glowered at the man. "I _do _think it is the best avenue for eliminating the threat they pose. Letting them bring the fight to us gives us the home field advantage."

"Home field advantage?" Kunzite snorted. "That sounds like a cop out to me. We should be the ones that attack them. If we can catch them off guard it could be an even bigger advantage to us. Tell me, prince. Is it laziness or cowardice that has led you to thinking this scheme of yours will work?"

There was a hiss of steel as Endymion's sword was pulled from its sheath. In a flash, he had the blade pressed against his foe's throat. "You dare speak to me like that? I am a prince! You are barely one step up from a common peasant! You will treat me with respect, or I will silence your rebellious tongue for good!"

"Endymion, my love," Beryl spoke up softly, feeling the need to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. She could really care less if her prince snapped and killed the insubordinate general. Just seeing what little bit he had lost his temper so far already had her breathless and trembling in anticipation. Endymion was a perfect male specimen of everything a warrior should be, with the capability of becoming much more. Which he would once she had the Silver Crystal in her possession.

But Kunzite had been a somewhat faithful ally to her over the years and could possibly still be of use to her. So, no matter how exhilarating she found the mental images of Endymion giving into his bloodlust, she stopped him.

She tried, and succeeded, to not flinch as those deep pools of dark blue turned to her sharply. One of the things that she had regretted most about her hostile takeover of his mind had been the loss of the eyes that she had dreamed of for so long. The orbs looking at her now were the right shade, but the color was flat and lacked the sparkle that she was used to seeing there. The lack of pupils was also a creepy effect. But as the old saying went, _eyes were the windows to the soul_, and she had completely locked away the memories that were connected to his soul behind a mental steel door. Physically his eyes were open, but figuratively they were closed.

She hoped that with the power of the Silver Crystal she would be able to change that. She knew that she could never set him truly free without him revolting against her for killing his moon tramp and taking over his planet. But with just the right amount of influence of the crystal's magic she believed that he could be manipulated into a king that would suit her perfectly. Sure, it would be a relationship based on deception, but at least she would have the man she wanted.

"Leave him be for now," she demanded of the prince.

Kunzite bit back a sigh of relief as the cold steel was removed from his neck. Swallowing hard, he felt a slight sting where the sharp edge of the blade has touched his skin. He inclined his head to Beryl. "Thank you, my queen."

She shot him a scathing glare. "Do not thank me too quickly, my pet. Endymion is deserving of the same respect that you show me."

The general became enraged once more. "I made no vows to him!"

Beryl cut him off. "Be that as it may, you _did _swear loyalty to me. Endymion is my chosen husband and your future king. You will obey him as you obey me, or you will pay the price."

Kunzite bowed his head. "I apologize deeply, your majesty. I just can't help but worry about what dangers could befall you if the moon princess were to come here. She may be only a child, but she is a powerful child. Letting her into our midst could prove cataclysmic."

"Is that concern for my well-being that I hear in your voice, Kunzite?" Beryl drawled. "And here I thought you had no concerns for anyone except the Venusian princess. Do you think me so inept that I would feel threatened to be in Serenity's presence?"

"Of course not, my queen," Kunzite quickly backpedaled. "Your well-being has always been one of my top priorities. And as your guard I can't help but feel some fear for your safety. Letting those girls get too close could be a potential threat to you."

He shot a glance at the prince and noticed that the younger man's angry expression had cooled to one of complete indifference. It seemed that he and Endymion had something in common after all. Neither one of them particularly cared whether or not Beryl lived or died. But there was something else simmering ever so slightly in those mostly blank eyes, a possible emotion that he couldn't quite identify. And that worried him just a bit. Once he'd captured Venus he would need the help of Beryl's powers to make his princess a little more…complacent. After that she could go to hell.

Beryl's shrill laughter echoed around the chamber. "Do you think me so inept, Kunzite, that I would be unable to defend myself against that sniveling moon brat? You forget that I have faced her before and emerged the victor, even if it was by her own hand. Serenity may have the Silver Crystal, but she is weak. She doesn't have the strength of will to use it."

"Are you so sure of that?" Kunzite asked, cocking his head slightly toward Endymion to remind the queen that she currently had possession of someone who most definitely could inspire a determination to fight in the moon princess.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment. Then she smiled chillingly. "I am sure, Kunzite. We will continue with the plan to let those silly girls come to us. In fact, I'm quite looking forward to it. I have been working on a little surprise of my own to greet them when they arrive."

A chuckle rumbled from Endymion. "And how is the progress on your surprise proceeding, my queen?"

Beryl's expression turned to that of an excited child. "It will be ready by the morrow. I can't wait to see how those pathetic children react when they are faced with my newest creations. They are unlike anything that they have faced yet. With any luck they will be defeated without me ever even having to lift a finger, except to relieve Serenity of the Silver Crystal of course."

"Of course," Endymion agreed cordially.

"What surprise?" Kunzite demanded.

"Oh, it's just some youma that I specially designed for the express purpose of greeting Serenity and her scouts when they arrive. The confrontation should be quite entertaining," Beryl cackled.

The smile faded from her face a few moments later when her magic orb began swirling and humming ominously. She cupped it between her hands and brought it up to eye level to peer into it.

A gasp escaped her. "Those sneaky little bitches! They've discovered our portal in Tokyo! They can't come through it and confront us now. We're not ready yet."

Endymion stood up straight. "Would you like me to go deter them, my queen?"

"No! Send me!" Kunzite exclaimed. This could be an ideal opportunity to try to grab Venus again, and he couldn't pass it up.

Beryl looked back and forth between both men for a minute before announcing, "Kunzite, you go. Endymion, I need you to stay here to continue working on our plans."

The truth was that she was afraid to have Endymion alone in Serenity's presence. She was fairly certain that the magic she had used on him was strong enough to keep the moon princess from being able to unlock his memories unless she used the full power of the Silver Crystal, but she wasn't willing to take that chance. Kunzite, on the other hand, was expendable.

"Do whatever you have to do to throw them off the path. Disable the portal if you have to. Just don't let those brats get through to here," she ordered Kunzite.

The platinum haired general bowed. "It will be done as you've requested, your majesty." He summoned a portal of his own and stepped through it.

"I don't know why you sent him instead of me," Endymion grumbled once he and Beryl were alone. "The man is a bumbling idiot. If that princess and her scouts are half as good as I've heard, I bet he'll be back here within five minutes with his tail between his legs like a whipped puppy."

"Patience, my love. Patience," Beryl cooed to the prince. "I don't care what happens to Kunzite as long as he keeps those girls away for now. This is just an opening act, and I'm saving you for the main event."

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

"Okay, now I'm sure of it. We should not be down here," Sailor Moon whispered, twisting her fingers into her fuku skirt.

"Shh!" Mars shushed her harshly without opening her eyes. "I'm trying to concentrate here, Serena."

"What's the matter?" Venus chimed in.

Jupiter shrugged. "Serena's got this hinky feeling about this little mission. I can't say I blame her. My Spidey-senses are tingling."

Venus rolled her eyes. "It's probably just static electricity in your case, Lita."

"More than likely it's all of the negative energy around here," Mercury stated primly, not taking her eyes from her computer screen. "I'm feeling a bit jumpy from it myself. Not to mention the fact that it's causing my computer to pick up some very conflicting readings. I'm not sure which way we should go."

After meeting up with Luna and Artemis behind the arcade earlier, they had tracked the blip of negative energy that the felines believed could be a portal to the Dark Kingdom to a building that was only two blocks away from the arcade. At one time it had been a small bakery and café, but it had gone out of business at least a year before.

They had scouted around the building for a way in, and finally Lita had used some techniques that none of them had known that she had possessed to pick the lock on the backdoor to get them in. Once inside the mostly empty building they had transformed and had begun searching for the source of the negative energy.

It was Mercury, of course, who tracked the signal to what had once been an old supply closet in the back of the building. A closer inspection showed that the back wall could be moved. After a few minutes of grunting and groaning, Jupiter and Venus had managed to slide the wall out of the way, revealing a set of stairs leading down.

After descending for what had seemed like forever, they had found themselves in a long underground tunnel. They could all now sense the negativity in the air, but they had continued on in search of the source, until they'd reached a fork in the tunnel.

Mercury flipped her computer closed and clicked her visor off with a snort of disgust. "Well I'm at a loss. I can't get a clear enough reading to tell which way leads to the negative energy."

"Then we'll just have to check out both tunnels," Venus decreed.

"Or we could just forget about it and go home," Sailor Moon said tremulously. "I'm sure it's getting close to dinnertime, and you guys all know how my mom is about me being home by then."

"What's wrong, Meatball Head, getting scared?" Mars sneered as she opened her eyes. But the teasing light in her violet eyes let her blonde friend know that she was only picking on her. Then she sighed. "I can't really blame you. The negativity around here is enough to set anybody's teeth on edge. I can't pinpoint which way to go either."

Jupiter punched a gloved fist into her opposite palm. "So we go with Mina's suggestion and check out both tunnels. We can get it done in half the time if we split up."

Up until now, the feline advisors had been silent. But at Jupiter's words Luna began to sputter. "No! Absolutely not! We don't know what may be lurking down here. We cannot take the chance with Serena's life by cutting her guard in half. You girls have to stick together."

"Ugh! Come on, Luna," Sailor Moon groaned. "All I want to do is get done down here and get out as quickly as possible. This place is giving me a severe case of the jitters."

Venus shook her head. "No, Luna's right. We can't split up. We don't know what we might run into. It's safer if we stay together."

"I don't care about safe!" Sailor Moon shrieked. "I just want to get this over with so that I can go home and hopefully feel normal for a few hours. I don't think that's too much to ask. Besides, I'm not exactly helpless. I can fight too. We are all aware of the fact that there could be some creepy-crawlies down here, so we all just need to stay alert. And if one group does happen to run into anything, the others won't be that far away. So I say that Mars and Mercury take Luna and explore the left tunnel. Venus, Jupiter, and Artemis are with me in the right one. Okay?"

She stomped off toward the tunnel without waiting to see if the others would do as she wanted…and almost walked right into Kunzite as he materialized right in front of her. She jumped back a few feet with a screech.

Kunzite clucked his tongue at her. "So sorry, princess. But I'm afraid that I can't let you go snooping around where your little nose doesn't belong."

Artemis hissed at the dark general, hair standing up in a ridge down his spine as he arched his back. "So we were right! There is a portal to the Dark Kingdom here."

"There is, or rather, there was," Kunzite smirked. "I've already shut down the stabilizing wards that kept the portal open. In a few minutes it will close permanently. Queen Beryl doesn't want to make it too easy for you to discover exactly where we are."

The sight of that smirk sent a spike of anger shooting through Sailor Moon. "I don't give a damn what that devil woman wants! She is going to pay for everything that she's done. She's already destroyed one of my lives. I won't sit back and let her do it again."

He continued to look amused. "Those are big words to come from such a little girl. Tell me, princess, are willing to destroy Queen Beryl even at the cost of your prince's life?"

"I…I…" she stammered as her thoughts scattered. This was the one thing that she had refused to let herself think about ever since she and the scouts had begun planning to strike out at the Dark Kingdom. There was a chance that none of them would come out of this battle alive, but she had never pondered Darien's death as well. If she survived and he didn't, could she face life in a world without him? Would she make the same choice that Serenity had? She didn't have an answer.

She was pulled back, farther away from the gloating man, as four bodies suddenly formed a wall in front of her. The scouts angrily stared down Kunzite while he seemed completely calm.

"Well, well, Minako, it's a pleasure to see you again," he drawled.

"That's Sailor Venus to you, buddy! And don't you forget it!" she spat at him.

The smile on his face turned a bit brittle while his already steely gray eyes hardened more. "My sincere apologies for being presumptuous, Lady Venus."

"Enough with the chit chat," Jupiter growled. "So Queen Anorexia sent you to get in our way because we are getting too close to finding her little hidey-hole, huh?"

Kunzite inclined his head briefly. "More or less. She's very much aware that sooner or later you will find your way to our base, but she's not in the mood for dealing with you today."

"What a coward," Mars muttered under her breath.

"On the contrary," Kunzite replied with a chuckle. "My queen is looking forward to your coming confrontation with great zeal. But right now she and Endymion are otherwise…occupied." His eyes slid past the scouts to meet those of Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon clenched her teeth together and bit back the sharp retort that sprang to the tip of her tongue. She didn't know why it still bothered her so much when Kunzite tossed around innuendoes about what Darien and Beryl might be doing together. She should be used to them by now. Besides, even if he wasn't in his right mind, she had a hard time believing that Darien would touch the witch in any romantic way by his own free will.

Relief flooded through her as well at his words. She hadn't seen Darien since she had healed him with the Silver Crystal that night at the amusement park. Nor had she been able to sense anything from him through their bond, not even a peep. She had known that he wasn't dead, her own heart and Mina's confirmation that she could still see the red string of fate that tied them together had told her that. But she had still worried about what condition he might be in.

She straightened up and glared at the general blocking their path. "Get out of the way, Kunzite. We came down here only to investigate. We didn't come looking for a fight."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "But a fight is exactly what you are going to get if you attempt to get by me, Serenity. You see, I'm under orders from my queen to deter you at all costs. So the way I see it, you have two choices. Either you walk away now and we face each other another day, or we have it out right here, right now."

Jupiter snarled. "Sounds good to me. I'm tired of all this blah blah and pussyfooting around. Let's get it on. Jupiter Thunder Crash!"

Mars grinned evilly. "I couldn't agree with you more. Mars Fire Ignite!"

The combination of lightning and fire shot from the two scouts and hurtled toward Kunzite. But rather than trying to dodge or deflect the attacks, he just stood there. Then, a split second before the attacks were about to hit him, a protective sphere of negative energy sprang to life around him. The crackling electricity and roaring flames hit the swirling darkness, and disappeared like they had been sucked right in.

"What the hell?" Jupiter muttered.

"That's impossible," Mars whispered.

Kunzite smirked superiorly at them. "Nothing is ever impossible, scouts. Now, how about a taste of your own medicine."

The darkness in front of him churned, and then spat out a wave of negative energy, heavily laced with lightning and fire.

"Mars! Jupiter!" Sailor Moon cried as her two friends were blasted off their feet by the attack. They flew back several feet and landed hard on the rocky ground.

"How dare you!" Mercury growled in an unusual show of temper. "Let's see how high and mighty you are after I freeze you where you stand. Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!"

Hundreds of tiny bubbles erupted from her fingertips and swooped toward Kunzite. It looked for a moment like the attack would be successful, but then the bubbles disappeared the same way Jupiter's lightning and Mars's fire had.

"Tsk, tsk, Mercury," Kunzite mock scolded the blue clad scout. "I had always been under the impression that you were the most intelligent of the scouts. Attacking me directly after seeing what I did to your friends was not smart…not smart at all."

The sphere around him disgorged another attack, this one aimed at Mercury. It snapped ominously with dark energy, but was tinged with the light blue color of Mercury's icy attack. In seconds the blue haired girl was prone on the ground next to Jupiter and Mars.

"No! Mercury!" Sailor Moon screamed as she struggled against the hold Venus had on her arm where she had pulled her out of the line of fire. "Let me go, Venus! I'll show that monster!" Her hand reached for the pocket where she had the Crescent Moon Wand and the Silver Crystal.

Venus grabbed her wrist in a tight grip. "No, Serena! It's too dangerous. I'll distract him while you run. Get out of here as fast as you can. The other girls and I will come find you when we get out of this."

Sailor Moon glared at her. "You can't seriously expect me to run when my friends are in trouble!"

"I expect you to do what you have to do to keep yourself safe!" Venus snapped back. "Your survival is the most important thing. You are the only one who can face Beryl. Without you the world is lost. So, for once, do as I say and get out of here." She gave her a bit of a push back in the direction from which they'd come.

She watched as Sailor Moon stumbled a few steps before jogging away unsteadily. Once she had disappeared around a bend she turned back to face the Dark Kingdom general.

Kunzite arched a brow at her. "Do you really believe that was wise, to send your princess off all by herself? What's to stop me from going after her once I've taken care of you?"

Surprisingly, Venus smiled at him. "I am not vain enough to delude myself into thinking that I can easily beat you. Our past confrontations are proof enough of that. In fact, I am very certain that it is highly probable that you will have removed me from the equation in only a minute or two. But make no mistake about this, if you are stupid enough to go after Sailor Moon once you are done with me, I can promise you a thorough ass kicking."

A hint of a smirk twitched his lips. "Is your faith in Serenity that strong?"

Her eyes bore steadily into his. "You better believe it! I know on the outside my princess may appear small and frail, but on the inside beats the heart of a true sailor scout. She'll gobble you up for an appetizer and then move on to Beryl for the main course. After that she'll throw in Metallia for dessert."

He shook his head. "Blind trust can be deadly, Venus."

"Hmph!" she huffed. "I already know that. You made sure I learned that lesson well that last day on the moon. But what I have for Serenity isn't blind trust, it is just simply trust. I believe in her. The Dark Kingdom is finished."

A purple energy blade appeared in each of Kunzite's hands. "I guess we'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

Venus took a fighting stance. "I guess we will."

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"Well, well, he's doing better than I thought he would," Beryl murmured as she gazed into her orb, watching the fight that was now taking place between Kunzite and Sailor Venus. "I never thought he'd be able to hold his own against all of them, but he already has three down and the moon brat on the run. This could give us an advantage."

Endymion snorted from where he was perched on the arm of Beryl's throne, but said nothing. Unlike his queen, he was not impressed with Kunzite's ability to bully a bunch of little girls. Instead he searched the orb for any sign of the other blonde girl, Sailor Moon. Today was the first time, that he could remember anyway, that he had laid eyes on the moon princess that he'd heard so much about. He hadn't felt anything in particular as he'd looked at her, but that curious warm sensation that he had experienced twice before had flared up in his chest and had definitely piqued his interest.

"Ah! Perfect!" Beryl practically squealed as she watched Kunzite turn Venus's power back on her and knocked her to the ground to join the other scouts. "This is exactly the boon that could ensure the certainty of our victory. Let's see how well Serenity gets along without her precious scouts."

Endymion rolled his eyes at the queen's enthusiasm. Something deep inside of him told him that this battle wasn't over yet. He leaned forward to closer watch the scene unfold.

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

Sailor Moon shoved a fist into her mouth and bit down hard on her knuckles to keep from screaming as she saw Venus fall under the onslaught of Kunzite's attacks. Despite the orders from her friend to run, she had held back and watched from a position that was just out of sight. To her credit, Venus had managed to stand up to the dark general for a few minutes, but her luck had finally run out when he had caught her off guard by deflecting her own power on her.

"At last," Kunzite said reverently as he studied the fallen, orange clad girl before. "I finally have you where I want you Princess Venus. I will take you away where you will be mine, and there is nobody to stop me from doing it."

Sailor Moon felt her blood boil as he took a step toward Venus. She wasn't sure how effective she could be at standing up against him by herself, but she had to try. There was no way that she was just going to stand idly by and watch another important person in her life be taken by the enemy. She pulled out her wand and clenched it tightly in her hand as she darted out from her hiding place.

She had only taken two or three steps when she skidded to a halt as Beryl's nasal, disembodied voice filled the tunnel. "Kunzite, take all of the sailor scouts into custody. It will weaken the moon princess considerably to not have her protectors by her side. This is too good of an opportunity for us to pass up."

"As you wish, my queen," Kunzite answered, his hands reaching eagerly for Venus.

He jerked back in shock a few seconds later when he heard the fast click of footsteps and something moved in his peripheral vision. He got out of the way just in time to avoid the red booted foot that was kicking at him. He counted himself lucky that he did too. That kick had been delivered with deadly precision and would have done some damage if it had hit him. He looked up, and met the furious blue eyes of Sailor Moon.

"I thought you ran off," he said as conversationally as if he were discussing the weather.

"Just shut up!" the angry girl hissed back at him. "You have to know me well enough by now to know that I would never abandon my friends, even if that is what they want me to do. We are a team, and we stick together."

Kunzite returned her look with one of mock pity. "You're still just all sweetness and light, aren't you? How much longer are you going to fight it? How much more are we going to have to do to you before you realize that you are fighting a losing battle and finally give up? You have to know that you can't win."

"I'll never give up!" she countered back fiercely. "And I won't stand by and let you take my friends. I will fight for them with every last breath in my body if I have to."

He shrugged. "It's your choice." Then he manifested a purple energy boomerang in each hand and flung them at her.

The movement was so fast that she barely saw it. By the time her brain had finally caught up to what was happening and told her body to move, it was too late. One of the sharp attacks gouged her left thigh while the other one sliced into her right upper arm.

And boy did it _HURT_! She bit down hard enough on her tongue to draw blood to hold back the scream reverberating in her throat. She was beginning to think that it had been a stupid idea for her to try to stand up to Kunzite on her own. But when she saw her friends beginning to move about as their consciousness returned she began to feel more confident. She wouldn't be alone for long.

She had almost lost her grip on the moon wand when her arm had been cut, but now she tightened her fingers around it. Ignoring the pain she felt, she raised her arm to point the wand at Kunzite. "You're going down, Kunzite! Cosmic Moon Pow…ahhh!"

She shrieked as the ground bucked beneath her, interrupting her attack and sending her to her knees. She had known that whatever magic that Beryl had used to reanimate the generals' bodies after she had killed them had allowed the new inhabitants to retain the original powers that Endymion's guards had possessed in addition to the new powers that the negative energy had given them. She had witnessed that for herself when she had seen the fake Jadeite use fire, Nephrite electricity, and Zoicite ice.

But up until now, this general had only attacked with dark energy blasts and the weapons that he was able to conjure by using Kunzite's ability to manipulate energy into those forms. And that had caused Sailor Moon to forget the fact that the former head general of Earth's Royal Army had had the power to actually control the earth itself.

'_Well, I remember now,' _Sailor Moon thought sarcastically to herself as she pitched forward onto her hands and knees. Then a swishing sound had her head snapping up.

The energy boomerangs that Kunzite had thrown at her were still flying around. And even as she looked, they changed direction and swooped toward her. With no time to react, she clenched her eyes shut and waited for more pain.

She sensed scuffling all around her. And then, she heard their voices.

"Venus Power!"

"Mars Power!"

"Jupiter Power!"

"Mercury Power!"

Instead of pain, a sense of calm fell over her as she was cocooned in the planetary power of her scouts. But that didn't stop hisses and gasps of pain.

She opened her eyes to see her friends standing around her with their henshin wands raised high as they called upon their powers to protect her. But while she was safe inside the shield that they had put up, they were left exposed on the outside. And Kunzite's boomerangs were busy trying to make mincemeat out of them.

"You guys, stop!" she cried, wincing when she saw one of the sharp weapons lay open the skin on Mercury's arm, sending blood flying.

"No can do, Meatball Head," Mars growled. "Our number one priority is to keep you safe."

"But I'm not a princess anymore!" she wailed. "It's not your job to protect me like it used to be!"

Mercury's expression showed a bit of hurt. "Do you think that is the only reason why we would protect you?"

"For real, girl!" Jupiter snorted. "We do it because you are our friend and you are important to us."

Venus nodded. "That's right. You are the one that brought all of us together and made us as tight as we are. That makes you extra special to us."

Kunzite made a gagging sound. "Please! I think I'm going to be ill from all of this lovey-doviness." He flicked his fingers to send his weapons in for a fresh round of attacks.

The combination of loss of energy and pain from their injuries were causing the scouts to weaken quickly. The stress shown clearly on all of their faces as they began to visibly wilt in front of Sailor Moon's eyes. As they began to sag toward the ground, she made a split second decision. Grasping her wand tightly in her hand, she darted out of the protective field of her friends' powers.

"Back for more?" Kunzite sneered as his weapons returned to his hands. Then, in the blink of an eye, he launched them at her.

There wasn't time for her to verbally launch a counter-attack, but she no longer felt helpless thanks to her friends' encouraging words. Unconsciously, she activated the Silver Crystal and it began glowing where it sat in the curve of the moon wand. She ducked the first boomerang, and then swung around to bat at the second one with the wand.

'_Just imagine that you are in gym class,' _she told herself as visions of her hitting a volleyball and sending it flying into an unsuspecting classmate's head whirled through her mind.

The impact of the wand hitting the boomerang sent a painful shockwave rattling up her injured arm, but she ignored it as she put as much strength as she could into the hit. She also might have given it a little punch of Silver Crystal power.

With a clang, the boomerang rocketed away from her, speeding back toward the dark general who had thrown it. She saw his gray eyes widen in shock as his form began shimmering in preparation to teleport.

Then there was a thud, and his body turned solid once more. Both he and Sailor Moon stared in surprise at the unimaginable sight of the boomerang that was sticking out of his chest where it had buried itself in his heart.

He looked up then, glaring at the tiny girl who had somehow managed to defeat him. How had she, a whiny child, been able to beat the leader of the Dark Kingdom's army? He wanted to rant at her, but no sound would come from his throat. Finally, he looked over her shoulder where he met Venus's tear-filled blue eyes. It looked like he wouldn't be getting his Aphrodite after all.

And then, with the vision of her lovely face filling his mind and eyes, he faded away.

Sailor Moon stared at the place he had been standing until the last glittery particle had disappeared, feeling numb with shock. She had just killed someone. Granted, he hadn't really been much different than the youmas that she had destroyed over the past few months, but he had been the most human looking. Worse, he had been in the body of someone that she had once known.

She heard a sob behind her and turned to see that Venus had sat down on the ground and was crying into her hands, and that made her feel worse. It couldn't have been easy on the blonde to watch the body of her past love disappear. And to have seen the death of that body being delivered by the hands of her friend? Well, that just…well, it sucked.

Then Venus looked up at Sailor Moon. Her eyes were red and wet, and her face was blotchy from crying, but she was smiling. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"What are you thanking me for?" Sailor Moon exclaimed. "You don't normally thank a person after they've just killed someone."

Venus shook her head. "You took out a youma, not a person. But you did much more than that. You freed Kunzite's body from Beryl's control. Finally, it's over, and I feel like he can truly rest in peace."

"You were pretty awesome," Jupiter drawled. "I guess all the time I've spent teaching you moves the last couple of weeks finally paid off."

Sailor Moon grinned. "You have taught me a lot, but I had a pretty good teacher before you as well. And now that we've cleared our way of Dark Kingdom generals, maybe we can get him back."

"After I get done kicking your ass for putting yourself in danger!" Mars snapped as she stomped over to her. "What were thinking by leaving our protection like that?"

"I'm sorry. I just…oof!" Sailor Moon started to apologize, but she was cut off when she found herself pulled into a warmer than average hug.

"You silly Meatball Head," Mars murmured against her shoulder. "You nearly scared the life out of me. I'm just glad that you are okay." Then she took a step back and smiled. "And Lita's right, you were pretty awesome."

"How is everybody?" Sailor Moon asked, grimacing at the pain she was now fully feeling in her arm and leg. "Kunzite managed to get some decent hits in on all of us."

Jupiter flapped a hand at her. "These cuts are nothing. They're barely more than scratches. After a good night's sleep we'll be back to normal."

"She's right," Mercury stated, not looking up from her computer. "All of our wounds are superficial and should be mostly gone by morning. My readings are not picking up any traces of negativity anymore, so Kunzite must have successfully shut down the portal like he said. With that being said, it's probably a good idea for all of us to head back up above ground. We all need to get as much rest as we can so that we can be ready for tomorrow."

Sailor Moon nodded in agreement. And then a thought struck her. "Hey! Where did Luna and Artemis go? I haven't seen either one of them in a while."

Venus shrugged. "If they were smart they probably high-tailed it out of here the moment the fight broke out. Artemis can talk a big game, but he's really not one for confrontations. It's not like he can do much with his cat body anyway."

"I'll remember that you said that the next time you come to me begging for me to claw some boy's eyes out because he made a pass at you," a very disgruntled Artemis grumbled as he and Luna came out of the right-hand tunnel.

She dismissed him with a wave. "You know that I'm only teasing, Artie."

The white feline bristled. "How many time do I have to tell you to not call me that?"

"Oh hush, you grumpy ball of fur!" Luna's voice cracked like a whip. "We have more important things to talk about, like telling the girls about what we found in that tunnel."

"What did you find?" all five scouts asked in unison, and then burst into giggles.

Luna gave them all an indulgent look before shaking her head. "Artemis and I had a suspicion that whatever the Dark Kingdom was hiding down here was in the right tunnel since it was the one that Kunzite was blocking. So once you girls had him distracted we were able to sneak past him to do a bit of exploring of our own."

Mercury's eyes were shining eagerly behind her visor. "And did you find it? Was it a portal like we thought?"

"It was," Artemis replied smugly. "Unfortunately it is gone now. But Luna and I took a chance before it disappeared and jumped through it. It took us straight to the Artic Circle and put us near an old, dormant volcano. It seems like the perfect spot for the Dark Kingdom to set up base if you ask me."

By this time, Mercury was bouncing up and down on her toes. "Do you think you might be able to point out its general location on a map?"

If cats could smile, Luna would have been beaming. "We can do better than that. We brought a tiny micro-transmitter with us and left it on the other side of the portal. The magnetic fields there may interfere with the transmission a bit, but your computer should be able to lock on to it. That will be your teleportation point."

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

"Idiot!" Beryl growled as she threw the orange stone she was holding in her hand into the velvet-lined box where it rested next to the red, green, and blue ones.

Endymion arched a brow sardonically as he watched the ranting queen with amusement. "I don't see why you're so surprised. I was sure that you were already aware that Kunzite was an imbecile."

Beryl had begun pacing in agitation, but at his words she spun around to pierce the prince with a look that would have sent most people scrambling in fear for their lives. "I am quite aware of what Kunzite's shortcomings were, Endymion. I did, however, have hopes that he might work out better than the other three. He may not have been the most cunning, spiritual, or smartest of the group, but he did have a cold, calculating nature that could match my own. That made him a formidable ally to have."

Endymion made sure to keep his expression smooth and innocent as he replied, "But isn't that what you have me for now? I thought we were well on our way to forming an unbeatable team. We have been working together well while we have been plotting the fall of the moon princess and her scouts, haven't we?"

In a flash, Beryl's entire demeanor changed. She became immediately contrite as she rushed to reassure him. "Of course, my dearest prince. We have worked well together. And you are the only man that I want by my side. I just let my emotions overrule my common sense for a moment."

She went to retrieve the box that held the generals' soul stones, and then she walked over to where Endymion was lounging casually on his throne. She perched gingerly on his knees and held the box out to him.

"For you," she told him simply.

He eyed the box with an expression that almost bordered on disgust. "What do I want that box of rocks for?"

She pressed it into his hands. "Consider it an early wedding gift. The generals were your guards and, at one time, your best friends. It is only right that you have possession of them. Do with them as you wish. Smash them if that is what you want. Or, if it pleases you, simply hold on to them for now. Once I have my hands on the Silver Crystal I'm sure I could find a way to bring them back, if you like."

She purposefully didn't add that if she were to waste the time and energy to return those damn Earth generals to life that it would be with some major modifications, much like she was planning to do to him. She wouldn't begrudge her king his guard. In fact, having the true generals back instead of modified youma could be useful. But she would make sure that they were completely devoted to her.

"Just take them," she insisted one last time a she released her hold on the box. Then she stood up and bent down to brush his unruly black bangs from his forehead and press a kiss there. "Now, I have a few things to tend to. But I will see you later."

"I will be waiting in breathless anticipation," Endymion drawled, barely withholding an eye-roll.

Once Beryl had left the throne room he hacked out a yakking sound and scrubbed his forehead with his sleeve. Call him strange, but he still couldn't stand for the woman that he was pledged to marry to touch him. It almost made him physically sick every time she did.

Now that little moon princess on the other hand, she was quite a sight to behold. He didn't know exactly how to describe it, but as he had watched her fight earlier he had begun to feel funny. His heart rate had sped up and his breathing had quickened. Now that he had a chance to sit back and analyze what he had been feeling, he realized that watching her had aroused him. How curious!

He snorted, shoving the box Beryl had given him into an inner pocket of his cape. It didn't matter if he had felt physically turned on by the sight of Serenity. It didn't even matter that he had experienced a jolt or two of fear when she had landed in a dangerous position. All that mattered was that she was a threat to his planet.

And unfortunately that meant that she was going to have to die soon, either by Beryl's hand…or his.

"What a shame," he murmured as he settled back in his throne, closing his eyes in hope of catching a brief rest. "She might have made a good queen if she wasn't so dangerous. It's too bad that I'll probably have to be the one to kill her."

* * *

_"That's not funny, Darien!" Serena screeched as a snowball exploded in her face. She wiped the snow from her eyes with a gloved hand and glared at the now laughing young man._

_He bent over slightly at the waist, arms around himself as he burst into deep chuckles. After a minute, he seemed to compose himself. "You're right, Sere. That wasn't funny." Then his face split into a wide grin. "It was absolutely hysterical!"_

"_Why you…" she growled, stooping down to scoop up a handful of the snow that covered the ground of Juuban Park. She quickly packed it into a snowball._

"_Prepare to eat snow, Shields!" she yelled at him. But as she pulled her arm back to launch her icy attack at him she overbalanced, sending her feet sliding out from under her and her body flying face first into a snow drift._

_She floundered for a moment until she felt steady hands on her shoulders. With Darien's help she managed to pull herself into a sitting position._

"_Are you okay?" he asked anxiously as he gently brushed snow from her hair and jacket._

"_I'm fine," she grumbled. "But I think I had an easier time back when I was fighting youma than I do trying to win a snowball fight with you."_

_He tilted his head a bit and gave her a strange smile. "What are you talking about, Serena? You've never had to fight a youma."_

_She jerked back and stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "Yes I have. I've fought lots of times. You have too. I was Sailor Moon and you were Tuxedo Mask, remember? We used to fight together against the Dark Kingdom."_

_He sighed heavily. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."_

"_Sounds like a certain Meatball Head has been reading to many manga and watching too many animes," Raye's voice suddenly popped up._

_Serena looked up and saw that Raye, Amy, Lita, and Mina had joined them._

_Lita nodded, ponytail bouncing. "Either that, or she's been chowing down on too many sweets."_

"_That could cause hallucinations I suppose," Amy mused._

_Mina flipped her golden hair over her shoulder. "Nah! Girlfriend just needs a little retail R & R. How about we hit the mall."_

_Serena scrambled to her feet. "Don't any of you remember? You were involved in the battle too. The five of us were the sailor scouts. And we protected the Earth from the evil Queen Beryl."_

"_She's delusional," Raye snorted._

"_Completely off her rocker," Lita agreed._

_Amy shook her head. "Perhaps she should see a therapist."_

_Mina was bouncing on her toes. "I know a good doctor. It's called Dr. Shopping"_

_Serena felt like bursting into tears. "I can't believe this. I guess none of you remember anything about our past lives on the moon either."_

_Darien took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "Listen, sweetheart. I don't know what kind of crazy dreams you've been having, but they aren't real. You are Serena Tsukino. You are sixteen years old and a sophomore in high school. Raye, Amy, Lita, and Mina are your best friends and I am your boyfriend. You have never been a superhero, and you have never had to fight monsters. You are just a normal girl, living out a normal life."_

"_A normal life?" she murmured. Was she dreaming, or had the past few months been the dream? She wasn't quite sure at the moment if she was awake or asleep, and she really didn't care. She was going to enjoy this little slice of ordinary for as long as she could._

"_You're right," she told Darien as she wound her arms around his waist and burrowed into his chest. "I'm just a normal girl with a normal life."_

"SERENA!"

She jumped up in the bed at the loud yell and almost fell off of it and onto the floor. Her hand shot under her pillow to grab her brooch as her eyes darted around the room, searching for the threat. After a few long seconds, she realized that the danger was coming from her mother.

Ilene stood just inside the doorway with her apron on, glaring at her daughter while she waved the spatula she was holding in her hand. "This is the third time that I have been up here to wake you up, young lady! Now, get your butt up out of that bed and get moving!"

Now that she had determined that no one from the Dark Kingdom was infiltrating her bedroom, Serena sank back onto her mattress. "Aw, mom…"

"Don't you '_aww mom' _me, Serena Usagi!" Ilene fired back in a clipped tone. "With the way your grades have been lately you can hardly afford to be playing hooky from school. And since you don't look to be sick to me, you get up and get dressed right now. I'm sure Mina will be here for you soon, and you don't want to make her late, do you?"

"No ma'am," Serena grumbled. "I'll be down soon."

Ilene shook her spatula again. "You better be. I don't want to have to come up here and tell you again. I'll just run down and put together a breakfast sandwich for you and you can eat on the way. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day you know. And you need all of the brain power you can get."

Serena groaned and pulled the covers over her head after her mother left the room. "Why me? Why couldn't I have stayed asleep just a little bit longer? Or better yet, why couldn't that dream have been real? Then I wouldn't be facing what I have to face today."

She heard a door slam, and then Sammy's voice as he raced past her room. "You better get your lazy butt moving, Meatball Head, or I'm going to eat all the bacon!"

"You better not, you little maggot!" she yelled back as she flung her blankets off of her. She really didn't care if he ate the bacon or not, but she knew her outraged reaction was expected and it would seem highly suspicious if she didn't retaliate at her brother's threat.

Acting like everything was the same as it had always been had become second nature to her now after everything she had been through the past few months. But the fact that she was able to fool her family into believing that she was the same girl that she had always been made her feel a little melancholy. She had always been known as a terrible liar, and she kind of wished that she could go back to being that girl again. That Serena hadn't been Sailor Moon or known that she was a reincarnated princess. That Serena had been normal.

"Ugh! Normal!" she muttered as she got up from the bed and trudged into the bathroom. That one word brought back the dream she had been having right before her mother had woken her. God how she wished that dream had been real. She felt like she had been fighting for years instead of months, and the thought of a boring, normal life sounded like heaven.

"Nothing I can do about it now. I am who I am," she told her reflection in the mirror above the sink as she reached for her toothbrush.

Luna wandered in while she was going through her morning routine and hopped up onto the vanity. She spoke softly to keep from being overheard by anyone who shouldn't know she could speak. "Good morning, Serena. Did you sleep well?"

"As well as could be expected I guess," Serena answered as she lathered up her face with her facial wash. "I rested enough that I was able to heal from yesterday's adventure. The cut on my arm and leg are gone."

Luna's furry head nodded. "That's good. Do you feel like you are ready for today?"

Serena remained quiet until she had rinsed her face. Then, she reached for a towel to pat it dry and turned to lean against the vanity. "That's a bit of a trick question, Luna. Can anybody ever truly be ready to march in and face an enemy they aren't sure they can defeat? A part of me wants to say that yes I am. I have trained, practiced, and worked as hard as I can to get to this moment. But in reality, I don't know what will happen when Beryl and I come face to face."

"A very diplomatic answer," Luna murmured approvingly. And then she chuckled softly. "I know Queen Serenity is watching over you, and she has to be so proud of the young woman you have become."

"Thank you," Serena said in a voice that was hardly more than a whisper. She laid a gentle hand on her feline advisor's head. "But my first step in saving the world is surviving my mother in this life long enough to get out of the house. If I'm not downstairs soon she may kill me herself and save Beryl the trouble."

"I'll be waiting for you outside," Luna told her as she jumped down from the counter and exited the bathroom, heading back to Serena's room where she could make a stealthy exit through the window.

Serena quickly changed her pajamas for the school uniform that she had hung on the back of the bathroom door the night before. Then she went back into her room to sit at her dressing table so she could tackle her hair.

In five minutes she was ready. She picked up her schoolbag and looked around her room one last time, wondering if she would ever be coming back to it again. Who knew how today was going to play out?

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the room and put on her _"normal" _Serena persona. "I'm going to be late!" she wailed as she pounded down the stairs. The two times she tripped on the way were sadly not an act, but at least she didn't fall. Then she skidded into the kitchen and stood panting as she clung to the edge of the center island.

Ilene cast a glance at the clock on the microwave. "Actually, you should be able to make it on time since you actually listened to me this time and got up when I told you to. Now, here's your lunch and a little something for breakfast for you. I saved a few pieces of bacon from your brother for you."

"Ha ha!" Serena gloated at Sammy where he sat at the kitchen table next to his dad.

"Yeah, yeah, yuk it up," he grumbled around a mouthful of egg.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Sammy. That's disgusting," Ken scolded his son. Then he smiled at Serena. "Have a good day at school, Pumpkin."

Tears burned Serena's eyes as she looked around at the members of her family, taking in every tiny detail and trying to commit them to memory. She didn't know if she would ever see them again.

She skipped over to the table and hugged her father from behind. "Thanks, daddy! You have a good day too. I love you!"

He chuckled and reached up to pat her hands where they were clasped beneath his chin. "I love you too, sweetheart."

She let him go and turned to playfully ruffle Sammy's hair, ignoring his outraged cry. "Later, Maggot!"

Then she went over to her mother, who was by the sink, and caught her up in a big hug. "Thanks for everything, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, honey," Ilene responded after a confused second. "You're still studying with the girls tonight for that big test, aren't you?"

Serena's forced smile faltered for a fraction of a second before she recovered. "Uh, yeah. I'm not sure how late I'll be though. It depends on how long Amy grills us. But if it gets too late I'll probably just crash at Raye's, if that's okay."

Ilene nodded. "That's fine with me. At least with Raye I know you'll get up on time for school tomorrow. Just promise me that you'll be careful and not out running around alone. A lot of strange things have been happening recently."

'_Don't I know it,' _Serena thought to herself. "I'll be careful, mom." Then the doorbell rang and her eyes landed on the clock. "Oh my god! I'm going to be late!"

She grabbed up her lunch and the napkin wrapped sandwich that her mother had made for her and ran into the entry hall. She quickly slid on her school shoes and tried to juggle her bag and her food as she tried to wrestle herself into her jacket. Luckily Ilene had followed her and helped her get things sorted out. Then she threw open the door to reveal a frantic, wild-eyed Mina.

"We're late! We're late! We're late!" her fellow blonde squealed.

"I know!" Serena wailed back.

"We might just make the bell if we really book it!" Mina exclaimed, grabbing Serena by the hand and yanking her out the door. "Bye, Mrs. Tsukino!"

"Bye, girls!" Ilene called after them as they tore at break-neck speed down the walkway to the sidewalk. She shook her head, muttering, "I just hope they can make it there in one piece."

The two girls ran fast, but were careful to keep their speed slow enough that they didn't turn into blurs thanks to the extra boost their scout powers gave them. Once they were around the corner and out of sight of Serena's house, they ground to a halt.

"Well, how did I do?" Mina asked a little breathlessly. "Do you think my performance was enough to convince your mom that today is just a regular old day?"

Serena shot her a grin. "Sailor V strikes again! You haven't lost your touch V-babe."

Mina blew on her fingernails and buffed them against her shirt. "Naturally! My pretty face isn't the only thing that built my acting career. It was also my pure talent."

"Pure talent my tail!" Artemis grumbled as he and Luna jumped down from the branches of a tree to land on top of the wall next to the girls. "I thought you sounded like a screeching howler monkey. I could hear you all the way down here."

Mina's eyes narrowed on the white feline. "Watch it, furball! Just remember who it is that keeps you supplied with the cream and white albacore tuna that you like so much."

Artemis immediately shut up at that statement.

Luna cleared her throat. "Well, I will admit that the performance was a bit…rambunctious, but it wasn't necessarily over the top. Serena's mother has gotten used to all sorts of wacky antics out of you girls. And it is important that nothing arouse her suspicions." Then, her little kitty nose began to twitch. "Do I smell bacon?"

Serena laughed and picked up the cat to drape her over her shoulder. "I think so. Mom made me breakfast I could take on the go."

She undid the napkin wrapped package that she had been holding in her hand to find bacon, egg, and cheese nestled inside of one of Ilene's large, fluffy, baked from scratch biscuits. She fed bits of bacon to Luna as they walked along and shared a few bites with Artemis too, who was similarly draped over Mina's shoulder.

When they reached the corner where they would normally turn to go toward the Crown Arcade and school, they headed in the opposite direction. A few minutes later they were standing at the bottom of the steps that led up to the Hikawa Shrine.

There was a rope draped across the stairway with a sign that informed visitors that the shrine was closed for the day. Raye's grandfather had left earlier that morning to visit another shrine and Chad had taken a couple of days off to visit his family. That had made the shrine the perfect place for the scouts to meet up and perform their teleport.

Serena stared up the steps that would lead her into either salvation or doom and felt a surge of determination well up inside of her. This millennium long conflict was going to end today, one way or another. And maybe after that she could find some semblance of the normal life that she had dreamed about earlier.

She balled the now empty napkin up in her hand and ducked under the rope. "Let's do this!"

* * *

Raye sighed and pushed her bangs back, letting the chilly morning air cool the slight sheen of perspiration that had developed on her forehead from her exertions. She knew that it was silly to be sweeping, especially since the shrine was closed for the day and the last of the dead leaves from the trees had been swept up and disposed of weeks ago, but there was something soothing about the familiar rhythmic motion.

The city surrounding the shrine had come alive for the day. She could just barely hear the rumble of cars and buses on the street below as people made their commutes to work or school. Normally she would be right in the middle of it…but not today.

She had already been up for quite some time, rising from her bed a couple of hours before dawn to meditate in front of the Great Fire. Her nerves had been rattled at the thought of the upcoming battle she and her friends would be entering, but soon the fire's warmth and guidance had melted her uncertainties away.

After that she had gone and prepared tea and a light breakfast for herself and her grandfather. Later she had hugged the tiny man fondly and had sent him on his way to visit a friend, who was a priest in a shrine on the other side of the city.

Grandpa Hino had returned the hug enthusiastically, whispering in her ear, "The sky is clear now, but I sense a dark cloud hovering on the horizon. May Kami-sama watch over you and your friends today."

She had watched speechlessly as he'd scurried down the steps to the bus stop. Then she had giggled and shook her head. Nothing ever got past that old man. She had never told him about the changes that had happened in her and her friends' lives over the past few months, and he had never said anything to her either, but leave it to him to know that there was something going on. He may not know exactly what it was, but he would know.

She hadn't wanted to be left alone with her thoughts after he had gone, so she'd thrown herself into her normal chores to help keep her mind distracted while she waited on the other girls to arrive. As the spiritual specialist of the sailor scouts, she knew that it was important for her to go into this fight with a clear head. Her friends would be relying on her and her extrasensory perception to let them know if anything strange was happening around them.

"If you keep that up you might be able to sweep a hole right through the stone," a voice teased.

She turned around and saw that Lita had arrived in the courtyard where she stood. Amy was a few paces behind her. She grinned at the smirking brunette. "Yeah, sure. That may only take a few million years if I continuously sweep and never move from this spot, not even to sleep, eat, or take a bathroom break. Somehow I don't see myself living quite that long."

"It wouldn't be that hard to figure out," Amy murmured. "All you have to do is calculate the thickness of the stone and the rate of erosion caused by the pressure of the broom. Then you…"

"Oh, please!" Lita exclaimed in exasperation. "Sorry, Amy. But if I wanted to hear some long, drawn out equation today I would be in school."

Raye huffed a laugh and leaned on her broom handle. "So where are Blonde 1 and Blonde 2 at? You guys don't think that they've decided to take advantage of us skipping today to sleep in do you?"

Amy shook her head. "I wouldn't think so. They both know how important this is."

Lita nodded. "True. I'm sure they'll be here soon. I heard the two of them talking when we parted ways earlier. They were coming up with a plan to make sure Serena's mom didn't suspect that anything was going on. I swear that woman has a sixth sense that alerts her immediately whenever there is a hint of anything unusual."

Raye frowned. "But what about when the school calls to see why Serena's not in class today? That could land her in a whole lot of trouble with her parents later."

Amy smiled triumphantly and held up her Mercury computer. "Already taken care of. I rerouted the phone system so that any phone calls from the school to our phones will be rerouted to Luna and Artemis. They'll cover for us."

"Well, I guess that has all of our bases covered. Now we just have to wait for the Ditz Twins to get here," Raye muttered. Then she grasped her broom by the handle. "You guys make yourselves at home. I'm going to go change out of my robes before we go."

"What you're wearing won't matter once we've transformed," Lita quipped.

Raye shrugged. "I know. But if something happens and we are forced to de-transform I want to be wearing something that's a little bit easier to fight in."

She hurried toward the building that housed the living area for herself, her grandfather, and Chad, stopping briefly to put the broom away in a closet. After that she ducked into her bedroom. She pulled off her red and white priestess robes and debated a moment before putting on her school uniform like the other girls were wearing. If worse came to worse, and she died, she hoped that somehow her body would be returned to her grandfather for a proper burial. It would be best if she were found in her school clothes. That way her death could be written off as a youma attack and keep the identity of Sailor Mars a secret.

Aware that her thoughts were starting to take a morbid turn, she snorted and stomped out of the room. So much for all of the mental calmness she'd had earlier!

She was walking by the Great Fire room when she saw that the door was slid open a couple of inches. That was funny. She was pretty sure she had closed it all the way when she'd left earlier.

She opened the door and looked inside, figuring one of the girls must be in there. But the room was empty except for the crackling flames. She started to close the door again, but then she felt a tugging sensation, as if the fire were calling to her.

Well, she was never one to question the fire. She had felt completely in synch with it from the moment her grandfather had first set her in front of it as a little girl. It had been her friend through the lonely years of her life before she had met Serena and the others. Sometimes she didn't always like what it had to show her, but overall it had been a comfort to her.

She slid off her shoes and padded across the bamboo floor to kneel before its warmth. "I guess it's about that time, old friend. Thank you for all of the guidance you have given me over the years. I will try to use it wisely as I go into this fight."

The flames roared higher, and she heard the slightest whisper of a voice say, _"Raye Hino, princess of Mars, warrior of fire, ask the question that burns most in your heart."_

She gulped. There was one question that she had been dying to ask earlier, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to do it. In her past life, that last day on the moon, she had asked the fire to show her the future of herself and her friends, and had received a vision of nothing but darkness. She was too scared to ask it again, afraid that this time would be the same as the last.

Tendrils of warm air swirled around her, lifting strands of her hair and stroking her skin like hot fingers. _"Ask your question, child, and I will show you what may be."_

She clasped her hands to her chest and bowed her head as she closed her eyes in concentration. Finally, she whispered, "Great Fire, please show me the future. What will become of me and my friends after this fight?"

Seconds ticked by slowly as she focused all of her energy into seeing anything that the fire might show her. But as the time passed and everything remained dark, she grew frustrated.

"So history is doomed to repeat itself," she muttered under her breath. "We may be able to defeat Beryl and save the planet, but in the end we will have to forfeit our lives. Is this the only reason why we were reborn here in this place and time, to sacrifice ourselves in order to beat the evil from our past?"

Suddenly a vision sprang to life behind her eyelids. In it she was sitting next to Serena in a booth at the arcade. Serena, in turn, was leaning against Darien's arm as he sat beside her. Mina, Lita, and Amy were across the table from them, and they were all laughing about something. Even Andrew was there, chuckling along with them, and she thought she caught a quick glimpse of Asanuma and Kobyashi.

There were other figures around, but they were shadowy and impossible to see. From past experiences she knew that this was the fire's way of showing her people that she had yet to meet. Most of them were big, suggesting that they were either men or women who were taller than her, although two of the figures seemed to be smaller.

Her eyes snapped open and she stared into the flames, her heart pounding with renewed hope. If the fire was showing her visions of her and her friends together, along with people she had never met, then that meant that they must have a future.

"Is this my future?" she asked the fire directly, not expecting an answer.

Surprisingly, it responded. _"Your future is what you make it to be, Sailor Mars. Go into this battle pure of mind and heart. Believe in the moon princess and trust in the power that she wields. The decisions that are made on this day will determine whether or not the future I have shown you will come to pass."_

"Thank you," she whispered as the fire settled down once more into cheerily crackling flames. Her mind and body were completely calm for the first time in what felt like forever.

She would do as the fire had suggested. She would believe in Serena and what she was capable of. She would fight with every breath in her body to make sure that her princess made it to stand in front of Beryl. And hopefully once the dust from that confrontation had settled, they would emerge victorious.

As she stood she heard the quiet swish of the door opening and turned to see Serena looking in at her. The usually bubbly blonde looked fierce and determined, but her blue eyes shown with the same friendly light that they always had and her lips were lifted in the hint of a smile.

"Raye, is everything okay?" Serena asked her softly.

Raye cast one last look into the fire, drawing as much strength as she could from it. And then she turned to smile broadly at her friend. "Yeah, everything is good."

* * *

**A/N **Whew! Another one down! Okay, so you all obviously know what's going to happen next. Our brave little heroines are marching right into the middle of Dark Kingdom territory in order to face down the Queen Bitch. It may take me a little bit to get everything in the next chapter lined out because it's a difficult one. I've already got quite a few of the scenes written for it, but since this is supposed to be my retelling of events I'm working on putting my own spin on the unfortunate circumstances (aka everybody's deaths and such). I'm also working on making sure that this story will be able to flow into _What If _and actually make sense. Of course that's also the reason why I've decided to go back and re-vamp _What If_, which I am super excited about. I've already gone in and made some changes to the original so that events from season 1 and season 2 will match up. I don't normally like to toot my own horn, but I think the changes so far have only improved the story. We'll just have to wait and see how that goes. In the meantime, I hope you guys are enjoying the way this season is wrapping up. Feel free to drop me a few words and tell me what you think. Reviews are like gifts from heaven to me. Also, to those of you who don't read _GT _or follow my Facebook page, I've made my Christmas story for this year viewers' choice. So if there is a certain couple or situation you would like to see let me know. There is a poll up on my profile page for the pairings I've received requests for so far, so if you get a chance vote. I'm going to have to close the poll soon so I can get a story done in time for Christmas. Okay, I think that's it. I've rambled on long enough. Be happy and be safe everyone! Happy Holidays! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


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